Sweet treats hit the hardest as inflation continues to bite

Chocolate, biscuits and cakes are soaring in price – with some almost doubling in a year.

Which?'s supermarket food and drink inflation tracker shows overall grocery inflation rose by 5.2% in the year to August 2025. 

The latest rises come after years of soaring prices. Indeed, in the five years to July, food and non-alcoholic drink prices increased by around 37%. That compares with a rise of 4.4% over the previous five-year period, according to figures from the Office of National Statistics.

Here we pick out some of the groceries with the biggest price increases, and offer expert tips on how to save money at the supermarket. 

Soaring chocolate prices

Chocolate has seen particularly high inflation – 14.6% in the year to August 2025, which was the highest across all the food and drink categories we looked at. 

There's been a significant rise in global cocoa prices for some months now, after poor harvests because of weather conditions in West Africa. In fact, global cocoa production is estimated to have declined by 14% in the 2023-24 season. 

Biscuits have also seen some of the highest inflation, at 8.4%. And cakes and cookies were close behind, at 7.2%. 

Among the sweet treats that saw significant price hikes this year were: 

• Maltesers Cake Bars (5 pack) from £1.49 to £2.75 at Tesco – up 85%
• Galaxy Chocolate Sponge Cake Bars with Cream Centre (5 pack) from £1.49 to £2.75 at Tesco – up 85%
• Lindt Lindor Milk Chocolate Truffles Treat Box (37g) from £1.15 to £1.98 at Asda - up 72%
• Morrisons Savers Milk Chocolate (100g) from 49p to 80p at Morrisons - up 63%
• McVities Jaffa Cakes Zingy Orangey Bars (10 Pack) from £2.25 to £3.65 at Tesco - up 62%
• Aero Bubbly Milk Chocolate Bar Multipack (27g) from £1.40 to £2.24 at Sainsbury's - up 59%
• Tesco Milk Chocolate Oaties (300g) from 85p to £1.35 at Tesco - up 59%
• KitKat 4 Finger Milk Chocolate Biscuit Bar Multipack (4 pack) from £1.41 to £2.24 at Sainsbury's - up 59%

Prices are averages for the three months to the end of August in 2025 compared to the same period a year earlier.

Cocoa supplies are predicted to recover this year, according to the World Bank, which should lead to less pressure on prices.

Meat prices also jump

We found that the prices of some everyday items have also risen quickly. 

The cost of meat saw one of the highest increases, rising by 5.5% in the year to August 2025. That's up again from the 4.5% seen in the year to May 2025. Beef prices in particular have been rising due to high demand and low supply.

Two Turf & Clover Ultimate Beef Burgers (300g) from Ocado increased by 71% from an average of £3.23 in the three months to the end of August 2024 to an average of £5.52 in the same period a year later. 

Similarly, Waitrose’s Essential 20% Fat British Beef Mince (500g) rose by 59% from an average of £2.75 in the three months to the end of August 2024 to £4.37 in the same period in 2025.  

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What about grocery inflation overall?

The cost of supermarket groceries is rising by 5.2% annually. That's stayed the same as last quarter. It outstrips the overall rate of inflation, which remained at 3.8% this month. 

The cost of living crisis saw grocery inflation hit a peak of 17.2% in March 2023, after which grocery price inflation had been steadily falling since March 2023.

It dropped to a low of just 2.7% in August 2024 but since then it's been steadily rising again. 

After the Budget last October, supermarkets and the British Retail Consortium warned that higher living wages and National Insurance contributions could lead to higher prices for shoppers. And this week Aldi UK chief executive Giles Hurley warned that any further increases in costs on employers in this autumn's Budget could lead to higher food prices.

How to save money on groceries

While none of us can totally avoid rising prices, there are some steps you can take to help.

Make sure you compare the price per unit (either 100g or 100ml, for example) across different pack sizes, retailers and brands to ensure you're getting the best value for money. 

Switching supermarkets can also offer big savings – see our cheapest supermarket results for more information on how much you could save.

And having a loyalty card can also save you money. However, Which? has found millions of people are excluded from accessing lower loyalty prices at major supermarkets on the basis of their age, lack of address or digital access. 

We believe that the lower prices offered by loyalty schemes should be available to those who are currently ineligible to sign up through no fault of their own, and are calling on retailers to find a solution.

• Find out more: how to spend less at the supermarket

About Which?'s food and drink inflation tracker 

Which?’s tracker looks at 20 popular categories of food and drink at eight supermarkets — Aldi, Asda, Lidl, Morrisons, Ocado, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose. 

It compares average prices across the same three-month and one-month periods year-on-year, including discounts but not multibuys or loyalty card offers. 

Overall inflation figures are weighted based on supermarket market share and the sales volume of each product category. 

Prices are provided by an independent data provider.

• Find out more: Which? food price inflation tracker