Prices of supermarket own-brands and budget ranges have gone up more than premium and branded foods during the cost-of-living crisis, according to new research from consumer champion Which? research that reveals increases of up to 175% over 12 months.
The organisation’s supermarket food and drink inflation tracker shows “huge” price hikes on everyday budget and own brand products.
Which? tracked the annual inflation of tens of thousands of food and drink products across seven months at eight major supermarkets – Aldi, Asda, Lidl, Morrisons, Ocado, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, and Waitrose – to see how inflation is impacting everyday products.
The first wave of data reveals that supermarket own-brand and budget ranges have risen on average by as much as 18% year-on-year, compared to around 13% for premium own-brand ranges, and 12% for branded foods.
The biggest price increases on supermarket budget food and drink for the quarter ending October 31 between 2021 and 2022 were on Creamfields Soft Cheese (200G) at Tesco which went from 49p to 84p – an increase of 72% and Sainsbury’s Simply Muesli (1kg) which went from £1.20 in 2021 to £2.03 in 2022 – a 70% increase.
The research found that mid-priced own-brand products tended to be where supermarket prices had risen the most. The most striking increase for this period was on Waitrose chocolate chip shortbread 200g which almost tripled in price going from 82p in October 2021 to £2.25 in October 2022 – an increase of 175%.
The worst supermarkets for overall inflation on food and drink year-on-year were Aldi (19.6%) and Lidl (19%). However, both discounters still tend to be the cheapest of the big supermarket chains to shop in overall.
The discounters were followed by Asda (15.2%), Morrisons (14.4%), Waitrose (14.2%), Sainsburys (13.7%) and Tesco (12.6%). Ocado had the least inflation overall (10.3%).
Sue Davies, Which? Head of Food Policy, said: “We know the big supermarkets have the ability to take action and make a real difference to people struggling through the worst cost of living crisis in decades. That’s why we’re calling on them to ensure everyone has easy access to basic, affordable food lines at a store near them, can easily compare the price of products to get the best value and that promotions are targeted at supporting people most in need.”
