Many daily grocery items have more than doubled over the last year, according to experts.
Data from consumer guide Which? has kept a close eye on food and drink inflation. In February, it analysed inflation on more than 25,000 food and drink products at eight of the UK's largest supermarkets, including Aldi, Asda, Lidl, Morrisons, Ocado, Sainsbury's, Tesco, and Waitrose.
According to the consumer group, everyday items such as milk, meat, and fruit have been subjected to the highest levels of inflation. Meanwhile, own-brand products were also revealed to have been hit by increasing costs, the Mirror reports.
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It comes as on Wednesday morning, UK inflation unexpectedly rose to 10.4 per cent - sparked by food and non-alcoholic drink increasing to its highest rates in 45 years. The data found that annual inflation of popular food and drink in February was at a shocking 16.5 per cent across all eight retailers. Meanwhile, budget item prices had soared by 22.9 per cent, own-brand products at 19.7 per cent, premium brands at 13.8 per cent, and branded products at 13.3 per cent.
Furthermore, inflation on vegetables rose from 11.6 per cent to 13 percent, juice drinks and smoothing went from 13.4 per cent to 15.1 per cent and cereals from 13.4 per cent to 14.6 per cent. Here's a full list of all the items that had risen the most in price...
Full list of items and supermarkets that had received the highest price rises
Asda Free From Special Flakes (300g)
- 2022: 62p
- 2023:£1.43
Waitrose Essential Italian Mozzarella Strength 1 (drained 150g)
- 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
One notable exception to this trend is Ocado due to the fact it only includes branded items. Which? found that Cadbury's Milk Tray Chocolate Box 360g at Ocado saw the highest inflation, rising by 86 per cent (from £4.21 to £7.81).
How much supermarket prices have increased from 2022-23
- Lidl - 24.4 per cent
- Aldi - 22.7 per cent
- Asda - 17 per cent
- Morrisons - 16.7 per cent
- Waitrose - 14.2 per cent
- Sainsbury's - 14.1 per cent
- Tesco - 14 per cent
- Ocado - 10.3 per cent
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.”
An Asda spokesperson told Which?: “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.
"We've also recently introduced the Ocado Price Promise so customers can be sure they’re getting great value.”
A Waitrose spokesperson said: "Although no retailer is immune to inflation, particularly with dairy products comprising the majority of this basket, we've been working hard to keep prices as affordable as possible for our customers - and have already committed a record £100million to lower the prices on hundreds of everyday staples."
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