Food inflation falls but some items still soaring in price

Supermarket inflation has fallen to its lowest level in two years, but some food and drink is bucking the trend and are far more expensive now than a year ago, states a report released by Which? today (14).

Prices of popular groceries at eight of the UK’s largest supermarkets – Aldi, Asda, Lidl, Morrisons, Ocado, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose – and found overall year-on-year inflation was 3 per cent in May 2024.

The consumer champion stated that headline figure disguises some big variations between different types of groceries and supermarkets, as well as differences between budget and premium groceries. 

Energy drinks had the highest average annual inflation at 6.6 per cent, followed by bottled water at 6.2 per cent, fizzy drinks at 5.5 per cent, and juice drinks and smoothies at 5.3 per cent. 

Overall, the individual item with the highest price rise was actually a packed of biscuits. Chocolates, sausages and beef mince were also among the worst: 

• Lu Strawberry Barquette Biscuits (120g) from £1.45 to £3 at Ocado – up 107 per cent
• Krakus Zywiecka Polish Cooked and Dried Pork Sausage (286g) from £1.81 to £3.35 at Morrisons – up 85 per cent
• Prestat Chocolates & Truffles Assortment (210g) from £17 to £30.54 at Ocado – up 80 per cent
• Taste the Difference North Highland Beef Mince 12% Fat (500g) from £2.85 to £5 at Sainsbury’s – up 76 per cent

All prices are averages for the three months to the end of May 2023 vs the same period in 2024, and include regular discounts but not multibuys or loyalty prices. The tracker also showed the prices of own-label budget groceries rising much faster than those of standard own-label groceries, branded or premium versions. 

The good news for shoppers is that some groceries are actually getting cheaper. The average price of milk overall was 0.8 per cent cheaper in May 2024 than in May 2023. The average price of butters and spreads as an overall category was 3.5 per cent less, states the report.