Ben & Jerry's, Marmite & Hellman's Mayo pulled from Tesco over Brexit price dispute

Supermarket giant Tesco has stopped selling major household-name brands online after a price war erupted between Tesco and British-Dutch supplier Unilever.

It is reported that Unilever has instigated a 10 per cent wholesale price hike in its goods which include Marmite, Persil,Hellman’s Mayonnaise and Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream.

Tesco is reported to have refused and the resulting chaos has hit supplies of Unilever products in Tesco outlets.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Tesco has already withdrawn Unilever products from sale online, and stocks are reported to be running low in stores across the UK.

Unilever have yet to comment specifically on the dispute with Tesco but, speaking to Reuters earlier today Unilever chief financial officer Graeme Pitkethly played down the price rise as a normal part of doing business.

“This is just devaluation-led cost increase, this is just quite normal,” he commented.

Brexit blamed

The leader of the Liberal Democrats, Tim Farron, has blamed the Government, saying:“The chaos around Brexit is now hitting our supermarket shelves. This shows the Government don’t have a plan or even a clue.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Ahead of the referendum, the former chief executives of Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Morrisons, Marks & Spencer and B&Q all warned a drop in the pound, coupled with supply chain disruption, would cause prices to rise.

Shares fall

Shares in both Tesco and Unilever took a hit today, with early trading showing both companies are down about two per cent overnight.

Other supermarket share prices have also taken a hit, with Sainsbury’s and Morrisons both down as well.

The price drops reflect investor nerves over Brexit and the falling value of the pound.

So which brands are affected?

Persil

Surf

Comfort

Dermalogica skincare

Dove

Colman’s mustard

Hellmann’s mayonnaise

Ben and Jerry’s ice-cream

Magnum

Marmite

Knorr

Bertolli spread

Flora

Elmlea

Pot Noodle

Related topics: