PARIS (AFP) – Supermarket chain Carrefour has stopped selling Doritos, Pepsi and other Pepsico brands at its stores in France, Belgium, Italy and Spain amidst a dispute over price hikes, an industry source said on Friday.
“We no longer sell this brand due to unacceptable price increases,” say tags on shelves in Carrefour’s French stores where the Pepsico products once stood.
The source said the move also affected stores in Belgium, Italy and Spain.
It means consumers will no longer be able to find the iconic products alongside PepsiCo names such as Lay’s potato chips, Lipton tea, Quaker Cereals and 7Up.
French retailers are locked in annual negotiations with big food industry firms on prices and other conditions regarding their sale in supermarkets.
“We’ve been in discussion with Carrefour for many months and we will continue to engage in good faith in order to try to ensure that our products are available,” a PepsiCo spokeswoman said, declining to comment further on the talks.
Retailers say they are under pressure from food industry firms to raise prices.
Pepsi’s main rival, Coca-Cola, said in November it was seeking to raise its prices an average of seven per cent.
PepsiCo reported in October its sales so far in 2023 had risen by nine per cent on slightly lower food sales and steady beverage sales, an indication it has also raised prices.
It said it expects to boost profits by 13 per cent in 2023 and return around USD7.7 billion to shareholders in dividends and share buybacks.
With European consumers suffering from food price inflation – the cost of France’s reference shopping basket has jumped 20 per cent in two years – many households are watching their spending and shifting to lower-priced supermarket brands.
