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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Clea Skopeliti

‘It’s extortionate’: a mother’s struggle to afford rising price of baby formula

hands with jar and scoop making formula milk
Anderson noticed the price tag on the formula she feeds her 10-month-old son kept rising. Photograph: Lev Dolgachov/Alamy

Rebecca Anderson, 37, knows how it feels to be on the sharp end of baby formula price rises. A civil servant and lone parent in Middlesbrough, Anderson has noticed the price tag on the formula she feeds her 10-month-old son has been rising since he was born, reaching £13.50 in Tesco and Morrisons. According to the price comparison site Which?, the retail price of HiPP Organic 1 First Milk Powder (800g) rose by 12.9% in the year to May 2023.

Anderson spoke to the Guardian about her experience as a new parent who is reliant on formula, after the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) on Wednesday revealed manufacturers had hiked their prices by more than their costs during the inflation crisis. Parents have been hit with an average 25% increase in two years.

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