Forty-five euros more per month in the shopping cart: this is the increase in the average French basket due to inflation, according to a Senate report dated July 2022. Oil, meat, pasta, flour: most consumer goods have seen their prices soar and households’ purchasing power reduced. In the midst of soaring prices, we investigated for months in an environment where omerta reigns for fear of reprisals: mass distribution.
The strong method to make suppliers bend
For “Further Investigation”, a representative of an international agri-food brand agreed to secretly record his negotiations with two major brands. Pressure strokes, threats of delisting, endless arm wrestling: all the blows seem allowed! Some hypermarkets do not hesitate to use the strong method to make their suppliers bend.
Once the negotiations are over, the pressure does not fall: you will discover the countless penalties imposed by the major brands on their suppliers. At the slightest delay, in the event of a missing package or incorrect labeling, financial penalties, sometimes very significant, are automatically applied. A windfall that would represent 250 million euros each year for all brands, according to the Senate.
Little Tricks to Preserve Profits
Suppliers, too, are not left out when it comes to finding new recipes to preserve their margins… neither seen nor known. Change of packaging or grammage, we will also reveal the little tricks of the food industry to discreetly increase their prices. In this crucial back-to-school period for the purchasing power of the French, “Additional investigation” behind the scenes, not always brilliant, in our hypermarkets.
An investigation by Rémi Delescluse with STP Productions.
The editorial staff of “Complément d’Enquête” invites you to comment on the program on Facebook Or on Twitter with the hashtag #ComplementDenquete.
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