Price hike in dairy products
Photo: Hila Dafna
Zim: Listening to consumers
Photo: Hagit Kafri
Facebook protest wins price battle
Supermarket chains announce will lower prices of dairy products after thousands threaten boycott
A Facebook battle against rising prices of dairy products in Israel claimed a significant victory Wednesday as two supermarket chains announced they would submit to the people's demands and lower prices.
The Protest
Aviel Magnezi
As cost of dairy product nears that of gas, Facebook group calls for boycott of high-priced foods. 'No reason for us to be screwed,' organizer says. Group has more than 20,000 members
The Shufersal supermarket chain also joined in, offering customers an additional container of cottage cheese for each purchase from the Tnuva or Tara brands.
"We are listening to the protesting consumers," said Levy. "I am marking down the price of cottage cheese because the online protest was mainly about this."
The Facebook protest began after Israel's dairy producers announced a significant increase in prices. Tnuva marked up its products by 7%, Strauss announced a 2.5-15% increase in the prices of dairy products and sweets, and Unilever raised all prices by 12%.
"We considered the prices of housing, we joined and opened groups, but then we realized that the protest must start in a place that applies to the entire public," said Yitzhak Alrov, a cantor from Bnei Brak who initiated the measure.
The Facebook group he opened, titled "Consumer Boycott of Food Products," threatened to shun a new Israeli-made product whose price is 50% higher than in Europe or the United States each month.
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