Class Action Lawsuit Claims PepsiCo Gives Walmart Discounted Prices, Unfair Advantages Over Other Retailers

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A proposed class action lawsuit alleges that PepsiCo, Inc. and bottling subsidiary Pepsico Beverage Sales have given Walmart, Pepsi’s largest customer, unfair price advantages and other allowances not available to competing retailers.

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The 20-page lawsuit claims that to “keep Walmart happy,” PepsiCo has exclusively provided the retail giant with certain promotional payments, allowances and services intended to give the superstore chain an advantage over competitors in the Pepsi soft drink resale space. This includes selling its products to Walmart at a discounted price in comparison to surrounding stores and other retailers, the filing asserts.

In exchange, Walmart promotes Pepsi products through multimedia advertising, flashy in-store displays and advantageous placement compared to other brands and items, the suit contends. These promotional services demonstrably drive Pepsi product sales at Walmart stores, which account for approximately 11 percent of PepsiCo’s total net revenue, the case claims.

According to the complaint, as of July 1, 2025, the price of a two-liter Pepsi soda at a Massachusetts Walmart location was up to 39 percent less than what a consumer would pay for the same soft drink at a nearby Walgreens, and around 40 percent cheaper than the listed price at CVS and 7-Eleven.

The suit alleges that PepsiCo’s price discrimination and unfair dealings have given Walmart a leg up on other retailers, which must, in turn, either charge consumers an artificially inflated price or choose not to purchase Pepsi products. This has put Walmart’s competitors at a significant disadvantage and cost them business, the case argues.

The filing claims that PepsiCo’s exclusive practices violate the federal Robinson-Patman Act, which prohibits price discrimination and other deceptive tactics by which businesses can gain an unfair advantage.

As the complaint tells it, the Federal Trade Commission took action against PepsiCo in January of this year over similar allegations of anticompetitive conduct in connection with a major retailer.

“While redacted from the publicly-filed complaint, the retailer in question is widely understood to have been Walmart,” the suit says.

The PepsiCo lawsuit looks to represent all retailers other than Walmart that purchased Pepsi soft drinks directly from the defendants.

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