As inflation stays high, grocery stores pull back on rising food prices
Grocery stores regularly negotiate with suppliers, such as multinational food and home goods giants like Unilever and Procter & Gamble, to set prices. Those negotiations often involve grocers signaling their in-house alternatives to name-brand items in an effort to ensure competitive price levels.Iowa-based Hy-Vee, for example, said it might mention products supplied by Topco, a cooperative of grocery stores that produces its own private-label products, in discussions with major suppliers of baked goods.Grocery stores are increasingly testing the extent of their bargaining power this year, as consumers continue to gravitate toward grocery store "private label" products. Private labels accounted for…
