The Ugly Underbelly Of The Fritos Business

The Justice Department watchdogs are sniffing around the potato chip and cheese puff aisle.

The agency’s antitrust division is asking whether Frito-Lay Inc. is pushing aside competitors by gobbling up shelf space in grocery stores. The PepsiCo Inc. subsidiary already controls more than half the market for salty snacks like its Lays potato chips and Doritos.

Justice Department spokesman Bill Brooks declined to name the specific targets. The review is in a very early stage, but several industry officials have been contacted by investigators.

Purveyors of crunchy snacks and other food makers have to pay grocery stores fees for shelf space, paying premium rates for the eye-level rack. A person familiar with the investigation, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the agency is examining whether shelf space is being bought up just to squelch competition.