The Federal Trade Commission on Friday filed a lawsuit against PepsiCo, Inc., alleging the company engaged in illegal price discrimination by giving an unnamed "large, big box" retailer unfair pricing advantages, while raising prices for others.

Outgoing agency Chair Lina Khan has filed a raft of measures during her last week in office.

The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has launched legal action against PepsiCo, accusing the company of engaging in “illegal price discrimination” within soft drinks.

Shares of PepsiCo ($PEP) were in the spotlight on Friday after the Federal Trade Commission announced it plans to sue the consumer giant on allegations of price discrimination, with retail sentiment turning cautious.

A substantial portion of the FTC’s allegations were redacted in the complaint due to the legal protections afforded to both PepsiCo and the retailer, according to the FTC.

The chairman of the Federal Trade Commission on Friday acknowledged staff anxiety over returning to full-time in the office at an agency where around 80% work from home most of the week, but said the COVID pandemic is long over and workers need to be at their desks.

The lawsuit, filed on 17 January 2025, contends that PepsiCo's preferential treatment of a retailer constituted a breach of the Robinson-Patman Act (RPA), a legislation designed to protect fair competition by prohibiting anticompetitive price discrimination.

The lawsuit is the second Robinson-Patman Act case filed by the FTC during the Biden administration. In December, the FTC sued alcohol distributor Southern Glazer’s Wine and Spirits LLC for charging mom-and-pop grocers higher prices than large retail chains.

"Today's complaint against Pepsi is wholly deficient, not only because the pleadings fail to state a claim, but because the Majority rushed the case out the door before it had evidence to support the allegations,

Pepsi denied the allegations and said the FTC's lawsuit is wrong, both factually and legally. "PepsiCo strongly disputes the FTC's allegations, and the partisan manner in which the suit was filed.

The FTC is suing PepsiCo for allegedly rigging the market by offering “unfair pricing advantages” that can contribute to inflation.

A lawsuit filed by the Federal Trade Commission alleges that food and beverage maker PepsiCo engaged in illegal price discrimination by giving unfair price advantages to one big-box retailer.