Overview

• Loblaw Cos. Ltd. notified retailers on June 4 that it would remove all Folgers products after weeks of talks with J. M. Smucker Co. failed to resolve the pricing dispute.
• The retailer said the supplier’s proposed price increases were “unreasonable and unjustified based on underlying costs” and would unfairly burden Canadian shoppers.
• J. M. Smucker Co. raised Folgers prices last June and October, and CEO Mark Smucker warned in February that further hikes were likely.
• Statistics Canada data show coffee and tea prices rose 13.4% year over year in April, driven by extreme weather, a weak Canadian dollar and Canada’s retaliatory U.S. tariffs.
• Loblaw expects most stores to run out of Folgers stock within two weeks and has provided customers with a list of alternative coffee brands.