Heinz and Tesco call off war on pricing as lorries hit the road to re-stock shelves

HEINZ and Tesco have called off a pricing bust up as lorries hit the road to restock shelves.

The manufacturer, which is behind some of the UK's most popular food brands, and the supermarket giant have reached an agreement that will see Heinz products returned to stores.

In a joint statement, they said: "The full range of Heinz products return to Tesco shelves and online, continuing to offer our customers great value on the nation’s favourite Heinz varieties."

A Tesco spokesman said lorries filled with favourites such Heinz Tomato Ketchup and Beanz will hit the road again shortly, and that shelves will be filled over the next few days.

It comes after Tesco shelves were left bare of popular Heinz products and dozens of items were unavailable to buy online.

Shoppers shared photos of empty shelves in Tesco supermarkets due to the cost stand-off.

Pet food products made by manufacturing giant mars, including Whiskas, Dreamies and Pedigree, are still not available from the supermarket giant following a similar dispute over pricing.

Other brands affected by the pricing stand-off are Sheba and Crave.

Inflation has hit a 10-year high, with many manufacturers blaming rising costs as they hike prices for customers. 

Mars is understood to have stopped supplying products to Tesco, with shoppers already spotting gaps in stores. 

The supermarket giant continues to supply a wide range of alternative branded and own-branded pet food products. 

A Mars spokesperson said: “We are aware that some of our Petcare products are currently out of stock at Tesco stores.

"We want to reassure pet owners that their favourite products are in supply and remain widely available in the UK marketplace.

"There are many reasons why our products may be out of stock in certain stores from time to time.

"We cannot comment on individual commercial relationships or situations.”

It is not the first time Tesco has pulled items from its shelves following a dispute with a manufacturer.

Products such as Marmite and Pot Noodle were removed from the retailer's website in 2016 after makers Unilever claimed Brexit had forced them to hike their prices.

Uniilever are one of the UK's biggest suppliers of branded foods and households good.

The brands it stopped delivering to Tesco included PG Tips, Ben & Jerry's, Sure and Domestos.