Skip to content

FoodDrinkEurope survey on Unfair Trading Practices

Thank you for participating in our survey. Your feedback is important.
Introduction

As part of the upcoming evaluation and potential revision of the EU Directive on Unfair Trading Practices (Directive (EU) 2019/633), FoodDrinkEurope’s Secretariat is collecting company insights to inform our advocacy and technical work.

This survey aims to gather up-to-date evidence from companies operating across Europe regarding:

· Current business relationships with retailers and buying alliances;

· The prevalence and evolution of practices that may be considered unfair;

· The practical impact of the Directive since its entry into force;

· Emerging trends and challenges not currently covered by the existing legislation.

Your responses will be treated confidentially and aggregated to support FoodDrinkEurope’s position in discussions with EU institutions. Responses will not be traceable to individual respondents. We are aware that some of the requested data may be difficult to obtain precisely; in such cases, please provide your best estimate.

The estimated time for completing this survey is about 10 minutes. We expect your answers by 13 June 2025.
Part 1 - Your company profile
1. In which EU Member State is your company primarily operating?
2. In cases where your company is present in several EU countries, do your answers in this survey relate to:
3. Are you ...
4. What is your 2024 worldwide turnover range?
5. Is your company an international or a local company?
6. On 100% of your annual sales, which percentage of sales is taken by your top 3 customers in 2024?
Part 2 - Margin 2024

The purpose of this question is to have an idea of the gross margin that the retailer makes after selling your products, meaning consumer prices divided by retailers’ buying price. We will use the aggregated information in our contacts with stakeholders.
1. [Brands producers] Average estimated weighted retailer gross margin on your brands in 2024
2. [PL producers] Average estimated weighted retailer gross margin on your PL brands in 2024
Part 3 - Retail alliances / buying groups
1. Do you do business with retail alliances / buying groups?
2. What % of turnover was paid to retail alliances / buying groups?
3. What percentage of your assortment is part of this negotiation?
Part 4 - Price increases
1. [Brands producers] On average, what was the evolution of your net-net(1) prices to the retailers?
(1) final price received after all discounts and allowances
In 2025 vs 2024
In 2024 vs 2023
Increase of more than 5%
Increase between 2% and 5%
Increase between 0% and 2%
Stable 0%
Decrease between 0% and -2%
Decrease between -2% and -5%
Decrease of more than -5%
Don’t know / Cannot share
2. [PL producers] On average, what was the evolution of your net-net(1) prices to the retailers?
(1) final price received after all discounts and allowances
In 2025 vs 2024
In 2024 vs 2023
Increase of more than 5%
Increase between 2% and 5%
Increase between 0% and 2%
Stable 0%
Decrease between 0% and -2%
Decrease between -2% and -5%
Decrease of more than -5%
Don’t know / Cannot share
3. [Brands producers] On average, what was the evolution of your retail selling prices?
In 2025 vs 2024
In 2024 vs 2023
Increase of more than 5%
Increase between 2% and 5%
Increase between 0% and 2%
Stable 0%
Decrease between 0% and -2%
Decrease between -2% and -5%
Decrease of more than -5%
Don’t know / Cannot share
4. [PL producers] On average, what was the evolution of your retail selling prices?
In 2025 vs 2024
In 2024 vs 2023
Increase of more than 5%
Increase between 2% and 5%
Increase between 0% and 2%
Stable 0%
Decrease between 0% and -2%
Decrease between -2% and -5%
Decrease of more than -5%
Don’t know / Cannot share
Part 5 - Unfair Trading Practices
1. Were you confronted to the following unfair trading practices carried out by retail customers in 2023-2024?
2. Do you face any other practice you consider unfair that is not listed in the previous question?
3. How would you say that unfair trading practices have evolved compared to five years ago?
4. [Brands producers] Do you know, during 2023-2024, any case where retail customers have misused your company’s sensitive information that you shared during negotiation to develop new private labels to compete against your new products?
5. [If yes] Please specify the total number of cases during 2023-2024?
Part 6 - Effect of these unfair trading practices
1. How have these unfair trading practices negatively affected your business?
Part 7 - Action taken
1. [Brands producers] Have you taken any step beyond discussing with your retail customer to address the unfair trading practice(s)?
2. [PL producers] Have you taken any step beyond discussing with your retail customer to address the unfair trading practice(s)?
3. [Brands producers] If no action was taken in response to the unfair trading practice(s), what were the main reasons?
4. [PL producers] If no action was taken in response to the unfair trading practice(s), what were the main reasons?