Food inflation on the rise with festive and everyday items some of the worst affected, according to Which? research
Which?’s latest tracker found overall grocery inflation rose by 3.6 per cent in the year to November 2024. This marks a significant jump since the previous round of results in August, when food inflation was at 2.7 per cent.
The last time the tracker showed an increase in food and drink inflation was in March 2023, when it hit a peak of 17.2 per cent during the cost of living crisis. Since then, the rate of inflation had been slowly falling.
After the Budget in October, supermarkets and the British Retail Consortium warned that higher living wages and National Insurance contributions could lead to higher prices for shoppers. Which?’s tracker shows food inflation has already been rising and the consumer champion will continue to monitor grocery inflation to see if this continues after National Insurance contributions rise in April 2025.
In some of the worst examples of inflation, the consumer champion found that the price of some everyday items increased dramatically.
The cost of Aldi’s Acti Leaf Unsweetened UHT Soya Drink (1 litre) rose by 70 per cent from an average 50p in the three months to November 2023 to 85p in the same period a year later and Waitrose’s Essential Pure Orange Juice (1 litre) rose from an average £1.20 in three months to November 2023 to £1.80 a year later - a rise of 50 per cent.
Some popular Christmas items also saw significant price hikes this year - although supermarkets often run promotions over the festive season.
Chocolate saw particularly high inflation - 12.4 per cent in the year to November 2024 - the highest across all the food and drink categories Which? looked at. A significant rise in global cocoa prices has been attributed to poor harvests because of weather conditions in West Africa.
At Ocado, a Cadbury Milk Tray Chocolate Box (360g) rose by 120 per cent from £2.63 on average in November 2023 to £5.78 in November 2024 and at Morrisons, a Cadbury Chocolate Xmas Santa Selection Box Medium (125g) increased by 83 per cent from £1.50 to £2.75 on average.
Other festive items which saw above-inflation price hikes included Fox's Classic Biscuit Selection (550g) at Ocado which increased by 52 per cent from an average £3.27 to £4.97 in the one month period to the end of November in 2024 compared to the same period a year earlier.
With prices significantly higher than before the cost of living crisis and Christmas fast-approaching, many households will likely still struggle to afford the weekly shop and will be concerned that prices have risen again.
When shopping for everyday essentials and Christmas staples, consumers should shop around and compare the price per unit (either 100g or 100ml for example) across different pack sizes, retailers and brands to ensure they get the best value for money.
More broadly, supermarkets continue to have an important role to play in supporting consumers to make affordable choices - including in pricier convenience stores. Certain groups of people are excluded from accessing lower loyalty prices at major supermarkets on the basis of their age, lack of address or digital access. The consumer champion believes the lower prices offered by loyalty schemes should be available to those who are ineligible to sign up through no fault of their own, and so is calling on retailers to find a solution to this issue.
Sue Davies, Which? Head of Food Policy, said:
“With Christmas fast approaching, many households will understandably be concerned to hear that food inflation has risen for the first time in more than 18 months.
“To ensure you get the best value for money on everyday essentials and Christmas items, shop around and compare the price per unit across different pack sizes, retailers and brands.
“Supermarkets still have an important role to play in supporting consumers to make affordable choices, including by making sure no consumers are unfairly excluded from loyalty schemes.”
-ENDS-
Notes to editors
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 and include regular discounts but not multibuys or loyalty prices.
Find out more: Which? food price inflation tracker
Right of replies
Which? sent right of replies to supermarkets on individual product prices - these were one month averages to the end of November 2023 and 2024 for festive products and three month averages to the end of November 2023 and 2024 for everyday products.
Aldi, Morrisons and Ocado had not commented at the time of publication.
A Waitrose spokesperson said: "All retailers have seen external factors impacting the price of orange juice, but we're working with our suppliers to keep prices low.” Waitrose also said it had a number of multibuy offers where customers could make savings.
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Which? is the UK’s consumer champion, here to make life simpler, fairer and safer for everyone. Our research gets to the heart of consumer issues, our advice is impartial, and our rigorous product tests lead to expert recommendations. We’re the independent consumer voice that influences politicians and lawmakers, investigates, holds businesses to account and makes change happen. As an organisation we’re not for profit and all for making consumers more powerful.
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