High inflation and rising energy costs are driving up food prices. Brand manufacturers want to keep turning the price screw in the fall. Discounters and supermarkets such as Aldi Süd, Aldi Nord, Lidl, Netto Marken-Discount, Rewe and Edeka react irritably. FOCUS online says which important brands are no longer available in which markets.
Milk, crisps, chocolate, mineral water, soft drinks and yoghurt are up to 30 percent more expensive than last year. For quark and yoghurt products, the price development is even 50 percent.
And the brand manufacturers want more money for their products. The background is that production costs have risen sharply. Companies have to spend more money on personnel, energy, packaging, transport, storage and raw materials.
Supermarket prices are skyrocketing, but furniture, clothing, shoes and other consumer goods are also becoming more expensive. As a retail expert, I know the tricks of the trade and tell you how you can save money for you and your family every month when shopping. Would you like to talk to me about your savings tips and savings tricks? Did you notice anything while shopping? Then send an e-mail to Konstantinos.mitsis@burda-forward.de with your name and telephone number
Delistings and delivery stops are a means of pressure. For dealers and manufacturers, this usually results in a drop in sales.
FOCUS online says where it is currently empty on the shelf.
Coca-Cola, Fanta, Sprite: Edeka is currently arguing with Coca-Cola. As FOCUS found out online, it is about a price increase in the double-digit cent range for cans and bottles. Because Edeka has not responded to the ideas so far, Coca-Cola has imposed a delivery stop.
Frolic, Sheba, Whiskas: Consumers look in vain for cat and dog food from the Mars group at Rewe and Edeka. Here, too, there are discrepancies because the manufacturers want to raise prices.
Milka: Edeka and Netto Marken-Discount no longer have Milka chocolate bars. The Mondelēz Group stopped deliveries.
Bounty, Celebrations, Mars, Milky Way and Twix: A number of chocolate bars are missing from the branches for the same reason.
Pepsi Cola, Mirinda Orange, 7Up and Schwip Schwap: Aldi Nord has been listing products from the beverage giant since the end of September. Here, too, failed condition negotiations are the main reason.
Ritter Sport: The chocolate giant could not agree with Kaufland on price adjustments. The consequence? No more Ritter Sport at Kaufland!
Ben’s: Customers are also noticing bottlenecks in rice and sauce products from the well-known US brand Ben’s.
Corn Flakes, Choco Krispies, Froot Loops, Smack, Special K or Toppas: The Kellogg Company has recently imposed a delivery stop. Rewe branches are affected. The supermarket giant could not agree on price increases that should apply from November 1st. All of the company’s cereals are missing from the shelves.
Café Hag, Jacobs, L’OR, Natreen, Pickwick, Senseo, Tassimo: Even the coffee and tea shelves are empty. The “Lebensmittel Zeitung” reports on a dispute between Rewe and the coffee and tea giant Jacobs. The missing products will be replaced by the own brands “Ja” and “Rewe Beste Wahl”.
“We have been in tough negotiations with the branded goods industry for months,” confirms Edeka’s press office.
Many claims are unfounded. Since they are significantly higher than the cost increase actually is. “However, the supply of our markets is still ensured. We can offer our customers many equivalent alternatives from other manufacturers or from our inexpensive own-brand range,” says an Edeka spokesman.
But the big discounter market leaders Aldi Süd, Aldi Nord and Lidl are also currently in talks with manufacturers. Here, however, products have already flown off the shelves.
As Aldi employees report, there are currently no products from “Fruchtzwerge” and “Activia” in the branches. Both yoghurt brands belong to the Danone group and have not been available for several weeks.
At Lidl, products from “Müllermilch”, “Henkel” and “Beiersdorf” are again missing on the shelves. According to information from FOCUS online, it is about the deodorant from Nivea, dishwashing liquid from Pril and other drugstore items from Bref and Somat.
The “Lebensmittel Zeitung” also confirms the relevant information in its current issue. Apparently, the discounters are thinning out their brand business. The primary concern is that customers increasingly turn to the cheaper Lidl and Aldi brands. Sales of branded products are declining again.
This is one of the reasons why the focus is on the private label business. In the previous weeks, Aldi Süd, Aldi Nord, Lidl and Netto Marken-Discount had advertised their own and cheaper house brands massively on television, radio, newspapers and online media.
The prices for the coming six months are discussed during the current trading conditions negotiations. But it is also about new products, the presentation, special offers and delivery times. In view of the current expensive phase, the price plays an important role.
“Behind the scenes, supermarkets and discounters are preparing for the heavy negotiations in autumn,” warned an insider in early June in an interview with FOCUS Online. Retailers reject sharp price increases in the double-digit percentage range. Adjustments are apparently planned for chocolate, jams, juices, ready meals, chips and coffee. Brands such as Milka, Nutella, Zentis and Kinder-Schokolade are affected.
In the current expensive phase, it is becoming increasingly difficult for consumers to shop cheaply. However, there are methods that we will list here.
Although Rewe, Kaufland, Edeka, Lidl and Aldi try to lure customers into the branches with offers, they have to calculate with higher prices.
In the past three weeks alone, six large supermarket chains have raised the prices for almost 60 products.
FOCUS Online advises: Look more closely at the weekly brochures of the supermarkets for offers, use apps, vouchers and also no-name brands to get the greatest savings potential.
Prospectuses are mailed out weekly, often between Thursday and Saturday. In some regions, the magazines can be found in your local city or weekly newspaper. Be sure to remove any “No Ads Please” stickers from the mailbox.
It is more practical to leaf through the brochures online: FOCUS current brochures
If the price of groceries, for example, does not appear to have changed, consumers should take a closer look at the packaging when shopping.
Manufacturers are increasingly adjusting the quantities in packaging. In so-called “shrinkflation”, manufacturers shrink the content or degrade the product quality in order to introduce a hidden price adjustment.
That’s not a new phenomenon. However, according to the consumer centers in Hamburg and Hesse, complaints about this have increased in recent months. It is particularly perfidious when the size and presentation of the product packaging remain unchanged.
So many consumers don’t notice anything at first. But the pack contains fewer grams or goods than before – for example fewer biscuits, tea bags or dishwashing tabs.
When shopping, you should therefore pay attention to details – if you regularly buy certain products, you should pay attention to the quantities and the exact list of ingredients on the packaging.
It is often worth comparing the basic price of products from different manufacturers – i.e. the price per kilogram or liter. This makes it easier to identify expensive packs with little content. And ultimately save with cheaper offers.
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