Douwe Egberts extends boycott to Delhaize

Challenging price negotiations have caused Douwe Egberts to make several of its products unavailable at Belgian retailer Delhaize. “We have not been able to reach an agreement”, the retailer admits.

“Disproportionate”

“Due to difficult circumstances with the supplier, several products are currently unavailable”, some cards in Delhaize’s coffee aisle state. “We negotiate prices for the upcoming year at the end of each year, we could not reach an agreement with Jacobs Douwe Egberts“, spokesperson Roel Dekelver told Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad.

The retailer acknowledges that price increases are understandable when proportionate, but: “if the same products from other brands do not experience such significant price increases, we find that unjustifiable. In the context of these negotiations, Douwe Egberts decided about two weeks ago to stop supplying our stores.”

Harvests failed

Delhaize’s competitor Colruyt provided the exact same reasoning at the end of last year when it halted orders of certain coffee varieties from the coffee producer, but those discussions now seem to be heading in a positive direction. “The situation is complex, but we assume that all Douwe Egberts products will soon be available with us again”, spokesperson Hanne Poppe said hopefully. The Belgian market leader seems to be an exception, however, as Dutch Albert Heijn and Jumbo, as well as German Aldi and Edeka are also engaged in conflicts with the coffee producer.

Parent company JDE Peet’s has been facing difficulties for some time: financial results are disappointing and last year, the search for a new CEO was very challenging. The producer is struggling to pass on the significantly increased raw material prices for coffee – a consequence of failed harvests – to its customers.