Brand-name supermarket products to see further price increases

Prices of some brand-name products in Dutch supermarkets are expected to rise again this year as manufacturers push for higher wholesale prices, according to the top executives of PLUS and Jumbo. Products such as branded coffee are likely to see steeper price hikes than private-label alternatives.

This trend was "undeniably" evident last year and is expected to continue, PLUS CEO Aart van Haren said Thursday during a roundtable discussion in Oegstgeest. "After COVID, things moved very fast due to hyperinflation. If the wholesale price of a private-label product needs to increase by 5 percent due to higher wages or energy costs, they are transparent about it. A manufacturer of a branded equivalent will just as easily tell us that their price must go up by 9 percent," he said.

Brand-name products, which are often more expensive than private labels, drive supermarket prices higher for both retailers and consumers, Van Veen said. Joris Beckers, co-founder of online supermarket Picnic, described major manufacturers as an "accelerator of inflation."

Some manufacturers are seeking price increases of 20 percent due to higher costs of raw materials such as milk, Van Haren said. He did not specify which brands or products were affected but suggested the trend spans various product categories. "It will be more extreme in some categories than others."

Jumbo CEO Ton van Veen said his supermarket chain has faced supply issues with products from Red Bull and JDE Peet's, the parent company of Douwe Egberts. A company spokesperson later confirmed that these supply problems have been resolved.