S4E3 - Is Kroger Cutting Red Bull's Wings?

Nearly 2,700 stores. Zero cans of Red Bull. Is Kroger fighting for shoppers or fighting for margin?

Michael Stanisz and Avy Punwasee, managing partners at Revenue Management Labs (RML), break down one of the biggest retailer vs. supplier standoffs of 2026. Kroger's new CEO Greg Foran has vowed to push back on suppliers raising prices, and Red Bull's coolers were gone by August 31. Two heavyweights are in the ring and nobody knows who blinks first.

In this episode: - Why Kroger picked Red Bull (and not eggs or bread) to take a stand on price - Consumer champion or brilliant PR? How "we're fighting for you" positioning really works - Slotting fees, listing fees, and the hidden charges shoppers never see - The stop-ship story: how one CPG brand got Walmart to accept a price increase in 24 hours - Red Bull's next move: cross-banner investment, DTC, and Amazon - The signal this sends to every manufacturer planning a price increase

If you work in CPG, retail, or pricing strategy, this is a masterclass in negotiation leverage and channel power.

The Pricing Guys is produced by Revenue Management Labs, a pricing and revenue management consultancy with offices in Toronto, New York, and London. Learn more at revenueml.com.