Deceptive food packaging is becoming increasingly common as companies strive to reduce costs while maintaining their profit margins. Some companies are even using clever marketing strategies, such as including a history lesson about the product to take up more space, as one shopper recently discovered.

What happened?

In a subreddit dedicated to poor design, one user shared a photo of a box of chocolates by the Vietnamese brand Legendary Chocolatier that they had purchased. The box contained eight pieces of cashew butter and cinnamon chocolates, along with a backstory about the chocolate printed on a piece of cardboard, which took up half the box. 

"Disappointing/misleading chocolate box," the original poster titled the post, with a photo caption reading, "Packaging for mostly air."

"That should be illegal," one user said.

A second person wrote, "The part of this that pisses me off the most is the larger carbon footprint of this product from additional shipping size just to trick people into thinking the product is worth more than it really is worth."

"Such bull****. Companies doing this should be charged for making more waste," a third said.

Why is misleading food packaging concerning?

More companies are using excessive packaging to make it seem like consumers are getting more for their money, when in reality, they're getting much less while paying the same price. This not only leads to a frustrating customer experience but can eventually erode trust in a company if it doesn't change its practices. 

Not to mention, packaging items with unnecessary materials creates more waste, which will most likely end up in landfills since the majority of plastic is not recycled. In this case, the extra packaging is made of cardboard, which has a much lower environmental impact. 

But the fact remains that the shopper was likely expecting a full box of chocolates, and got half a box instead, along with an interesting (but ultimately nonessential) history lesson about the company.

Is Legendary Chocolatier doing anything about this?

The company does not disclose any of its food packaging policies or sustainability goals on its website. However, the food and drink blogger Jovel Chan reported that Legendary Chocolatier is a "self-described bean-to-bar chocolatier" that sources its cacao beans from local farms and provinces. It's also a member of Cacao Trace, a program that works directly with farmers to improve their livelihoods and create a more sustainable supply chain. 

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As for the packaging, the company may not have intentionally meant to deceive customers, but rather aimed to share the brand's mission so shoppers know more about what they're buying. Without knowing more about Legendary Chocolatiers' packaging practices, it's difficult to say whether this incident qualifies as deceptive. 

How else are companies addressing deceptive packaging?

Following accusations of misleading customers about its efforts to address plastic waste, the food and beverage company Danone has agreed to invest in initiatives to reduce plastic packaging. More consumers are calling out companies for excessive packaging and deceptive product labels, which include major brands such as Coca-Cola and Kraft Heinz.

Customers can help drive change by calling out greenwashing and supporting companies that adopt sustainable practices. If you believe a company is using shady sales tactics, it's a good idea to contact them to voice your concerns. They might just change their practices if enough people call attention to the issue. 

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