The Bundeskartellamt, Germany's competition authority, has officially started abuse proceedings against Coca-Cola Europacific Partners Deutschland GmbH, which is responsible for bottling and distributing Coca-Cola's beverage brands in Germany.

Andreas Mundt, the President of the Bundeskartellamt, indicated that there are concerns that Coca-Cola may be restricting competition through its terms offered to German food retailers, especially its rebate structure. The authority aims to investigate whether Coca-Cola holds a dominant position in the cola beverage or carbonated soft drink market, which would subject it to specific competition law regulations.

The investigation will focus on whether Coca-Cola's terms with food retailers incentivize them to promote a wider range of its beverages, such as Fanta, Sprite, and Powerade, rather than just cola products. This could potentially limit the competitive opportunities for other beverage producers in adjacent markets.

To gather information, the Bundeskartellamt will request data from food retailers, other companies in the beverage sector, and Coca-Cola itself. Coca-Cola will have the opportunity to respond to the allegations and provide detailed comments on the issues raised.