The lid on Swedish soft drink prices in Norway: Now Cola and Pepsi Max are much more expensive

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After the New Year, however, the chains turned up the price. Now Coca-Cola without sugar is 25 percent more expensive and Pepsi Max (1.5 lx 4) 20 percent more expensive. Coca-Cola without sugar is up from 39.90 to 49.90 kroner (plus deposit), while Pepsi Max is up from 49.90 to 59.90 kroner (plus deposit) at all three low-price chains.

Also read: Clear message from Norwegian grocery giants: Now food prices are rising

– Never say when prices go up

– The food chains give with one hand and take with the other – it is the bottom line that counts after all. We consumers can not trust that the chains want anything other than to make money by confusing us with ups and downs.

Rune Nikolaisen, who is behind Gjerrigknark.com, tells Nettavisen.

He thinks it is good that the chains want to help people choose healthy soft drinks, but points out that they are happy to raise prices without a peep.

– As most people know, the shops are good at telling us when prices go down, but never when prices go up, he says.

– Not a short-term offer

Kristine Aakvaag Arvin, communications manager at Kiwi, explains the reason why the price has been increased despite what the Kiwi manager said last summer.

– We said at the time that it was a fixed price forwards and not a short-term offer. We kept the award for over half a year, she tells Nettavisen.

She points out that prices are affected by several factors, including negotiations with suppliers and the price picture in the market.

Also read: Tax cuts should slow down cross-border trade: – It has zero effect!

When asked if they no longer see soft drinks as a lure that makes people choose to shop in Sweden instead of shopping locally in Norway, or if it is about stricter entry rules right now, Arvin answers the following:

– The change has absolutely nothing to do with restrictions.

Rejects price cooperation

Arvin says that soft drinks are an important commodity for them, and Kiwi believes that the four-packs still have a very good price.

– A year ago, the price of a four-pack of Coca Cola without sugar was 99 kroner. The tax cut last year was NOK 12.50 for a four-pack, so we have still cut a lot – NOK 36.6 more than the tax cut, she says.

Arvin also denies that the chains have a price collaboration, even though they all reduced prices over the New Year.

– There is fierce competition for customers and we obviously have no contact with competitors, she says.

Also read: Now the soda is removed from the store shelves for good

Think the price is abnormally low

– These products have since this summer been sold at an abnormally low price, says communications manager Hanne Knudsen to Nettavisen, about the price level of Coca-Cola without sugar and Pepsi Max.

Rema 1000 believes the price they now have on Coca-Cola and Pepsi Max is at a more normal price level than it has been in the last six months. But prices are still lower than before, Knudsen points out.

When asked if the low-price chains have a price collaboration, since they raised prices at the same time over the New Year, Knudsen answers the following:

– Prices change all the time, and there is nothing mysterious about it. Of course, we follow what is happening in the market so that we can deliver on our ambition “always low prices”, she says.

In Nettavisen’s case in June, Rema said that they should have the lowest prices for all sugar-free soft drinks. If they want to follow up on whether Kiwi lowers the price again, they will not answer.

– In that case, time will tell! We at Rema 1000 always work to have the lowest prices, says Knudsen.