Red Bull investigated by European Union for antitrust violations
Brussels suspects that the company pressured stores to limit the visibility of rival brands and maintain high prices.
Red Bull cans in New York
The European Union on Thursday announced an investigation into energy drink maker Red Bull. The bloc claimed to have suspicions that the Austrian company abused its dominant market position and may have forced Europeans to pay higher prices.
According to AFP, the European Commission expressed concern over the "monetary and non-monetary incentives" offered by Red Bull to customers such as supermarkets and gas stations to stop selling rival energy drinks in volumes above 250 milliliters.
It also suspects that Red Bull tried to reduce the visibility of its rivals in those stores with "monetary and non-monetary incentives," but did not mention other E.U. states.
E.U. antitrust investigators raided Red Bull's premises in 2023, a move the company challenged in court. In October, an E.U. high court ruled that the decision to inspect Red Bull was well-founded, according to Brussels.
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There is no deadline for the E.U.'s powerful antitrust regulator to complete its investigation and the opening of an inquiry does not prejudge the outcome.
"We want to see if these practices may be keeping prices high and limiting choice of energy drinks for consumers," said E.U. competition chief Teresa Ribera.
"This investigation is part of the commission's continued efforts to enforce competition rules in the food supply chain to the benefit of European consumers," Ribera said.
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