Every year, the German consumer association Foodwatch He awarded a prize, the “Golden Windbeutel”, to the most brazen advertising lie of the year. A recognition on the contrary, decided by popular vote, which aims to report incorrect practices and misleading messages from the food industry.
In 2025 the original prize went to Milka Alpine Milk, historic chocolate tablet of the Mondelez group, Accused of Shrinkflation, the practice that consists in the “hidden” reduction in the amount of product in the face of an equal price if not greater.
Same assignment, less chocolate
According to Foodwatch, at the beginning of 2025 Milka has reduced the weight of its classic tablets of 100 to 90 gramshowever, keeping the dimensions of the unchanged packaging, thus making the modification practically invisible on the shelves.
In the meantime, The sale price increased from 1.49 to 1.99 euros, With a 48%increase. A perfect dynamic to deceive customers, who often do not control the actual weight reported – moreover, according to Foodwatch, partially hidden by the packaging tabs.
Over 58,000 people participated in the public survey called by the Association and 34% voted for Milka, making it the absolute winner of the Golden Windbeutetel 2025. Four other products were included in the “Top 5” of the most deceptive advertisements. These are:
Foodwatch criticisms
“Mondelez is stripping the tablet and inflating the price: a bitter aftertaste for the Milka sweet chocolate!“Said Dr. Rebekka Siegmann of Foodwatch.
According to the organization, it is a clear example of how the food industry recalls increasingly hidden price increases, exploiting the distraction and trust of consumers.
Foodwatch asked the German government to respect what was promised in the coalition contract: to force manufacturers and retailers to clearly report quantitative changes and hidden price increases. The association recalled that in France, from the summer of 2024, supermarkets are obliged to clearly report the hidden price increases related to Shrinkflation. The German government is therefore asked to follow the example, introducing similar rules.
Mondelez’s reply
Interviewed by Spiegel online, Mondelez motivated the increase in the price with the record costs of cocoa, energy, packaging and transport. But Foodwatch disputes this official version: while the Federal Office of German statistics shows an average increase of 8% of the price of chocolate between the beginning of 2024 and January 2025, the price of the Milka chocolate in the same period rises up to 64%.
Mondelez’s financial relationship also reveals that the group benefits from decreasing production costs, while continuing to increase prices to the public.
