Business

The Yogurt Files: French Dairy Bosses Caught Colluding

Published

11 years ago

March 12, 2015

A man takes a yogurt pack from a refrigerator in a supermarket in Paris, Thursday, March 12, 2015. France’s competition authority handed the country’s top yogurt makers euro192 million ($203 million) in fines Thursday for fixing prices over the course of several years, striking secret deals in hotel rooms and on special phone lines created to avoid detection. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

ANGELA CHARLTON, Associated Press

PARIS (AP) — Frantic text messages between French CEOs about cottage cheese prices. Clandestine smoke breaks in a Left Bank apartment to collude on yogurt strategy.

A ruling Thursday by France’s competition authority makes for rich reading, detailing a web of secret meetings, hand-written charts and phone exchanges over six years to fix prices on many of the yogurt-related goods on French supermarket shelves.

Eleven companies were hit with 192 million euros ($203 million) in fines for the cartel, including Yoplait and Lactalis and makers of most of the store-brand yogurt sold around France.

Lactalis did not contest the accusations, but said it would appeal the decision, arguing in a statement that the fines “overestimate in an obvious way the gravity of the facts, and their impact on the economy.” The company said it is committed to obeying the law.

The cartel was uncovered thanks to a special procedure that allows companies to report their own price-fixing activity to regulators in exchange for reduced punishment. Yoplait, majority owned by U.S.-based General Mills Inc., was the first company to report the activity, and was given no fines.

Company bosses sketched out secret deals in hotel rooms and on special phone lines created to avoid detection. Sometimes they’d meet at Le Chien Qui Fume, an iconic Paris cafe, one boss is quoted in the investigation documents as saying. His counterparts then “came to my apartment a few times to continue the conversation and smoke a cigarette,” he added.

A Yoplait executive used a special cell phone dedicated to the cartel, paid for by Yoplait but not officially linked to him in any way. An executive with dairy maker Senagral used a special cell phone taken out in his girlfriend’s name.

Senagral, which specializes in store-brand dairy products, received the biggest fine, 46 million euros. The regulator said had 316 million euros in sales of price-fixed yogurts in 2011, more than any of the other companies.

The ruling describes how the companies were facing rising milk and packaging costs, and hints at some desperation. One executive lamented in a text message a “totally crazy price” at one supermarket, saying he needed a higher price or else “I’ll sink!!!”

Another text message protested a low price seen on a supermarket advertisement: “vanilla-flavored cottage cheese 8 x 100 grams at 1.19 euros?! Big problem for announcing rises!”

Amal Taleb, lawyer for consumer group UFC Que Choisir, hailed the investigation but said it’s too bad that French consumers, who are big buyers of yogurt, won’t benefit. The fines go to the public treasury.

“The consumer is the main victim,” she told The Associated Press, but added that it’s virtually impossible to calculate how much money consumers lost.

“Did you save your yogurt receipts from 2011? Me neither,” she said. But overall she said it was a “very good thing” that regulators are cracking down on price-fixing.

The ruling found that the companies agreed on how and when to raise prices from 2006 to 2012, and divided up volumes.

The last big ruling by the competition authority targeted makers of toothpaste, shampoo and cleaning products. The regulator fined 13 consumer-products makers about 950 million euros for price-fixing, including U.S.-based Colgate-Palmolive, Procter & Gamble, and Sara Lee and Anglo-Dutch firm Unilever.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Related Topics:cottage cheese france France yogurt yogurt Yoplait

Up Next

The Yogurt Files: French Dairy Bosses Caught Colluding

Don't Miss

Inside Big Taxi’s Dirty War With Uber

Oakland Post

Click to comment

Activism

Oakland Post: Week of March 18 – 24, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of March 18 – 24, 2026

Published

2 weeks ago

March 22, 2026

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Advice

Financial Wellness and Mental Health: Managing Money Stress in College 

While everyone’s financial situation is unique, several common sources of stress have the potential to strain your financial health. These include financial and economic uncertainty, existing debts, unexpected expenses, and mental or physical health changes. Financial stress may differ from situation to situation, but understanding the factors contributing to yours may help you begin to craft a plan for your unique circumstances.

Published

3 weeks ago

March 17, 2026

Oakland Post

Sponsored by JPMorganChase

As a college student, managing financial responsibilities can be stressful.

If you’ve found yourself staying up late thinking about your finances or just feeling anxious overall about your financial future, you’re not alone. In one survey, 78% of college students who reported financial stress had negative impacts on their mental health, and 59% considered dropping out. While finances can impact overall stress, taking steps to manage your finances can support your mental, emotional and physical well-being.

When it comes to money, the sources of stress may look different for each student, but identifying the underlying causes and setting goals accordingly may help you feel more confident about your financial future.

Consider these strategies to help improve your financial wellness and reduce stress.

Understand what causes financial stress

2. Determine your financial priorities

Start by reflecting on your financial priorities. For students this often includes paying for school or paying off student loans, studying abroad, saving for spring break, building an emergency fund, paying down credit card debt or buying a car. Name the milestones that are most important to you, and plan accordingly.

3. Create a plan and stick to it

While setting actionable goals starts you on the journey to better financial health, it’s essential to craft a plan to follow through. Identifying and committing to a savings plan may give you a greater sense of control over your finances, which may help reduce your stress. Creating and sticking to a budget allows you to better track where your money is going so you may spend less and save more.

4. Pay down debt

Many students have some form of debt and want to make progress toward reducing their debt obligations. One option is the debt avalanche method, which focuses on paying off your debt with the highest interest rate first, then moving on to the debt with the next-highest interest rate. Another is the debt snowball method, which builds momentum by paying off your smallest debt balance, and then working your way up to the largest amounts.

5. Build your financial resilience

Some financial stress may be inevitable, but building financial resilience may allow you to overcome obstacles more easily. The more you learn about managing your money, for instance, the more prepared you’ll feel if the unexpected happens. Growing your emergency savings also may increase resilience since you’ll be more financially prepared to cover unexpected expenses or pay your living expenses.

6. Seek help and support

Many colleges have resources to help students experiencing financial stress, like financial literacy courses or funds that provide some assistance for students in need. Talk to your admissions counselor or advisor about your concerns, and they can direct you to sources of support. Your school’s counseling center can also be a great resource for mental health assistance if you’re struggling with financial stress.

The bottom line

Financial stress can affect college students’ health and wellbeing, but it doesn’t have to derail your dreams. Setting smart financial goals and developing simple plans to achieve them may help ease your stress. Revisit and adjust your plan as needed to ensure it continues to work for you, and seek additional support on campus as needed to help keep you on track.

 JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. Member FDIC