Carrefour to halt Pepsi sales over price rises

Grocery giant Carrefour will stop selling Pepsi products in France, citing "unacceptable price increases".

The supermarket started putting up signs in stores on Thursday to inform customers of the decision, which will affect products such as Pepsi soda, Doritos and Quaker cereals.

Pepsi did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The spat comes as France continues to grapple with food prices that are rising uncomfortably quickly.

The most recent report from the government statistics agency estimated that food prices rose 7.1% in December from a year earlier.

French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire last year pushed major food companies to bring down prices, threatening special taxes on "undue" profits.

The government also moved up its deadline for price negotiations between food companies and supermarkets to 15 January in an effort to get a grip on the problem.

Pepsi has raised prices in recent years, pointing to rising costs. In October it said it expected further hikes in 2024.

The company has also been active in what critics describe as "shrinkflation" - reducing the size of packets for sale, but not dropping prices at the same rate.

Carrefour, France's second-largest grocer, has been one of the most prominent retailers to push back against the practice.

The new notes for Pepsi products say "we are no longer selling this brand due to unacceptable price increases", a spokesperson for the French retailer told Reuters.

Despite the price fight, French shoppers will still be able to buy Pepsi products that are currently on the shelves, the spokesperson told the news agency.

The public price dispute is unusual but not unprecedented.

In 2022, Tesco faced off with Kraft Heinz over price rises for staples such as baked beans, ketchup and tomato soup.

German grocers Edeka and Rewe also halted sales of certain products from the manufacturer Mars, citing price hikes.

Edeka also reported a dispute with Pepsi last year, while a standoff between Milka chocolate-maker Mondelez and Belgian supermarket Colruyt led to a gap in supply last year.