From the pack of biscuits to the tube of toothpaste, even ice creams are not exempt: same packaging, apparently unchanged price, but less product inside. Sometimes even with increased costs. Shrinkflation, in Italian, is the phenomenon whereby products are sold at the same prices, if not higher, but in lower quantities. An illusory practice for the consumer who often, betrayed by the packaging, does not realize that he is paying the same price as before but for fewer grams or kilos. But what really changes from the date circled in red, July 15, 2026?
What happened to the first law: the notice had to appear directly on the package
Italy had already intervened with the annual law for the market and competition of 2023, approved in December 2024. Article 23 had inserted a new article into the Consumer Code, 15-bis, dedicated to the “re-portioning of pre-packaged products”.
The rule concerned products that retained the previous packaging but underwent a reduction in quantity and a consequent increase in the price per unit of measurement. In these cases the manufacturer should have indicated on the package, also via an adhesive label, the words: “This package contains a product less than (…) compared to the previous quantity”.
In this way the consumer would be made aware of the smaller quantity of product present in the package, being better able to orient himself on the price. The warning should have remained visible for six months after the reduced packaging was marketed. The law initially established application starting from 1 April 2025. The new regulation was then rewritten and notified to Brussels.
The new rules: no warning on the packaging
The main change is the disappearance of the obligation to print the notice on the package. According to the content of the project, information should travel along the supply chain: producers and distributors should communicate to sellers the reduction in quantity and the percentage increase in price attributable to shrinkflation, i.e. re-portioning.
It would then be up to traders to make this information accessible to consumers at the point of sale, with signs, notices or other information tools or in online shops. The communication would not remain visible for six months, as required by the first law, but only for three months from the marketing of the product in the new quantity.
The bill would also provide an exclusion when the quantitative reduction is accompanied by a formulation change that improves the yield or effectiveness of the product, without reducing its overall value for the consumer.
Hidden price increases, the most exposed products: the examples
Shrinkflation does not necessarily coincide with an increase in the price displayed on the shelf. A 500 gram pack sold for 5 euros costs 10 euros per kilo. If the package drops to 450 grams and the price remains at 5 euros, the actual cost rises to 11.11 euros per kilo: the increase is 11.1%, even if the consumer continues to see the same 5 euros on the price tag.
For this reason, according to consumer associations, the new communication should indicate not only how many grams or milliliters have disappeared, but also the percentage change in the price per unit of measurement. The regulation would therefore not prohibit companies from reducing packaging: it would impose greater transparency on the economic effect of the choice.
There’s a reason why smaller and smaller ice creams cost more
Codacons considers the new system less incisive than the original one. The label on the front of the package would follow the product into every store and was instantly recognisable. The new system instead depends on the correct transmission of data throughout the commercial chain and on how each seller presents it to the public.
The duration of the notice is also halved, from six to three months. According to Codacons, shrinkflation would produce average hidden increases of between 10 and 18%, with peaks of 40%, especially for packaged foods, detergents, household paper and personal hygiene products. The association also estimates a potential impact of 1.8 billion euros over fifteen years.
What really happens on July 15th
The European procedure requires states to notify Brussels in advance of draft technical regulations that may affect the circulation of products within the EU. A suspension period of three months normally begins from the notification, during which the State cannot approve the measure.
If no detailed opinions are received to extend the deadlines, the text can be adopted upon the deadline, i.e. 15 July. The Government must adopt the definitive measure, take into account any European observations and publish it in the Official Journal.