A PepsiCo spokesperson told The Post that the company “has been in discussions with Carrefour for several months and we will continue to engage in good faith to try to ensure the availability of our products.”
This step by Carrefour comes at a time when Europeans continue their battle with rising food prices. In France, food prices rose more than 7 percent year-on-year in December. Price increases peaked in March 2023, rising nearly 16%, according to one estimate.
US retailers have also struggled with suppliers to lower food prices. To apply pressure, some stores will put brands in a “penalty box,” said Randall Sargent, a partner in the retail and consumer goods practice at marketing consultancy Oliver Wyman.
That could mean inappropriate placement on shelves, less promotion and higher prices, making products “less attractive to consumers to buy that brand compared to another,” she said.
But in Europe, more aggressive tactics such as recalls of all products are not uncommon, Sargent said. Grocery stores in the region are smaller, leaving less visible gaps on shelves, and European consumers are already more inclined to buy store brands, she said.
“Although consumers are still very loyal to some national brands, it is less disruptive when they are pulled from shelves because they are already accustomed to, and more willing in many categories, to switch to the private label equivalent,” Sargent said.
Carrefour expects To grow its own brand, according to a strategic plan published in 2022. The company aims for its own brand to account for 40 percent of food sales in 2026 – up from 33 percent in 2022.
PepsiCo's European business represents about 14 percent of its global revenue of about $9 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported. Sargent said that given Carrefour's size and reach in the region, losing shelf presence “will certainly hurt suppliers' businesses in Europe, if not globally.”
