PepsiCo Products Pulled From European Grocery Stores Over ‘Unacceptable’ Price Hikes

PARIS (AP) — Global supermarket chain Carrefour will stop selling PepsiCo products in its stores in France, Belgium, Spain and Italy over price increases for popular items like Lay’s potato chips, Quaker Oats, Lipton Iced Tea and its namesake soda.

The French grocery chain said it pulled PepsiCo products from shelves in France on Thursday and added small signs in stores that say, “We no longer sell this brand due to unacceptable price increases.”

It comes as a new French law meant to fight the rising cost of living has supermarkets facing millions in fines if they don’t reach a deal with suppliers on prices by the end of the month.

The ban also will extend to Belgium, Spain and Italy, but Carrefour, which has 12,225 stores in more than 30 countries, didn’t say when it would take effect in those countries.

PepsiCo products were still on shelves Friday in Rome and Barcelona.

Carrefour Italia’s press office said information will be posted for customers in their stores in Italy in the next days.

PepsiCo said in a statement that it has “been in discussion with Carrefour for many months and we will continue to engage in good faith in order to try to ensure that our products are available.”

The company behind Cheetos, Mountain Dew and Rice-A-Roni has raised prices by double-digit percentages for seven straight quarters, most recently hiking by 11% in the July-to-September period.

Its profits are up, though higher prices have dragged down sales as people trade down to cheaper brands. PepsiCo also has said it’s been shrinking package sizes to meet consumer demand for convenience and portion control.

“I do think that we see the consumer right now being more selective,” PepsiCo Chief Financial Officer Hugh Johnston told investors in October.

The Purchase, New York-based company said price increases should ease and largely align with inflation, which has fallen considerably worldwide since crunched supply chains during the COVID-19 pandemic and then Russia’s war in Ukraine sent prices surging.

However, the 20 European Union countries that use the euro currency saw consumer prices rise to 2.9% in December from a year earlier, rebounding after seven straight monthly declines, according to numbers released Friday.

Prices for food and non-alcoholic…