The supermarket items ROCKETING in price

New Which? research highlights some big price rises over the last couple of years.

Many of us have noticed sharp increases in the cost of our food shopping of late. 

But a new investigation by the consumer champions at Which? has highlighted just how dramatic the price hikes have been on individual items, with some household basics doubling in cost over the last year.

Massive price increases

Which? is running a monthly food price inflation tracker, analysing the prices of more than 26,000 grocery items and how they have changed in the three months to April 2023, compared with the same period a year ago.

And while it’s not surprising that prices have increased virtually across the board, it’s the scale of the price hikes that is pretty shocking.

Overall prices at the supermarkets grew by 17.% over the three months to April, but individual products have seen some incredible price jumps. In fact, some have almost doubled in the period compared with a year ago.

For example, Morliny Frankfurters at Asda jumped 94% from an average of £1.25 to £2.42. Meanwhile, a four-pack of brown onions at Morrisons rose 91% from 65p to £1.24. Another Morrisons example is Lancashire Farm natural bio yoghurt moved from £1.18 to £2.18, an increase of above 85%.

However, the most eye-watering example is Aberdoyle Dairies natural cottage cheese at Lidl, which has doubled in price from 67p to £1.34.

Looking at categories of foods, its cheese which has seen the highest quarterly price inflation at 25.4%, ahead of 24.2% with milk and 23.5% for butter and spreads.

Paying more for own-label items

As part of the study, Which? tracks typical price rises across both branded and own-label products.

And it is the own-label budget items that have been subjected to the biggest price jumps, up by 24.7% in the quarter to April compared with the same time in 2022.

By contrast prices for supermarket own-brand goods rose by 20.3%, while branded goods and premium own-brand ranges grew by 13.7% and 14.7% respectively.

The supermarkets where prices are rising fastest

One tactic shoppers may employ when looking to save money on supermarket shopping is switching supermarkets.

After all, some are renowned for being kinder on household budgets than others.

However, the Which? tracker shows that those deep discounters are hiking prices most quickly.

Here is how they compare on average price inflation over the last year:

The pain of food price hikes

We will all have felt the impact of food price rises at the till in recent months, but it’s worth noting the actual scale of those hikes.

The latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows that while overall inflation has grown by 10.1% in the 12 months to March, this was offset by a sharp increase in the price we pay for food and non-alcoholic drinks.

Food price inflation currently stands at 19.2%, up from the 18.2% registered in February.

It’s the highest level seen since 1977, when it was just shy of 22%.

Given these price hikes, and the other ways in which our finances are being stretched, it’s more crucial than ever to keep on top of what you are spending on your food shopping and whether money could be saved by moving to a rival, or simply by changing the brands you buy.

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