The Korea Consumer Agency announced on the 31st that it confirmed the decrease in capacity and increase in unit prices of nine domestic and international products through a survey on Shrinkflation conducted in the fourth quarter of last year.
According to the consumer agency on the same day, all of the products identified this time are food, including four domestically manufactured and five imported. Among them, it was found that six products did not notify consumers of the changes in capacity. The agency noted that three products lacked sufficient notification regarding changes in capacity.
Domestic products include Jeju mandarins and Hallabong chocolate (manufacturer/seller Jekiss), chewy New pumpkin candy (The Food/Hanil Distribution), and Good Habit organic aronia freeze-dried powder (Good Habit/N-BioTech), among others.
Jeju mandarin chocolate and Jeju Hallabong chocolate have each been reduced by 14.3% in capacity, from 224 grams to 192 grams since August of last year, while chewy New pumpkin candy decreased from 300 grams to 280 grams, a reduction of 6.7%, as investigated. Additionally, Good Habit organic aronia freeze-dried powder has reduced its contents by 25%, from 200 grams to 150 grams since November of last year.
Among imported products, three items, including Black Thunder mini bar (158→146 grams), almond & hazelnut (130→118 grams), and mini bar strawberry (128→116 grams), each showed a reduction in capacity of 7.6% to 9.4% in September last year. Witos Gold chocolate decreased from 250 grams to 200 grams in November of last year, while Seika Ramune mochi caramel candy dropped from 41 grams to 32 grams in December of the same year.
Shrinkflation is a compound of the word 'shrink,' which means 'to decrease,' and 'inflation,' which signifies rising prices. It refers to the act of corporations effectively raising prices by reducing the capacity of products instead of increasing selling prices.
According to the 'Designation of Unfair Consumer Transaction Practices of Businesses' implemented in August last year, businesses that engage in such acts may be subject to fines and other penalties from the relevant local government.
The consumer agency disclosed information on capacity-changing products through 'Fair Price' in the fourth quarter of last year and also recommended that the manufacturers and sellers of those products provide relevant information on their websites or online shopping malls. The agency reported that major distribution companies such as department stores, large supermarkets, and online malls selling those products were also made to post capacity change details for consumers to see.