Shrinking Milka chocolate bar tricked consumers, says German court

Milka's manufacturer cheated consumers and broke competition law, a court found in a landmark German case targeting chocolate "shrinkflation". The Bremen regional court ruled that cutting back on the amount of chocolate while having the same kind of wrapper meant that customers were being misled. The Hamburg's consumer protection office (VZHH) accused manufacturer Mondelēz of deceiving consumers by cutting the weight of the "Alpenmilch" bar from 100g to 90g.

Mondelēz told the BBC it was "taking the decision of the court seriously" and would "look at it in detail now". Mondelēz argued that it had informed German consumers about the change on its website and social media channels, and pointed to the rising costs in its supply chains, saying "As a consequence, in recent years we decided to adjust the weight of several Milka bars." Last year, German consumers voted the Milka Alpenmilch bar "rip-off packaging of the year 2025". The price went up from €1.49 (£1.30) to €1.99 (£1.70) at the beginning of 2025. The company's lawyer argued in court that chocolate bars in the past had a fluctuating weight between 81-100g depending on the product. Another iconic German chocolate bar, Ritter Sport, has changed the weight of some of its flavours, while keeping its distinctive, square shape. Until the start of May 2026, Ritter Sport's chocolate bars had weighed 100g, but now three of its varieties weigh just 75g. Ritter Sport has said that "consumers prefer the thinner bars". The Which? group says inflation in chocolate