Edeka tea brand flagged for shrinkflation by consumer group

The consumer protection organization Verbraucherzentrale Hamburg has added Edeka’s private label tea to its list of deceptive packaging. The products in question, Gut&Günstig ‘Italienische Limone’ and ‘Mediterraner Pfirsch’, are accused of practicing shrinkflation—a practice where the quantity of a product is reduced while the packaging size remains largely unchanged.

Specifically, the tea quantity was reduced from 62.5 grams to 50 grams. While the consumer center noted the price remained at 1.69 euros, resulting in a 25 percent effective price increase, Edeka responded by stating that the number of tea bags was adjusted from 25 to 20. The retailer noted that alongside this change, the manufacturer's suggested retail price was reduced from 1.69 euros to 1.39 euros.