12 May 2026 The Woolworths-Beyers Chocolates furore
The collapse of the 34‑year Woolworths–Beyers Chocolates partnership has triggered a wave of intense public commentary, with both sides taking their case to the media in a way rarely seen in South Africa’s supplier–retailer relationships.…
Here’s a synopsis of the saga…..
Beyers Chocolates — once the sole producer of every Woolworths chocolate product two decades ago — has entered liquidation after a bitter fallout with the retailer.
Founder Kees Beyers claims Woolworths’ “abuse of power” triggered the collapse, arguing that losing a customer responsible for roughly 50% of turnover made it “almost impossible” to continue operating
The shutdown ends a 39‑year run and affects around 700 employees who recently lost their jobs following the company’s expansion to serve other clients beyond Woolworths.
The relationship began in 1990 and flourished for decades, with Beyers once supplying every chocolate item sold at Woolworths and even being named Supplier of the Year.
But tensions escalated when Woolworths introduced additional chocolate brands to its shelves, eroding Beyers’ volumes and prompting the chocolatier to diversify by purchasing a second factory to serve other retailers while maintaining exclusivity on Woolworths‑specific products.
Woolworths viewed this expansion as a breach of their exclusivity agreement, accusing Beyers of supplying products “materially similar” to Woolworths‑exclusive formulations to competitors — a move the retailer said undermined its proprietary product development and brand differentiation.
After failing to resolve the dispute, Woolworths transitioned its chocolate manufacturing to alternative suppliers, ending the partnership in January 2025.
The retailer has rejected responsibility for the liquidation, stating that Beyers had multiple clients and that Woolworths had actually more than doubled its business with the chocolatier between 2018 and 2023.
Woolworths insists the outcome is “extremely unfortunate” but ultimately one for which Beyers “alone” must take responsibility.
Woolies CEO has his say
Woolworths CEO Roy Bagattini has pushed back firmly against claims that the retailer was responsible for the collapse of its long‑time chocolate supplier, Beyers Chocolates, which entered liquidation after nearly four decades in business.
His comments follow a week of public criticism from Beyers’ founder, Kees Beyers, who argued that Woolworths’ decision to end their exclusivity agreement cost the company half its turnover and ultimately forced its closure .
Bagattini rejects this narrative, saying Woolworths could not be held accountable for the downfall of a business it had already been separated from for more than a year.
He stresses that the retailer had no desire to air the dispute publicly but needed to defend its ethics and credibility after Beyers’ media interviews.
According to Bagattini, the relationship deteriorated in 2023 when Woolworths discovered that Beyers was allegedly producing similar chocolate products for competitors using jointly developed intellectual property — a breach the retailer viewed as a direct threat to its competitive advantage.
Woolworths and Beyers had invested millions over the years in developing recipes and formulations, and Bagattini said the retailer spent two years trying to resolve the issue before ending the partnership.
He also disputed claims that Woolworths’ introduction of branded chocolate lines had undermined Beyers’ volumes, stating instead that the retailer had doubled the chocolatier’s business in the years leading up to the split and had planned further production allocations before the dispute escalated .
The liquidation of Beyers Chocolates affects around 700 employees and marks the end of a 34‑year supplier relationship that produced some of Woolworths’ most recognisable confectionery products, including Chuckles and Sweetie Pie.
Read the full article here: BusinessTech.co.za