Hula Hoops war rages on supermarket shelves

Croky has lost the distribution licence of Hula Hoops to the German company Chio, and the crisp manufacturer is finding that hard to stomach. The two companies are now fighting a tough row, both in court and in supermarkets.

Ring-shaped duel

For more than 50 years, Croky was allowed to distribute Hula Hoops’ ringed snacks in the Benelux, but since July 1, that licence agreement has come to an end. German brand owner Intersnack now distributes the products through its subsidiary Chio. To avoid living un-ringed, Croky promptly launched its own version: Croky Rings, immediately marketed with a hefty discount campaign, reports De Tijd.

The crisps can be found at half price at Belgian supermarket chains Delhaize, Carrefour and Colruyt. If they can still be found, that is, as some supermarkets are already struggling with empty shelves due to the success. Chio could not stay behind and since a few weeks Hula Hoops too has been running 1+1 promotions at Delhaize and Albert Heijn. Meanwhile, supermarkets feel compelled to take sides. Since Croky was already on the shelves at quite a few supermarkets, Colruyt Group and its Retail Partners opted for Croky Rings, as did Carrefour. Ahold Delhaize offers them both.

However, the battle is also being fought in court. Both Croky and Chio took each other to court, albeit in different languages: Croky’s parent company went to the Dutch-speaking Brussels commercial tribunal, Intersnack to its French-speaking counterpart. Croky’s owner argues that Chio’s new packaging is too similar to ‘their’ former packaging, while the Germans resent the fact that Croky is now marketing its own ring-shaped snacks. How and where the case will proceed will be discussed on 31 October.