Reduflação na indústria de alimentos: revisão sobre estratégias de mercado, rotulagem e percepção do consumidor

Abstract

In an unstable global economic scenario with rising raw material costs, taxes, and pricing complexities, downsizing emerges as an alternative for industries to adapt by reducing product weight without a proportional price increase. Therefore, this study aims to conduct a literature review on downsizing in the food industry, examining its economic implications, its alignment with labeling regulations and legislation, as well as its repercussions on consumer rights and public perception. For the narrative review, scientific articles, dissertations, and related abstracts were collected from electronic databases such as SciELO and Google Scholar, in addition to interviews, newspaper articles, and surveys from institutions such as IBGE, ABIA, and ANVISA. The main findings were: the alignment of the reduction strategy with the incremental innovation vision characteristic of the economic sector; the justification of the practice by legislation that allows for the reduction of net weight and requires that the customer be informed about a new quantity of product; the consumer perspective, despite its uniqueness for each individual due to psychological, social, and behavioral factors, is predominantly negative, marked by a loss of trust in the brand. Furthermore, the phenomenon also has repercussions in relation to the Consumer Protection Code, regarding transparency in communication, since misleading advertising is related to information or omission that is capable of inducing the consumer into error. Based on the data found, it is concluded that downsizing is a legitimate practice from a regulatory standpoint, but it requires greater attention in terms of ethics, communication, and responsibility in the food market, representing an opportunity for the food industry to improve standards and develop clearer and more honest strategies.