Tesco is facing shortages of dozens of household brands including Marmite, PG Tips and Comfort fabric conditioner after being locked in a dispute with supplier Unilever.
It is thought that the consumer goods company has ceased deliveries to the supermarket giant following a row over the price.
Unilever has been attempting to hike prices by about 10% across a broad range of goods, blaming the falling value of the pound against the euro and the dollar.
But Tesco, which has invested heavily in price since boss Dave Lewis was parachuted in from Unilever in September 2014, has blocked the move.
The stand-off has resulted in a host of popular basket staples - including Hellman’s mayonnaise, Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, Surf washing powder and Pot Noodles - being removed from shelves and de-listed on Tesco’s website.
A Tesco spokesman said: “We are experiencing availability issues on a number of Unilever products. We always work to ensure customers get the best possible prices and we hope to have this issue resolved soon.”
Unilever, which is the UK’s biggest food and grocery manufacturer, makes many of its products outside the UK.
The firm has argued it should be getting more for its products following the slump in the value of the pound.
Despite the dispute, Unilever’s finance boss Graeme Pitkethly said he was confident the situation with Tesco “will be resolved pretty quickly”.
But speaking to analysts yesterday, he confirmed Unilever is increasing its prices in the UK, adding that the company “cares deeply” about its brands being affordable for customers.
Pitkethly said the suggested price rises would be “substantially less than we would need to cover the cost on our own profitability.
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