Which? Report: Some UK groceries will be 20% more expensive in 2022

So what were the which? Food inflation results – and why have some items gone up in price?

In a report published on Saturday (May 21), Which? said it had found evidence of sharp price inflation in some UK food products.

The consumer group said analysis of more than 21,000 food and drink items between December 2021 and February 2022 showed inflation averaged 3.14% compared to the same period two years ago.

However, behind this relatively low number there are huge price increases. Which? said after noting that 265 products had experienced price increases of more than 20%.

These included popular products such as:

When which? Looking at the price changes for each category, it turned out that prices had increased across the board.

Those with the highest inflation included:

At the other end of the scale, the categories with the lowest inflation were:

The supermarkets with the most price inflation were Morrisons (+4.08%), Asda (+3.97%), Tesco (+3.48%) and Aldi (+3.2%).

Which? pointed out that the reason Morrisons is likely to top the chart is that it owns much of its fresh food supply chain, meaning it can’t switch to cheaper suppliers as easily as other supermarkets.

Reasons given by the consumer group for the overall increase in inflation included: global economic pressures from the post-Covid reopening of economies, resulting supply chain challenges and labor shortages.

Analysis of supermarket price inflation by which? also discovered that the practice of “shrinkflation” – in which the size of items is reduced slightly but the price remains the same, meaning consumers pay more for less – was still in action.

Some of the most notable examples found were:

Which? also examined how different price tiers had changed and how the effectiveness of supermarket promotions had changed since the Covid pandemic.

It found that retailer value ranges had risen just 0.2% over the period — although a more recent analysis by NationalWorld suggested average value and private label ranges had risen more sharply in recent months.

According to which? Prices of the standard ranges increased by 2.84%, while the highest inflation was recorded in the premium ranges of private labels, which increased by 3.15% over the two years.

If it was promotional activities, which ones? found that the number of promotions in the most popular food and beverage categories had decreased dramatically, with the amount of savings also decreasing in approximately 75% of the categories studied by the organization.

For example, the number of discounts on bottled water fell by 14.7%, while promotional activity for vegetables fell by 11%.

Savings fell the most in the butter and spreads category, where savings fell 3.59%.

Next came vegetables, down 3.45%, while crispy promotions were 2.88% less generous.

Based on his findings, Which? urged supermarkets to do more to help consumers with the current cost of living.

In particular, clear unit prices should be provided to enable consumers to make purchasing decisions more easily.

It also urged retailers to ensure budget items are readily available.

“Our research shows that staggering price increases are exacerbated by practices such as downsizing and limited availability of all key budget areas,” said Sue Davies, which? Head of Food Policy and Consumer Rights.

“These factors combine to put enormous pressure on household shopping budgets.

“During an unrelenting cost-of-living crisis, consumers should be able to easily select the product that suits them most without worrying about downsizing or the budget ranges of their local stores.”

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) – a trade body representing most of the UK’s major supermarkets – said retailers were doing “whatever they can to keep prices down and add value to consumers”.

“Rising inflation is an ongoing concern for both consumers and retailers,” said Andrew Opie, director of food and sustainability at the BRC.

“Global prices for many foods have reached record highs in recent months, pushing up prices for consumers.

“Other price pressures are increased energy, transportation and labor costs, all of which are being exacerbated by the situation in Ukraine.”

Tesco, which is not represented by the BRC, said it was “committed to offering excellent value for money” and highlighted its various offerings, including its ‘low everyday prices’ strategy for basic groceries and club card prices.