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Edinburgh Live

World

Levi Winchester

Aldi, Asda, Lidl, Morrisons, Ocado, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose double food prices in a year

Lidl Asda Morrisons Aldi Ocado Tesco Sainsbury Waitrose Which Inflation

Hard up families have been struggling for months as the cost of living crisis soars - and now comes some more unwelcome news.

Research from consumer experts has found that the price of some supermarket staples including meat, vegetables and cheese have doubled in the last year, reports the Mirror.

Analysts at Which? looked at the prices of 26,000 products at eight supermarkets – Aldi, Asda, Lidl, Morrisons, Ocado, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose - as part of its monthly inflation tracker.

They analysed prices in the three months to the end of April this year compared to last year. Some of the worst price rise examples include Aberdoyle Dairies Natural Cottage Cheese 300g at Lidl, which had gone from an average of 67p to £1.34 (up 100.9%).

Morliny Frankfurters (350g) at Asda went from an average of £1.25 to £2.42 (up 93.8%). A four pack of brown onions at Morrisons went from 65p to £1.24 (up 90.8%) while Morrisons Lancashire Farm Natural Bio Yoghurt 1kg went up by £1 from £1.18 to £2.18 in April (up 85.3%).

How prices have changed over last 12 months - Which?

Inflation by food category

Vegetables - 15.3%
Meat - 15.0%
Fresh fruit - 10.2%
Cheese - 25.5%
Chilled ready meals - 13.9%
Yoghurts - 21.8%
Fish - 16.5%
Energy drinks - 11.1%
Bakery - 19.3%
Cakes and cookies - 19.4%
Savoury pies and pastries - 16.5%
Water - 20.3%
Biscuits - 17.2%
Butters and spreads - 21.6%
Carbonates - 12.8%
Cereals - 16.1%
Chocolate - 15.1%
Crisps - 17.7%
Juice drinks and smoothies - 17.9%
Milk - 22.9%

Inflation by branded and own-label food

Branded - 13.8%
Own-label - 20.2%
Own-label budget - 25.0%
Own-label premium - 13.5%

Inflation by supermarket

Aldi - 22.9%
Asda - 17.5%
Lidl - 24.9%
Morrisons - 18.4%
Ocado - 11.0%
Sainsbury's - 14.7%
Tesco - 14.5%
Waitrose - 13.1%

Meanwhile at Tesco, own-brand Salmon Tails 260G went from £3 to £4.54 (51.4%).

Which? found essential food groups like meat, fish and vegetables have continued to rise month on month, although found inflation in milk, butters and spreads and bakery items has dipped slightly.

But in some good news, overall inflation has started to ease slightly for the first time since the Which? tracker was launched in December, from 17.2% in March to 17.1% in April.

However, supermarket own-label budget items were up 25% in April - hitting families on low budgets.

Branded goods showed no change, staying at 13.8%, while regular own-brand food and premium own-brand food inflation decreased slightly since last month.

Inflation at most of the major supermarkets had slightly decreased, with Lidl recording the sharpest overall prices still at 24.9%, down from 25.2%.

Aldi was just behind, with its average inflation falling to 22.9% from 23.7% the previous month.

Which? is now urging Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to challenge supermarket chief executives to do more at today’s food summit.

It comes as the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced it will conduct a review into the price of groceries.

Sue Davies, Which? Head of Food Policy, said: "It’s very alarming to see products such as meat, cheese and vegetables that people rely on still rapidly soaring in price.

"As the Prime Minister gathers supermarket bosses today to discuss the problem of inflation, we urge him to ask supermarkets to commit to do much more, including stocking budget lines in convenience stores to ensure easy access to basic, affordable food ranges that support a healthy diet, particularly in areas where people are most in need.

“Supermarkets must also provide transparent pricing so people can easily work out which products offer the best value.”

An Asda spokesperson said: "All supermarkets have been impacted by global inflationary pressures which has increased the price of key ingredients.

“We’re working hard to keep prices in check for customers and we remain the lowest-priced major supermarket - a position recognised by Which? in their regular monthly basket comparison, naming Asda as the cheapest supermarket for a big shop every month for the last three years.

“We’ve recently locked the price of over 500 popular branded and own-label products to give customers more control over what they spend each week.”

A Lidl spokesperson said: “We’re committed to always offering our customers the best value and are proud that multiple independent price comparisons, including those conducted by Which?, continue to show that a basket of shopping at Lidl is consistently lower than at other supermarkets.”

An Ocado spokesperson said: “At Ocado, everything we do starts with our customers and we know how important value is to them right now.

“We continue to support our customers by investing in price across branded and own-brand products.

“We've also recently introduced the Ocado Price Promise so customers can be sure they’re getting great value.”

A Sainsbury’s spokesperson said: “We recently announced price cuts to our bread and butter as we work to keep prices low on everyday essentials.

“We offer a range of juice and yogurt products, which start from 70p and 60p respectively.”

Waitrose spokesperson said: “We know that no retailer is immune to the high levels of inflation experienced in the past year, and we’re working hard to keep our prices as low as possible, whilst paying our farmers and suppliers fairly, and maintaining high animal welfare standards."

Aldi, Morrisons and Tesco did not respond to requests for comment.

Which? Affordable Food For All campaign

Which? has created the following ten point action plan for supermarkets as part of its Affordable Food For All campaign:

Make unit pricing prominent, legible and consistent in-store and online
Provide clear unit pricing for promotional offers in-store and online
Provide a basic range of essential budget lines for affordable as well as healthy everyday choices
Consider adapting minimum spend requirements
Tailor marketing budgets and promotions, including through loyalty cards, vouchers and other offers
Promote the uptake of the Healthy Start and Best Start foods schemes
Provide additional support where people are able to be identified as in particular need
Offer straightforward price reductions rather than multi-buy offers
Make available more promotions for healthy and sustainable foods
Underpin these actions by promotions, recipes and advice that make lower priced, healthy and sustainable foods tasty and appealing