“Salty” are the prices of baby milk in Greece. Significantly higher prices compared to other European countries are taking shape in the Greek market for baby milk, according to a price comparison survey carried out by the Competition Commission in November.

The results of the research were made public in the committee’s latest newsletter, which reports on its work for 2023. The committee highlights that, while there are cheaper options in non-branded products of equal nutritional value, consumers have not turned to them, either due to limited availability , or due to lack of information.

The category of infant milk on which the Competition Commission focused, are 0 to 6 months and 6 to 12 months in the baseline series (i.e. formula with extra features, such as vitamins etc. is excluded), due to the necessity of consumption at these ages, in cases where powdered milk is chosen over breastfeeding.

In detail, the newsletter states the following:

As part of the commission’s actions against accuracy, the Competition Commission’s mapping department is carrying out comparative studies of consumer prices, with the aim of better informing consumers and businesses, especially about the possibilities offered by the European internal market, to strengthen of competition in products where there are significant price differences for the same product in different countries of the European Union. These differences may be due to different causes, without necessarily involving distortions of competition.

Milk is the only food (and source of water) for the infant, and therefore the only means of survival, from birth to the first 4 months of life. It also recommends his basic food from 5 to 8 months, while it must continue to be included in his daily diet until the completion of 12 months. The low rates of breastfeeding in Europe in general, and in Greece in particular (around 76,000 births in 2022 with less than 50% of infants – according to research – being fed with breast milk), are at the same time evidence of the choice of milk – formula for meeting the survival and development needs of infants.

The price analysis focuses on the product “baby milk” and records the prices at which these products are sold in the online stores of the two largest supermarkets per Member State of the European Union. The analysis cannot detect evidence of a qualitative difference between the different milk labels.
Due to the specificity of the product, prices are also obtained from a pharmacy with an online store per country, in order to have more comparable data, given that from previous studies of the Competition Commission, a large part of the sales of baby milk are also made through pharmacies.
The companies whose products are presented are Friesland Campina, Danone-Nutricia, Nestlé, and Vian (VIANEX SA). More specifically, Friesland Campina participates with the products Frisolac 1 (0-6) and Frisomel 2 (6-12). Danone-Nutricia participates with Almiron 1 (0-6) and Almiron 2 (6-12) and Milupa 1 (0-6), Milupa 2 (6-12) (Milupa Aptamil (Greece) = Milupa Milumil (Austria) ). NAN Optipro 1 (0-6) and NAN Optipro 2 (6-12) are being reviewed by Nestlé. Finally, from VIAN, whose presence is only in pharmacies, Novalac 1 (0-6) and Novalac 2 (6-12) are presented.

As with other consumer goods sold by multinational companies, the labeling of baby milk varies from country to country. Therefore, for Danone-Nutricia, the products Almiron (Greece, Spain), Aptamil Pronutra (Austria, Bulgaria and elsewhere), Nutrilon Advanced (Belgium, Czech Republic and elsewhere), Aptamil Nutribiotik (Estonia and elsewhere), Bebilon were identified as equivalent (Poland) and Gallia Calisma (France). For Nestlé, the products NAN Optipro (Greece and elsewhere), BEBA (Austria, Czech Republic and elsewhere), NAN Pro (Finland and elsewhere) and Nidal (France) were identified as equivalent. For the prices received from Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Poland, Romania and Sweden, a conversion was made from the national currencies to Euros. For all the countries from which prices were obtained, they were weighted with the Comparative Price Level index (month of September) published by the OECD, taking Greece as the base price (=100), while the comparison is made on the price obtained for 100 grams product. The countries for which the price comparison is carried out, on the one hand, had the corresponding product available on the market, on the other hand, the corresponding weighting index was available from the OECD. This means that while prices have been taken, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Malta and Romania have not been included in the final comparison.

For each of the two categories of infant milk, three price collections were carried out within November 2023, namely on 1 November, 20 November and 30 November, in the same supermarkets and pharmacies. The analysis showed that there is no homogeneity in the presence of labels in the member countries of the European Union. For certain tags we have more data available compared to others. More specifically, for the company Friesland-Campina and the milk Frisolac 0-6 and Frisomel 6-12 we have comparable prices from only three countries (Greece, Latvia, Lithuania). For Danone-Nutricia’s Almiron 0-6 and 6-12 months baby formula, we have comparable data from 17 EU member countries, while for the same company’s Milupa 0-6 and 6-12 months, we only have comparable data from two countries. For Nestlé’s NAN 0-6 and 6-12 months, we have prices from 15 EU member countries, while for VIANEX SA’s Novalac 0-6 and 6-12 we only have data from five countries.

The pricing results show Greece to be the country with the highest prices (incl. VAT) of the examined formula types in the EU. In Frisolac 0-6 and Frisomel 6-12, the prices in Greece are from 32% to 53% higher than the lowest price found in Latvia. In Greece, the lowest price for Frisolac 0-6 is found in a pharmacy with an online store, while approximately the same price is found in a supermarket in Lithuania.

Research on Almiron 0-6 (Danone-Nutricia) showed that prices in Greece are from 144% to 171% above the lowest price found in Belgium. Almiron 6-12 (Danone-Nutricia) in Greece is sold from 78% to 136% higher than the lowest price for the product found in Belgium and the Netherlands.
Milupa 0-6 and 6-12 milks (Danone-Nutricia) in Greece deviate from 102%-114% from Austria which is the only country where the label is found.

Infant milk NAN 0-6 (Nestlé), in Greece, deviates from 167% to 213% from the lowest price found in Finland and Sweden. Correspondingly, the price for NAN 6-12 (Nestlé) in Greece is from 146% to 197% higher than the lowest price found in France.

Finally, in Greece, Novalac 0-6 and 6-12 for which we have comparable data from the pharmacies of five countries (Austria, France, Germany, Greece, Italy), is 140% to 173% more expensive than the lowest price which is located in Italy.
In all three tariffs, the prices in Greece remain stable, while in the EU they show small changes in only some countries. In each of the two formula categories (0-6 months and 6-12 months) the supermarket prices show slight variations between the different labels. Friesland Campina’s Frisolac and Frisomel baby milk shows the highest price per 100 grams of product among other labels in the same category, but has the smallest percentage deviation from the lowest price found in another EU member country. It is also only available from one of the two largest supermarket chains in the country. In contrast, Almiron (Danone-Nutricia) and NAN (Nestlé) infant milks, although showing a slightly lower price than the Friesland Campina product, mostly show deviation rates from the lowest EU price of more than 130% while reaching up to and 203%.

Despite the fact that legislation assures that all baby milks sold on the market, including the cheapest ones, are of equal nutritional value, and while producers of branded baby milk products have raised prices, parent-consumers have not switched to cheaper formula milk, due to the limited availability of private label infant formula and possibly also due to the lack of information on the nutritional value of the cheaper products. It is considered necessary to understand the consumer behavior for the specific type of food as well as the elements that influence this choice.

According to the results of a recent mapping survey conducted by the British Competition and Markets Authority, baby milk prices in Great Britain have risen by 25% in the last two years. This particular market is characterized by a very high concentration, with the two largest companies in the sector owning 85% of the British market.