The trading company was not supplied by Mars for a year and a half. Now there is an agreement. Many of the branded products will soon be available to customers again – first of all, chewing gum.
The supermarket chain Edeka and the US food company Mars have settled their year-and-a-half-long dispute over prices. Both sides confirmed this on Tuesday. Well-known Mars products will gradually return to the shelves of Edeka and the discount subsidiary Netto in February.
Chewing gum varieties such as Airwaves and Wrigley’s Extra will be the first to be available to customers again. This will be followed by chocolate bars (Mars, Snickers, Bounty), pet food (Whiskas, Chappi) and staples such as rice (Uncle Ben’s) and pasta dishes (Mirácoli).
“We are pleased to be able to offer our customers Mars items again soon,” said an Edeka spokesman. Mars said: “Our interest is to work in partnership and successfully with all trading companies.” We look forward to having our products back in Edeka stores soon. The “Lebensmittel Zeitung”, among others, reported on this.
In total, around half of the approximately 400 Mars products should be available again. Edeka did not comment on the details of the agreement. They agreed on lower prices and significantly better conditions than Mars originally demanded.
The dispute broke out in August 2022. The trigger was price negotiations between the food company and the food retailer. According to media reports, Mars is said to have demanded price increases of 20 percent. The explanation was: Rising costs would be absorbed internally as best as possible. “However, a certain amount of price adjustment is necessary.” Edeka did not want to accept the demands at the time. The food company then stopped deliveries. Other trading companies were also affected. Edeka is still in dispute with other brand manufacturers.
Source: Stern
