Kroger yanks Red Bull nationwide as energy drinks premium price comes under fire

Red Bull lost its wings — at least, at one major grocery chain.Kroger has pulled the energy drink from its supermarkets and gas stations as it takes a tougher stance against supplier price hikes.Kroger sold through its remaining Red Bull inventory in August and cleared the brand’s coolers and displays from stores by the end of the month, company officials told the Cincinnati Enquirer.The supermarket chain gave no reason for dropping the Austria-based brand while keeping competing energy drinks such as Monster, Alani Nu, Bloom, Rockstar and NOS on its shelves.The move comes as Kroger’s chief executive has pledged to challenge supplier price hikes amid inflation.Kroger has not confirmed whether pricing was behind the Red Bull pullout.But weeks before the company executed the nationwide removal, shoppers were already reporting signs of a dispute.“My local Kroger refusing increase in Redbull [sic] prices,” an Atlanta shopper wrote in the title of a Reddit post that drew thousands of upvotes.“Manager at my local Kroger said they will no longer receive Redbull shipments through the middle of September due to negotiating prices with Redbull distributors,” the poster added.The account could not be independently verified, but other users reported empty Red Bull shelves at Kroger-owned stores around the country.The Reddit thread quickly turned into a gripe session over the price of the popular caffeine fix.“[R]edbull can’t just set whatever price they want without some pushback,” one commenter wrote.Another complained: “Redbull prices have gotten untenable, not interested in paying that much, seems like they’ve only gotten greedier.”“I will literally NOT buy them for more than $3 each,” another user wrote.Red Bull already commands a hefty premium over several of its biggest rivals, according to a review of current Walmart prices.A 12-pack of 8.4-ounce Red Bull Original cans was recently listed for $23.98 — equal to about 23.8 cents per ounce.By...