Colruyt and Mondelez at loggerheads again: empty shelves for Côte d’Or milk chocolate

The annual price negotiations between Colruyt Group and Mondelez are once again proving difficult. As a result, Colruyt and Okay have not been restocked with Côte d’Or milk chocolate bars for weeks, reports Het Nieuwsblad.

New price conflict

Anyone looking for a Côte d’Or milk chocolate bar in a Colruyt or Okay store in recent weeks has been met with empty shelves. The Belgian retailer and manufacturer Mondelez have not (yet) reached an agreement on the new annual terms and conditions, resulting in part of the range temporarily disappearing.

Colruyt Group admits to Het Nieuwsblad that supplies will remain unavailable for the time being. “At the moment, certain Côte d’Or products are indeed temporarily unavailable in our stores,” says spokesperson Eva Biltereyst. “We are currently in talks with Mondelez, and those talks are constructive. We therefore expect to reach an agreement soon and have the products back in our stores.”

In the spring of 2023—from May to June— there was already a protracted conflict between Mondelez and Colruyt Group. At that time, almost the entire range was eventually missing. Chocolate became significantly more expensive last year because cocoa prices reached unprecedented record highs. Now that cocoa prices on the world market are normalizing, retailers may be increasing pressure to lower consumer prices as well.