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 comparison, a 24-pack of 16-ounce Monster Original cans was listed on Walmart.com for $46.99, or about 12.2 cents per ounce.
A 12-pack of 12-ounce Celsius came to 14.9 cents per ounce, while comparable multipacks of Ghost and Alani Nu worked out to 15.6 cents and 16 cents per ounce, respectively.
The gap gets even wider when the drinks are measured by their caffeine punch.
An 8.4-ounce Red Bull contains 80 milligrams of caffeine, putting the Walmart 12-pack at roughly $2.50 per 100 milligrams of caffeine.
Celsius, by contrast, worked out to about 89 cents per 100 milligrams, followed by Alani Nu at 96 cents, Monster at $1.11 and Ghost at $1.25.
These comparisons are snapshots of current public retail prices rather than nationwide averages, and prices can vary by package size, retailer, location and promotion.
Buying Red Bull in bulk can substantially cut the cost.
Still, even discounts have not silenced complaints from fans as Red Bull disappears from one of the country’s biggest supermarket chains.
Some shoppers said on Reddit they would simply switch brands.
One self-described longtime Red Bull drinker said rising prices and shrinking shelf space had already pushed him toward Ghost, C4 and Rockstar, citing frequent discounts on rival drinks.
Others said they planned to shop elsewhere rather than give up Red Bull — highlighting the gamble for both sides if the standoff drags on.
The Post has sought comment from Kroger and Red Bull.
