Is Kroger in a food fight with Boar’s Head?
Some Greater Cincinnati shoppers say the premium deli brand's products have disappeared from deli counters, and Kroger and Boar's Head are offering few details about why.
A Kroger spokeswoman confirmed that three high-volume Marketplace stores are currently out of stock in suburban Cincinnati: in Anderson Township, Newport Pavilion and its new location on Tylersville Road
in West Chester.Other Kroger stores that normally carry the brand still have their prepackaged and fresh-cut meats and cheeses, but store officials say several local stores have less than their usual stock.
The spokeswoman for the Cincinnati-based supermarket giantwouldn't offer more details on why the stores lacked Boar's Head meats.
‘We’re leaving a lot of Kroger stores’
Florida-based Boar’s Head did not respond to a media inquiry. A representative reached through the company's customer service line said: “We’re leaving a lot of Kroger stores.” The representative said they did not know why.
The customer service representative added the disruption did not apply to any of its other grocer customers in Cincinnati, including Publix, Jungle Jim’s,IGAs, Fresh Thyme or Dorothy Lane.
With no 2026 recalls of the brand and no disruptions affecting rival retailers, some experts say the two companies may be quietly fighting over product pricing. With turkey and ham selling for $14 or more per pound and cheese more than $10 a pound, Boar's Head is a premium product that Kroger sells alongside lower-priced alternatives to expand its selection and differentiate itself from rivals. Boar's Head is not sold in Walmarts, for example.
Kroger has pledged lower prices to woo customers back
The disruption comes months after Kroger hired its first-ever outsider, Greg Foran, a formerWalmartexecutive, as its new CEO. Foran has pledged to lower pricesto jump-start flat retail sales at the retailer.
Inflation in this decade has cut into shoppers’ purchasing power, which has been a drag on retail sales. Overall inflation is up 29% since March 2020, when the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic hit, followed by wars in Ukraine and Iran. Supermarket inflation has been slightly worse, climbing 31% in the same period, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Miguel Gómez, a food marketing professor at Cornell University, said he wasn’t sure what was causing the disruption but acknowledged one possibility is a disagreement over pricing and distribution of deli products.
Gomez said supplier-retailer standoffs are uncommon because both sides depend on each other. He pointed to a 2024 dispute between PepsiCo and Carrefouras an example.
“There are precedents for public breakdowns," he said. "But these situations remain rare because the costs of severing or breaking a supply relationship are high for both grocery retailers and their vendors.”
Kroger’s house brands give it a lifeline, possibly leverage
Gomez added Kroger’s huge private label business cuts its risk: the nation’s largest supermarket chain sells lunch meat under its own brand name as well as its premium Private Selection and Simple Truth brands. It also sells cheeses under the Kroger, Private Selection, Smart Way and Murray’s labels. Those products give Kroger alternatives if Boar's Head inventory remains limited.
That added leverage is one of the reasons why large retailers maintain house brands of their own. If they can’t get enough of a product they need to sell or get it at an acceptable price, they stock their own products.
“When a premium brand like Boar’s Head pulls back, Kroger could respond by steering shoppers toward its own high-end private label deli alternatives,” Gomez added. “Strong private label portfolios are changing the balance of power in favor of supermarkets in their negotiations with brand manufacturers.”
Last year, Kroger’s private label grew larger than ever. While total company sales were almost flat at nearly $148 billion, its house brand sales soared 22% to $39 billion, up $7 billion from the previous year as strapped customers looked to stretch their budgets.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Where did the Boar's Head go? Deli brand, Kroger won't say
