U.S. supplier stops deliveries No more Heinz ketchup at Edeka

DÜSSELDORF/HAMBURG · Heinz ketchup may soon be a thing of the past in Edeka stores. The U.S. company has stopped supplying the supermarket chain over disputes concerning delivery prices.

Consumers may soon be looking in vain for ketchup and barbecue sauces from Kraft and Heinz at Germany's largest grocer Edeka. The American group Kraft Heinz has stopped supplying the retail giant with its products, as commercial director, Michael Lessmann, confirmed to the German Press Agency on Friday. The "Lebensmittel Zeitung" had previously reported on the situation.

The move was triggered by a dispute over future supply prices. Kraft Heinz wanted to push through price increases, while Edeka insisted on price reductions, Lessmann said. All attempts to reach agreement had failed. In the meantime, the talks had collapsed without a result. Kraft Heinz has stopped supplying Edeka. The company wants to find a solution with Edeka but Lessmann said that the dialogue was currently severed.

The "Lebensmittel Zeitung" (Food Newspaper) reported that the stocks of ketchup and barbecue sauces from Kraft Heinz in the Edeka Group were now running out. The empty shelves could no longer be concealed. A spokesman for Edeka explained that the Lebensmittel Zeitung's research was largely correct. For competitive reasons, however, the company did not want to comment on the details of the conflict.

In recent months, there have repeatedly been fierce disputes between major German retail chains such as Edeka or Rewe and well-known brand manufacturers. In most cases, however, it was the retailers who took the products of suppliers from their shelves in order to increase the pressure in price negotiations. Last year, for example, Edeka boycotted almost 200 Nestlé products at times.

(Orig. text: dpa, Translation: ck)

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