Supermarket giant Tesco has been heavily criticised for the 'extortionate' price of a bestselling condiment, with one shopper branding it 'tomatogeddon'.
Ketchup is the latest cupboard essential to be hit by the climbing prices, with a bottle of Heinz tomato ketchup on sale for a whopping £4.40 in some Tesco stores, The Mirror reports. It is the latest in a series of eye-watering supermarket price hikes to spark anger among customers in recent months as customers face an ever tighter squeeze on their purses.
Earlier this year, it was reported Heinz had doubled the price of some products in just a year as the cost of living crisis continues to hit shoppers. As part of the changes, the nation's favourite tomato ketchup - the 910g bottle - rose in price by 60% from £2.49 to £3.99, according to The Grocer.
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That is considerably higher than in November last year when prices of Heinz tomato ketchup were £3.50 from Asda and Sainsbury's. It comes after Tesco announced that it will be price-locking thousands of its products until Easter in a bid to help customers with the seemingly ever-rising cost of living.
Shoppers, stunned by the "ridiculous" price of their favourite condiment, have wasted no time taking to social media to air their frustrations.
One said: "Ketchup is £4.40 in Tesco, who is responsible for this?" while another branded the dire situation "tomatogeddon", remarking: "If you can afford to pay this for ketchup, you have too much money."
Others expressed concern over the increasing struggle to make their cash go far enough to feed their families. "I used to spend £2 on Bisto Best. It’s now £4+. Ketchup £4," someone else wrote.
For shoppers looking for alternatives to Heinz, a recent taste test carried out by consumer group Which? found that another brand less than half the price took the joint top spot with the ketchup giant for the popular condiment. The Co-Op's own brand Tomato Ketchup scored 74% - the same as Heinz - in the taste test, but a 500g bottle costs just £1.20.
Tesco and Heinz have been approached for comment.
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