Shufersal Says It's Cutting Out the Beef Middleman. It's Also Cutting Its Own Name Off the Label.

By מערכת סופרקליר · 2026-07-26 · 4 min read

₪25.80–39.90 — The price range of Shufersal's own "Carlos" private-label beef kebab — the identical barcode, across 270 of the chain's own branches. Superclear data, 2026-07-26

On June 29, Globes broke the story: Shufersal, Israel's largest grocery chain, is preparing to import Angus beef directly from South America — bypassing the two major importers it currently buys from, Baladi and Neto (Globes). ICE described it as Shufersal's "beef revolution," a "dramatic move that will lower prices" and give shoppers "far more competitive and accessible prices" (ICE). That's exactly the kind of headline that makes us want to check the data.

What's actually happening

Per Calcalist, Shufersal — controlled since 2024 by brothers Yossi and Shlomi Amir — currently buys beef from a range of domestic and foreign suppliers, and now plans to directly supply part of it to the private meat brands it already runs in its stores: Carlos Butchers, Asador and CASA DE CARNE (Calcalist). The move, per the reports, is meant to tighten the chain's grip on the entire value chain — from overseas purchasing to the shelf — and reduce reliance on outside suppliers. Fresh beef from the deal is expected in stores within weeks.

The stock market reacted immediately: Baladi, controlled by Erez Dahbani, saw its shares fall as much as 9.5% the day of the announcement, per Calcalist (Calcalist) — and for good reason. Per Globes, Baladi's sales to Shufersal made up about 12% of its total 2025 revenue, up from 9% in 2024 and just 2% in 2023 — a dependency that grew sharply over three years (Globes). The next day, Baladi moved to reassure investors, stressing it operates through diverse distribution channels and customers, in both the retail and institutional markets (Calcalist).

The detail that makes this less simple than it sounds

Two details are worth holding side by side. First: Calcalist reports the new beef will be sold under brand names that don't carry the "Shufersal" name — specifically, per the report, to neutralize the perception that it's a private label and increase shoppers' willingness to pay for it (Calcalist). In other words, the very move being pitched publicly as a price cut is reportedly designed to be sold in a way that deliberately hides the private-label identity that's supposed to be generating the savings in the first place.

Second: Globes itself, two days after its own scoop, published a more skeptical follow-up. Importing beef directly requires veterinary approvals, port inspections, kosher supervision, an unbroken cold chain — and, to fully bypass existing suppliers, eventually a slaughterhouse of its own. One industry source quoted in the piece summed it up bluntly: a giant chain needs consistency, quality and certifications that few suppliers can deliver at scale — meaning Shufersal's own size could turn into a weakness here (Globes). Per that same piece, the theoretical intermediary margin available by cutting out importers is around 7-10% — but operational complexity could eat up much of that saving before it ever reaches the shelf.

What we can already check today

The imported beef itself hasn't reached stores yet, so its price can't be checked. But Carlos, Shufersal's existing private meat brand, is already on sale in its stores — and Superclear's data shows exactly how it's priced.

We checked Carlos's home-style beef kebab (500g): querying GET /api/prices/compare on its barcode returned 270 active listings, every one of them a Shufersal branch (it's a chain-exclusive brand) — ranging from ₪25.80 to ₪39.90. That's a 55% gap on the exact same product, the same barcode, the same chain. We also checked the same brand's beef burger (400g): 40 listings, all at Shufersal, in a narrower ₪15.90–16.90 range — confirming the kebab's spread is real, not a data artifact.

That fits a wider pattern: Superclear's priciness index places Shufersal almost exactly at the national median (index 1.008, just 1% above median) — but on internal price variance, Shufersal ranks 3rd-highest of the 33 chains we track, with a 37% gap between its cheapest and priciest branch. In other words, being "average" chain-wide hides one of the largest branch-to-branch gaps in the country. If and when the South American beef arrives, there's no reason to expect it will escape the same pattern.

What it means for shoppers

Most fresh meat has no shared barcode across chains — it's sold by weight at the register, much like produce — so even once the new beef lands, Superclear won't be able to compare it directly against other chains' beef the way we can a box of pasta or a tub of yogurt. What we can compare, and what we already checked, is how Shufersal prices meat within itself — and in our latest data, the answer is: not consistently at all.

The promised "revolution" hasn't happened yet. What already exists today is a chain selling the same private-label beef, under the same barcode, with a 55% gap between its cheapest and priciest branch. Anyone hoping the promised savings actually reach them would do well to check the price at their own branch — not settle for the promise in the headline.

Figures are current as of Superclear's latest daily scan (2026-07-26) and reflect prices the chains themselves publish. A single low price may reflect a one-off promotion.

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