Food and drink prices rise at record pace of 17.1%

The price of food and drink in shops is rising at a record pace, research suggests, putting more pressure on household finances.

Prices in the four weeks to 19 February rose by 17.1% from a year earlier, research firm Kantar said, the highest rate since its records began in 2008.

Kantar said one in four shoppers were now struggling financially.

It added that households faced an £811 increase to their annual grocery bill if they did not change shopping habits.

Food prices have been increasing sharply as producers have seen energy, labour and agriculture costs rise.

"Shoppers have been facing sustained price rises for some time now," said Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar. "This is having a big impact on people's lives.

"Our latest research shows that grocery price inflation is the second most important financial issue for the public behind energy costs."

Shoppers are continuing to switch to supermarket own-brands, Kantar said, in an attempt to save money.

Sales of own-brand goods were up 13.2% in February, compared with a 4.6% rise in branded goods.

Commenting on the recent limits that supermarkets have been placing on fruit and vegetable sales, Mr McKevitt said: "While 43% of all grocery baskets contain at least one fresh produce item, pack limits are unlikely to drastically affect consumers as we usually buy fruit and veg in smaller quantities.

"For instance, only 1% of tomato purchases last year involved more than three packs."

Kantar's figures showed that the discount supermarket chains have continued to see rapid growth. Both Aldi and Lidl have seen their sales grow by more than a quarter over the past year.

Separately, online retailer Ocado said customers on average bought fewer items from it last year than they had the year before.

It said the average number of items bought per visit fell from 52 in 2021 to 46 last year, although this was the same amount as before the pandemic. Online grocery shopping saw a huge rise during the pandemic as people sought to avoid shopping in stores.

Ocado chief executive Tim Steiner said: "Ocado Retail, our UK joint venture with M&S, has shown its resilience against a backdrop of higher costs and smaller baskets, reflecting the Covid unwind and the UK cost-of-living crisis, by growing customer numbers and increasing online market share."