A new study has discovered that some supermarket items have doubled in price in the last 12 months - showing the challenges facing some of the poorest families in the country to keep themselves fed. The new analysis came from consumer group Which? looking at inflation on more than 25,000 food and drink products at eight major supermarkets.
It wasn’t premium products that showed the most shocking increases - it was perfectly normal things which households use and buy every day such as bread, milk, meat and fruit which had shown the biggest rise, the Mirror reported. The study came as it was today revealed by Office for National Statistics (ONS) that Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation rose to 10.4 per cent in February from 10.1 per cent in January.
The surprise jump in inflation comes after food and non-alcoholic drinks prices rose by 18 per cent year-on-year last month, up from 16.7 per cent in January and the highest since August 1977. Shortages of vegetables such as tomatoes and peppers in recent weeks were largely behind the rocketing food inflation.
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Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said that “falling inflation isn’t inevitable”. “So we need to stick to our plan to halve it this year,” he added. “We recognise just how tough things are for families across the country, so as we work towards getting inflation under control we will help families with cost-of-living support worth £3,300 on average per household this year.”
Consumer group Which? looked at the items with the highest inflation at each supermarket to find which products have seen the biggest percentage price rises. Own-brand products were also found to be hard-hit and featured heavily in most supermarkets’ lists.
The tracker found that in February, the annual inflation of popular food and drink was at 16.5 per cent across all eight retailers. Trackers found that budget item prices had increased by 22.9 per cent, own-brand by 19.7 per cent, premium brands by 13.8 per cent and branded product prices rose by 13.3 per cent.
Overall, inflation on vegetables rose from 11.6 per cent to 13 per cent, juice drinks and smoothies went from 13.4 per cent to 15.1 per cent and cereals increased from 13.4 per cent to 14.6 per cent.
Items where the average price has risen the most were:
Asda Free From Special Flakes (300g)
2022: 62p
2023: £1.43
Waitrose Essential Italian Mozzarella Strength 1 (drained 150g)
Essential Italian Mozzarella Strength
2022: 80p
2023: £1.77
Morrison Free From Corn Flakes (300g)
2022: 60p
2023: £1.29
Sainsbury’s Hubbard’s Foodstore Water (2L)
2022: 17p
2023: 35p
Tesco Creamfields French Brie (200G)
2022: 82p
2023: £1.65
Lidl Chene D’argent Camembert (250g)
2022: 99p
2023: £2
Aldi Nature’s Pick Honeydew Melon
2022: 95p
2023: £1.70
The exception to this is Ocado, which only includes branded items. At Ocado, Which? found that Cadbury’s Milk Tray Chocolate Box 360g saw the highest inflation rising 86% from £4.21 to £7.81.
When Which? looked at inflation by each individual supermarket it found that while the discounters remain generally cheaper than bigger rivals, it seems they again have less room for flexibility when it comes to passing costs on to customers. Overall, Which? found that Lidl prices were up 24.4% and prices at Aldi were up 2.7% compared to February last year. At Asda prices were found to be 17% higher, at Morrisons it was 16.7%, Waitrose was 14.2% and Sainsbury’s was 14.1%.
Tesco and Ocado were found to have the lowest inflationary increases with a rise of 14% and 10.3% respectfully.
Sue Davies, head of food policy at Which? said: “Worryingly our tracker shows that some everyday essentials have more than doubled in price over the last year - with cheaper own-brand items particularly hard hit. “Supermarkets need to step up and ensure everyone has easy access to basic, affordable food ranges at a store near them, particularly in areas where people are most in need.
“Retailers must also provide transparent pricing so people can easily work out which products offer the best value.”
When Which? approached each supermarket for comment Aldi declined to comment and Sainsbury’s and Tesco had not yet issued a response. An Asda spokesperson said: “We’re working hard to keep prices in check for customers despite global inflationary pressures and we remain the lowest-priced major supermarket – a position recognised by Which? in their regular monthly basket comparison which has named Asda as the cheapest supermarket for a big shop every month for the last three years.
“We recently announced we would be freezing the prices of over 500 popular branded and own label products, more than half of which are fresh meat, dairy, fruit and vegetable products until the end of May.”
A Lidl spokesperson said: “We are extremely concerned that since the launch of this ‘tracker’ Which? has consistently chosen to publish information that we, and other retailers, have confirmed to be incorrect. This includes data for products that we do not even sell.”
A Morrison’s spokesperson said: “This is an unprecedented period of inflation and we are working hard to keep prices down and competitive for our customers while maintaining high standards and availability in all our stores.
“We recently reduced the price of 1,000 popular products and remain committed to doing all we can to help when it comes to the cost of grocery shopping.
“Our Morrisons Easter Collector scheme is also now live for eligible My Morrisons members enabling them to receive a significant money-off voucher to spend at Easter if they meet the criteria and shop in the relevant weeks.”
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.
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