Jumbo boycotting Bertolli, Douwe Egberts, Ferrero

A pricing conflict has driven supermarket chains Jumbo and C1000 to boycott several Douwe Egberts and Ferrero products.

Jumbo has refused to make statements about the issue, but a source at supplier deOleo Nederland told Distrifood.nl that it concerns a commercial conflict that followed failed harvests in Italy and Spain. That drove up the price for olive oil.

Spokespeople for the brands have confirmed that their products are being boycotted and that they are in talks with the chains. “I can confirm that Jumbo is not buying our products for a few weeks now,” said Douwe Egberts spokesman Norbert Cappetti. He listed Kinder, Nutella, Tic Tac and Ferrero; olive oil brand Bertolli is also being kept off the shelves.

The boycott is causing some discomfort for Jumbo franchisers, some of whom are now buying the boycotted products from third party suppliers so they don’t disappoint customers. “Many understand the decision to boycott though, because the margins for some products are minimal,” franchiser told Distrifood.

Jumbo is fresh out of a pricing conflict with Grolsch. The Dutch beer has meanwhile returned on the shelves at Jumbo.