Is Coca-Cola restricting competition in the German beverage market? The Federal Cartel Office wants to investigate this allegation in abuse proceedings.
Germany’s top competition watchdogs are targeting Coca-Cola. The Federal Cartel Office announced that it had initiated abuse proceedings against Coca-Cola Europacific Partners Deutschland GmbH. The company takes over the bottling and distribution of all of the group’s beverage brands in Germany on behalf of the Coca-Cola Company.
“There are indications that Coca-Cola could hinder other companies’ competitive opportunities through the design of its conditions towards German food retailers, in particular the discount structure,” explained Cartel Office boss Andreas Mundt. “We will now look into this in more detail.” According to its own information, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners is the largest beverage company in Germany.
Large product range
The Federal Cartel Office first wants to examine whether Coca-Cola has a dominant position in the soft drinks market. This would mean that it would be subject to special competition requirements. The competition watchdogs are also investigating whether the conditions required by German food retailers meet these requirements.
This includes the question of whether Coca-Cola improperly encourages food retailers to purchase, place on the shelf and advertise the company’s entire product range. This could have put other beverage manufacturers at an anti-competitive disadvantage. The beverage giant’s product range includes the brands Fanta, Sprite, Mezzo Mix and Vio.
“Fair principle of performance and consideration”
The company declared that it would cooperate with the cartel office. “We are convinced that the proven business model of Coca-Cola Europacific Partners in Germany is legally compliant with a balanced price and conditions concept,” said Vice President Andrea Weckwert. “It is based on a fair principle of performance and consideration.”
In addition to Coca-Cola, competitors and food retail companies can also comment on the process. In the past, the beverage company had been at odds with some German retailers such as Edeka in price negotiations.