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Elena Perova | Istock | Getty ImagesJust ahead of the holiday season, Walmart had encouraging news for inflation-weary shoppers: Prices on food and other staples were falling instead of rising. But the retail giant backpedaled this week, saying higher prices on many grocery items and household staples like paper goods have stuck. Food prices climbed 2.6%, fueled by a 5.1% jump in prices for food away from home, a category that includes restaurant meals and vending machine purchases. That gives their makers the ability to keep raising prices to mitigate higher costs, even as their volume drops. Even some of the biggest U.S. brands have signaled that consumers' tolerance of higher prices has worn thin.

Persons: Elena Perova, John David Rainey, Coke, James Quincey, Gregory Daco, airfares, Tyson, Fernando Fernandez, Arun Sundaram, Kraft Heinz, Chocolate, Hershey, Edward Jones, Brittany Quatrochi, Sundaram, Pringles, Kellanova, Heinz, Stefani Reynolds, Brad Thomas, CFRA's Sundaram, Thomas, Frederic J, Brown, Oscar Mayer, Greg Melich Organizations: Istock, Walmart, CNBC, Federal, Depot, Pew Research Center, Maine Foods, Unilever, Nestle, Bloomberg, Getty, Planters, Target, Kroger, AFP, U.S, PepsiCo, Frito, Evercore ISI Locations: Hershey , Pennsylvania, North America, Washington ,, Rosemead , California

☆ Coke and Pepsi stocks are both struggling — but one beverage giant has more to worry about than the other
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-28 | by ( Amelia Lucas | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Coke's overall volume rose 2% in the third quarter, while Pepsi reported flat beverage volume and a 1.5% decline in its food volume. Coke reported flat volume, while Pepsi's North American beverage unit saw volume fall 6%. "Coke has been taking share from Pepsi for many, many quarters," RBC Capital Markets analyst Nik Modi said. McDonald's has served Coke products since Ray Kroc opened his first franchised location, and is the beverage company's largest restaurant customer. International success can offset more sluggish domestic demand, like the 6% volume decline for Pepsi's North American beverage.

Persons: Luke Sharrett, Coke, James Quincey, Edward Jones, Brittany Quatrochi, Nik Modi, snacking, Modi, Quincey, McDonald's, Ray Kroc, Taco, Quatrochi Organizations: Pepsi Co, Bloomberg, Getty, Cola, PepsiCo, Coke, Atlanta -, Pepsi, Pepsi's, Gatorade, RBC Capital, Frito, U.S, Taco Bell, Yum Brands Locations: Jasper , Indiana, Atlanta, North America, United States, Europe, North, U.S, Argentina, Turkey

☆ WHO decision on aspartame could hurt diet soda sales or lead to new drink formulas
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Amelia Lucas | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Although full-calorie options still dominate the soda segment, diet sodas now represent more than a quarter of sales. Diet Coke, Coke Zero, Pepsi Zero Sugar and Diet Mountain Dew all contain aspartame. For most adults, that means drinking less than nine to 14 cans of diet soda every day. Even so, Edward Jones analyst Brittany Quatrochi said she isn't expecting a big hit to diet soda sales. Besides diet sodas, aspartame can also be found in a variety of foods, including breakfast cereals, chewing gum and ice cream.

Persons: Coke, sodas, Cowen, TD Cowen, Vivien Azer, Garrett Nelson, Gerald Pascarelli, Francesco Branca, Hugh Johnston, CFRA's Nelson, Edward Jones, Brittany Quatrochi, isn't, Keurig Dr Pepper, Kevin Keane Organizations: Health, International Agency for Research, Cancer, World Health Organization, Pepsi, WHO, CNBC, PepsiCo, Reuters, Diet Pepsi, Pepsi Zero, Coke, American Beverage Association, Keurig, ABA Locations: Diet, Coke

"Consumers are looking for convenient, filling, and nutritious meals, while at the same time paying more attention to the price tag," Kraft's chief executive Miguel Patricio said, adding the company would halt fresh price hikes in North America, Europe, Latin America and most of Asia. Retailers have also been increasingly opposing food manufacturers' price hikes. Last year, Kraft briefly stopped supplying some products to Tesco (TSCO.L) due to pricing disagreements with the British supermarket chain. It said average selling prices rose 15.2 percentage points in the fourth quarter, while sales volumes declined 4.8 percentage points. Net sales rose 10% to $7.38 billion, beating the estimate of $7.27 billion.

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