New Expert Brief - Creating Fair Food Markets for Affordable Groceries
Minneapolis, MN, November 24, 2025 — The Open Markets Institute today released a new expert brief outlining how policymakers at all levels of government have several levers at their disposal to hold dominant food corporations to account and create fair, affordable grocery prices for everyone.
“With grocery prices historically high, Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani ran on a promising pledge to pilot one city-owned grocery store in each of the five boroughs of New York City,” said Open Markets Food Program director Claire Kelloway. “Public grocery stores are a great place to start; this brief shares how to make them work and offers a few additional top policy levers for reining in corporate price hikes that Mamdani — and just about any policymaker — can use.”
Decades of unchecked mergers have decimated competition and consolidated control over food production in the hands of a few large corporations. Highly concentrated markets, such as when the top four players control more than 40% of total sales, are more prone to unfair competitive practices and exploitative conduct. In addition to breaking up consolidation and preventing illegal mergers, this brief details the antitrust and other laws policymakers can use to address corporate practices that drive up prices.
The top six recommendations from the brief include:
Public Option Grocery Stores: With lower operating costs and no profit markup, public grocery stores can offer lower prices and put a check on private grocers’ profiteering. Government-owned grocery stores can also serve communities where private stores cannot or will not do business. However, public grocery projects in the U.S. have failed when they cannot compete on price with private chains. Reaching decent economies of scale by operating multiple stores and limiting product assortment, or both, is critical for public stores to compete. As is enforcement of existing antitrust laws, noted below.
Enforce the Robinson-Patman Act (RPA) to Ensure Fair Pricing: Dominant grocery chains abuse their market power to demand special prices simply because suppliers cannot afford to say no. This gives them a clear advantage over smaller shops; often, smaller stores are charged more to make up the difference for suppliers. The RPA bans this practice and policymakers should enforce it.
Don’t Stop with Grocery Stores, Build Public Food Supply Chains: Many parts of the food supply chain would benefit from a public option, particularly upstream at the distribution level. Public wholesale terminals can create a central place for local farmers to sell their product to wholesalers and distributors who could get it to local restaurants and grocery stores.
Ban Surveillance Pricing: Grocery stores have many ways to show different customers different prices based on their personal data, including through their mobile apps, online stores, and new in-store technology like smart carts and electronic shelf labels. Several states have introduced legislation to ban so-called “surveillance pricing,” while still allowing stores to offer discounts.
Police Price-Gouging and Price-Fixing: State attorneys general have challenged greedy corporations for both price- fixing and price-gouging, which happens when stores hold a large share of the market or during shocks/crises like COVID-19. Several states have introduced laws to lower the barriers to bringing these critical cases. Cities, including New York, also have their own price-gouging laws.
Crackdown on Exclusive Dealing and Slotting Fees: Dominant food corporations pay retailers to keep their competitors off the shelves, giving them a clear advantage and more power to charge whatever they want. This commercial bribery comes in many forms: grocers charge large slotting fees to put new products on the shelf, manufacturers pay grocers to claim a certain portion of all shelf space, and food companies offer large promotional payments or in-kind services to sit in the most visible and enticing spots in the store. Some of this conduct may qualify as exclusive dealing, which federal antitrust law prohibits. Local lawmakers should take steps to investigate and regulate pay-to-play tactics in food retail.
To learn more about addressing monopoly power and economic concentration in the food system visit the Food & Power website or sign up for the Substack here.