German supermarkets pull Haribo gummy bears
October 1, 2020
Major German supermarket chains Lidl and Edeka have stopped or reduced sales of Haribo products as they battle with the sweetsmaker over prices. With shoppers increasingly watching their wallets amid the economic fallout brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, the stores are loathe to raise the pricetag for a packet of the famous gummy bears.
According to German media outlet CHIP, Haribo wanted to raise the price of a 360 gram (12.7 ounce) package of bears from €1.19 ($1.40) to €1.29. The Bonn-based company cited the higher prices for the raw ingredients needed to produce its candy brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.
Discount supermarket chain Lidl responded to the proposed price hike by pulling Haribo products from its shelves in August, while continuing to sell candy from competing sweetsmakers.
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"We can confirm that we currently find ourselves in tough price negotiations with the retailers," Haribo told the Lebensmittelzeitung at the end of August.
Now Edeka, Germany's largest supermarket chain, has followed suit. According to a report by newsmagazine Der Spiegel, Edeka has cut sales of Haribo products by 40%.
Meanwhile, competitor Aldi has responded to the gummy bear bickering by featuring Haribo products prominently in recent advertisements. Branches of both Aldi Nord, which is responsible for stores in northern Germany, and Aldi Süd, which is responsible for stores in southern Germany, have been offering the gummy bears at discount prices.
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