Kroger has pulled Red Bull from every shelf in the Tri-State and removed Boar's Head deli meats from some Cincinnati-area stores, including at least three high-volume locations in the city.
The change hits all local Kroger stores, including those in Hyde Park and Oakley, where Red Bull is no longer available. It is unclear which local stores have also lost Boar's Head products.
The nation's largest grocery chain sold its last Red Bull products in August and removed branded coolers and displays from all stores nationwide by Aug. 31, Kroger confirmed to USA TODAY. The company declined to explain why.
A Kroger employee told WCPO the company and Red Bull are in a dispute, with no new shipments expected.
Signs in affected deli departments read: "Boar's Head products will no longer be offered at this location."
Boar's Head deli meats, including oven-roasted and maple honey turkey, had climbed to $14.99 a pound, WCPO reported. On Friday, Sept. 11, Kroger confirmed to USA TODAY that three high-volume Cincinnati stores were out of Boar's Head stock.
Boar's Head said in a statement that it remains committed to the Cincinnati market and that its products are still available in the Tri-State, including at some Kroger stores. Shoppers can also find the brand at Jungle Jim's, Publix, Fresh Thyme and Dorothy Lane, according to USA TODAY.
New CEO pushes back on suppliers
The removals follow the arrival of CEO Greg Foran, who joined Kroger in February. Foran previously worked at Walmart, a company known for pressuring suppliers on price.
During a Friday, Sept. 11 earnings call, Foran said he would not tolerate vendors "using inflation" to boost sales when shoppers were "under pressure." He said Kroger plans to expand its value private brand, Smart Way, from about 130 items to 1,000.
Kroger's private-label products generated $39 billion in sales last year, more than a quarter of the company's total $148 billion in revenue, according to USA TODAY.
Analysts flag trade-offs
Dr. Ben Brennan, who tracks grocery prices at the University of Cincinnati's Alpaugh Family Economics Center, said the Boar's Head removal fits a pattern. Households are switching to store brands and away from high-ticket name brands, he told WKRC.
Brennan said grocery prices in the Tri-State rose 1% in August alone. He added that Red Bull may have a legitimate reason for higher costs: aluminum and steel tariffs have driven up prices for canned products.
Janet Harrah, an economic analyst at Northern Kentucky University, said Kroger's size gives it leverage most grocers lack. But pulling a popular product carries a real downside.
"The real risk isn't losing the Red Bull sale. It's losing the grocery cart," Harrah told WKRC.
The chain and its banners lost more than $12 billion in consumer packaged goods spending to Amazon, Walmart and Costco over the past year, according to a September WKRC analysis of Numerator data. Identical sales excluding fuel grew just 0.2% in the second quarter.
Red Bull is still available at Target and Walmart. Kroger continues to stock other energy drink brands including Monster, Rockstar and Alani Nu. No timeline has been announced for when either Red Bull or Boar's Head might return to all Kroger shelves.
