May 13 - A German court ruled that Mondelez, the U.S.-based food company, misled buyers when it reduced the net weight of certain Milka chocolate bars from 100 grams to 90 grams while keeping the packaging largely the same. The decision was issued in response to a lawsuit backed by a consumer protection agency.
The court said the product’s packaging creates a visual expectation among consumers who have long been familiar with the product, and that this expectation clashes with the new, reduced net weight that was introduced in early 2025. According to the ruling, the lack of a clear, easily readable notice on the package meant shoppers could reasonably assume the contents matched the prior quantity.
As part of its decision, the court specified that a comprehensible and clearly visible notice should have been placed on the packaging to prevent consumer confusion. The court added that such a notice would need to remain in place for at least a period of four months following the reduction in quantity to allow consumers time to register the change.
The ruling is not yet final. The judge set a one-month window for the defendant to file an appeal.
"We take note of and take seriously today’s court ruling and are now examining the court’s reasoning in detail," a Mondelez spokesperson said, adding the company would continue to strive for clear communication regardless of it.
The company, known for brands including Oreo, said it adjusted the weight of some Milka bars last year to preserve the expected quality standard amid what it described as an environment that is "more complex and unstable than ever before."
The court order focuses narrowly on consumer information and packaging transparency. It requires an explicit labeling response from the manufacturer for a defined short-term period following the change in quantity but does not finalize the matter while the appeal period remains open.
Contextual note - The case centers on the intersection of packaging design, consumer expectations, and statutory requirements for clear communication when a familiar product’s net weight is reduced. The ruling obliges explicit, temporary disclosure to mitigate the discrepancy between visual expectation and actual product content.