Supermarket Iceland has come under fire by its customers for selling a pack of Lurpak butter for an 'insane' price. It comes with food prices having risen sharply during the cost of living crisis.
A shopper in a frozen food store, elsewhere in the country, said they spotted a tub of Lurpak being sold at £5. Not long ago, the same item was priced at £3.65 showing the rises consumers are facing during their food shops.
Lancashire Live reports that people in the UK will see their yearly grocery bills rise by £380 this year. It has been suggested by the ONS that the biggest contributor is rising inflation.
Read more: Supermarket leaps from being cheapest to most expensive in only three weeks
The highest price rises in supermarkets have been the cost of bread, cereals and meat. Yet the cost of a pack of Lurpak has caused some controversy online.
A quick look around other supermarkets show a variety of prices with Sainsbury's matching the Iceland price and Morrisons just a penny cheaper at £4.99. Tesco was cheaper however at £4.49 with Asda £4 and Waitrose sitting with the best price of £3.75.
Households are continuing to be hit by high energy and fuel prices, new data shows, but the costs of other products like pizza and quiche rose more rapidly between April and May. Potatoes had previously avoided some of the high inflation figures that other food items saw in recent months, however, in May they started catching up as the rate of inflation for potatoes more than doubled to 5.1%.
Emma Ibrahim posted a picture of the 500g tub of Lurpak on Twitter after spotting the increased price in the supermarket, saying: "£5 for a tub of Lurpak butter in Iceland and it’s the same everywhere. It was £3.65 a few months ago.
"I had already bought a supermarket own brand last week but this caught my eye today. FIVE POUNDS FOR BUTTER! #CostOfLiving" And after taking to Twitter to share the information, others were quick to agree with once branding it as 'insane', reports BristolLive. Labour Matters replied: “500g of butter is €3.20 in Portugal. (About £2.75).”
Endsars said: “This is insane.” Nubia added: “Part of me feels like they’re taking the absolute **** though because they can.” Amatey Doku said: “we’re in big trouble.” @OreOgunb quipped: "I started making my own butter as a hobby but…"
Head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar, Fraser McKevitt,, said: "Sales of own-label lines have been boosted by Aldi and Lidl’s strong performances, both of whom have extensive own-label repertoires. We can also see consumers turning to value ranges, such as Asda Smart Price, Co-op Honest Value and Sainsbury’s Imperfectly Tasty, to save money."
Asda’s chairman has said that some customers are setting £30 limits as they cut back on spending amid the cost of living crisis. Lord Stuart Rose said customers are putting fewer items in their baskets and choosing from budget ranges more often as they try to mitigate price increases.
READ NEXT:
'Havoc' as major Nottinghamshire road closed by pranksters with no work taking place
Stapleford GP's dispute with agoraphobic patient who was 'seen at the pub'
Martin Lewis slams energy companies over 'outrageous' early exit fees
Nottingham beautician 'turned down Love Island' just days before being due to fly out to the villa
