PepsiCo and Carrefour resolve pricing dispute, products to return to shelves 

FRANCE— PepsiCo and Carrefour have reportedly reached a resolution in a pricing dispute that caused the French retailer to remove PepsiCo’s food and beverage brands from its shelves across Europe earlier this year.

According to Carrefour, PepsiCo snacks and beverages are currently being restocked at Carrefour stores in France.

“It’s good to see friends we haven’t seen in a long time,” posted Alexandre de Palmas, the executive director of Carrefour’s French division, alongside a photo of himself holding a bottle of Pepsi.

Earlier this year, Carrefour delisted PepsiCo food and beverage brands from its stores in France – the retailer ceased selling PepsiCo products such as Lay’s and Doritos crisps, as well as 7Up drinks and Lipton tea in France due to what it deemed as “unacceptable price increases”.

This boycott extended to branches in Spain, Italy, Belgium, and Poland, with the stores displaying banners in its outlets stating, “we no longer sell this brand due to an unacceptable price increase”.

The cause of the pricing dispute between PepsiCo and Carrefour can be traced back to significant government and consumer concern over rising food prices in France.

With food price inflation reaching nearly 16% in March 2023, the French government, led by President Emmanuel Macron, has been actively advocating for major manufacturers to lower prices.

This dispute was further escalated by recent criticism of ‘shrinkflation’, where manufacturers reduce product size while maintaining prices.

Now that the dust has settled, the resolution marks positive news for both companies, particularly as Europe represents PepsiCo’s largest geographical market in terms of revenues.

In PepsiCo’s fiscal year 2023, Europe contributed $13.2bn in revenue to the group total of $91.5bn in 2023, which was an increase from $12.7bn in 2022.

While any potential impact of the boycott on sales is yet to be determined, it is unlikely to be felt until at least the first quarter of 2024.

However, the pricing resolution between the two companies will signal a return to normalcy for consumers and a positive step forward for both companies in maintaining their partnership and market presence across Europe.

Liked this article? Subscribe to Food Business Africa News, our regular email newsletters with the latest news insights from Africa and the World’s food and agro industry. HERE