It is not uncommon for buyers to find themselves in front of a note such as “Dear customers: We regret to inform you that we cannot currently supply all the products of Mars” famous for making chocolate as in the Edeka store in central Berlin, for example. The same applies to other brands of products such as breakfast cereal or rice.
With inflation in Germany at a record 10 percent, supermarkets are resisting what they see as unreasonable price increases imposed by some of the world’s most famous brands.
For their part, multinational food companies argue that manufacturing costs have risen on the back of rising energy and transportation costs, in part due to the war in Ukraine.
But retailers in Europe’s largest economy say they want to protect customers’ purchasing power at a difficult time, and price increases of up to 30 percent in some cases are exaggerated.
“Many international brands are trying to take advantage of inflation to impose exorbitant prices in order to increase their profits,” an Edica spokesperson told AFP, describing the new March prices requested as “unjustified”.
Edica and its competitor Rewe, two of Germany’s largest supermarket chains, have stopped taking delivery of nearly 300 products from Mars, which is known for its Twix chocolate, Snickers, rice-Benz packages and Whiskas cat food.
The two groups, in turn, sought to promote their cheaper, brand-name products as alternatives.
Battle with Coca-Cola
But March, for its part, blames the “volatile situation” and “inflation pressures”.
Thomas Robb, a retail expert at Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences, said the battle of brands is not new, and many products are pulled every year when disagreements arise between major supermarkets and food producers.
“But it stood out this time because Edica and Revi were affected at the same time,” Robb added.
At Edica in Berlin, the shortage of food for companion animals, a sector dominated by Mars, has been remarkable.
In neighboring Reeve, the rice racks were half empty, and the breakfast cereal section also appeared empty, after the company failed to reach a compromise with Kellogg’s of America, which, according to German media, demanded a 30 percent increase on its famous products.
Other brands are experiencing similar price wars. Jacobs Dow Eggberts tea and coffee products have disappeared from store shelves. Rivals Lidl and Aldi have also stopped stockpiling products from Danone, the world’s largest yogurt maker.
The row between Edica and Coca-Cola reached the courtroom, as the supermarket group appealed a recent ruling that the beverage giant has the right to stop deliveries due to the dispute between the two sides.
same taste
“There is a shortage of some foods, drinks and even hygiene products,” said Liana Kring, 24, outside a supermarket on Karl Marx-Ale Street in Berlin.
And so the problems faced by supermarkets are putting more pressure on German consumers who are bracing for a bleak winter amid rising inflation and a deepening energy crisis after Russia cuts gas supplies.
The German economy, which is usually the engine of European growth, is expected to enter a recession next year.
A Reeve spokesperson said department stores did not want to see shoppers “unnecessarily punished…in these trying times”.
But retailers have also seized the opportunity to promote their own branded products, which are gaining in popularity as Germans try to save money.
“Mars prices are crazy? Buy Nitto”: this is a recent Instagram post from the Nitto stores owned by the Edica Group.
In a country store in Berlin’s Friedrichstrasse station, the group’s “Yeah” (yes) beans on the shelves have replaced the colorful Kellogg’s.
Department store brands generated 34.6 percent of revenue in German supermarkets in the first quarter of 2022 according to a GfK survey, up 1.2 percentage points from the previous year.
“It’s cheaper, and it tastes the same,” Miriam Branz, 30, said as she left a country store.
#Empty #shelves. #German #stores #resist #exaggeration #prices #famous #food #products