Explained: Why French Supermarket Chain Stopped Selling Doritos, Pepsi

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 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 sales in supermarkets.

"We've been in discussion with Carrefour for many months and we will continue to engage in good faith 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 7 percent.

PepsiCo reported in October its sales so far in 2023 had risen by 9 percent 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 percent in 2023 and return around $7.7 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 percent in two years -- many households are watching their spending and shifting to lower-priced supermarket brands.

Michel-Edouard Leclerc, the head of rival French supermarket chain E. Leclerc said the talks with the food giants had been difficult but said that dropping brand name products was not a satisfactory answer.

"Consumers don't want to pay more but if they don't have their products, they won't be happy and they will go to a rival," he told Franceinfo radio.

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