The price of food for British consumers is rising faster than the overall inflation rate, with the supermarket food shop climbing at a rate of 4.4% for the year to May, compared to 4.0% across the board. But some of the UK’s top supermarkets are seeing their prices spiral faster than others.
In particular, Tesco, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s shoppers have been hit with the sharpest uptick in prices. According to consumer champions Which?, Tesco inflation for May 2025 shot up 5.9%. Morrisons prices soared by 5.4%, while Sainsbury’s prices increased at a rate of 5.1%.
Budget supermarkets Aldi and Lidl had inflation rates of 5% and 4.8% for the month to May, respectively. Ocado prices also climbed at a rate of 4.8%. Asda prices swelled by 4.3%, while the cost of a Waitrose shop went up 4.2% in the month to May.
As well as there being a range of inflation rates across the supermarkets, various types of food are seeing their prices rise at different rates too. If you’ve got a sweet tooth, you may have already noticed the cost of your favourite treats has gone up in recent months. In particular, the price of chocolate went up at a rate of 17.5% for the month of May.
Biscuits, meanwhile, went up 10% in May, and cakes and cookies shot up 8.8%. Butter and spreads went up 9.4%, while energy drinks as well as juice drinks and smoothies climbed 5.8% and 5.5%, respectively.
Fresh food is also getting more costly. According to the British Retail Consortium (BRC), it’s this that is underpinning the overall spiralling cost of the food shop.
“Fresh foods were the main driver, and red meat eaters may have noticed their steak got a little more expensive as wholesale beef prices increased,” said Helen Dickinson, the BRC chief executive.
Ms Dickinson added: “If statutory costs continue to rise for retailers, households will have to brace themselves for more difficult times ahead as prices rise faster.”