Mars Petcare has joined Kraft Heinz as major food processors with whom Tesco, the largest British supermarket chain, is feuding over prices.
Mars stopped supplying its products, which include Whiskas cat food and Pedigree dog food, to Tesco supermarkets after the retailer rejected the latest round of price increases. The interruption came less than a week after Kraft Heinz cut off shipments to Tesco for the same reason.
“With household budgets under increasing pressure, now more than ever we have a responsibility to ensure customers get the best possible value, and we will not pass on unjustifiable price increases to our customers,” Tesco said in a statement.
A Mars spokesperson told The Independent, “We are aware that some of our Petcare products are currently out of stock at Tesco stores....We cannot comment on individual commercial relationships or situations.”
Inflation in the UK, currently at 9.1%, has generally been running ahead of the rest of Europe – a situation that some commentators are attributing to Brexit, the country’s withdrawal from the European Union.