German Court Rules Milka Cheated Customers Over Shrinking Chocolate Bars

Chocolate lovers have long suspected it. Now a German court has agreed: shrinkflation is not just annoying. It can be illegal. A regional court in Bremen ruled that the makers of Milka deceived consumers by cutting the size of the classic Alpine Milk bar from 100 grams to 90 grams while keeping the distinctive purple packaging largely unchanged.

The case was brought by Hamburg's consumer protection office, which accused Milka's US owner Mondelēz of misleading shoppers. The three-week trial ended with a ruling that a clear notice should have been included on the packaging to avoid confusion. The court said such a notice would be required for at least four months to allow consumers to absorb the change.

The shrinking of the Milka bar was not subtle. After last year's changes, the bar became a millimetre thinner. The price, meanwhile, did not stay the same. It increased from €1.49 to €1.99. That is a 50-cent jump for less chocolate.

Shrinkflation – reducing product sizes while keeping prices stable or even raising them – has become a familiar annoyance as manufacturers try to offset rising costs for ingredients, energy, and transport. But the practice has attracted particular attention in the confectionery aisle. Ahead of Christmas, the Guardian reported widespread shrinkflation including lighter boxes of Quality Street and Celebrations, as well as smaller Terry's Chocolate Oranges. Toblerone, another Mondelēz brand, had also lost 20 grams, reducing a 360g bar to 340g.

Chocolate has become more expensive due to poor harvests in West Africa, particularly in Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire, where more than half of the world's cocoa beans are grown. When asked about pack size reductions in the past, Mondelēz has pointed to higher costs ranging from cocoa and dairy to energy and transport.

In this case, Mondelēz told the Bremen court that it had informed German consumers about the change on its website and social media channels. That defence did not impress the court. Nor did it impress German shoppers, who voted the Milka Alpenmilch bar "rip-off packaging of the year 2025."

This is not Mondelēz's first brush with shrinkflation outrage. In 2016, the company faced a backlash after it widened the gaps between Toblerone's distinctive triangular chunks instead of raising the price. Two years later, it reverted to the original shape.

The Bremen court's ruling is not final. Mondelēz has one month to lodge an appeal. The company said it was examining the court's ruling in detail and added that its aim has always been, and remains, to communicate transparently, comprehensively, and responsibly with everyone who buys and enjoys its products.

For now, though, the purple wrapper has a stain on its reputation. And German chocolate fans have a legal precedent. Whether that puts the grams back in the bar is another question.

Written by Andreas Hofer