Carrefour has announced it will stop selling PepsiCo products because they have become too expensive, Reuters reported.
KEY FACTS
- This is another clash in the price war between global food producers and big traders.
- Popular soft drinks such as Pepsi and 7up, as well as Lay’s crisps, will be removed from the shelves of the chain’s stores in France from today, and where they are, they will be accompanied by a note: «We no longer sell this brand due to an unacceptable price increase «.
- It is not yet clear whether PepsiCo products already in the chain’s stores will be recalled, the spokesman added. The notes in question will only be present in Carrefour stores in France.
AN IMPORTANT STORY
PepsiCo announced in October that it planned a «moderate» price increase this year, as demand for its products in 2023 has not fallen despite the price hike, which has led to a third straight year of profit growth.
Last year, many retailers in several countries, including Germany and Belgium, said they were suspending orders from certain manufacturers because of price spikes.
Carrefour is one of the supermarket chains that has the most active price battle with food and beverage manufacturers. Last year, the company launched a «shrinkflation» campaign, warning consumers about products whose weight has been reduced, but at the expense of which their price has been maintained or increased.
In an effort to reduce inflation, the French government asked retailers and suppliers to end annual price negotiations in January, two months earlier than usual.
Preliminary data from statistics office INSEE on Thursday showed consumer prices in France rose 4.1% year-on-year in December, with annual food inflation slowing to 7.1% from 7.7% a month earlier.
CONTRA
France’s Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire earlier threatened to claw back what he described as «illegitimate» profits from food companies with special taxes if they did not pass on their own lower costs to consumers already struggling with high energy bills.
