UK grocery inflation hits 5.2% as own label grows share

While energy costs and the war in Ukraine are having a big effect on both prices of goods and availability of key ingredients in the supply chain across all markets, the UK is also wrestling with optimum timing to introduce restrictions on sales of HFSS (high in fat, sugar, salt) products.

According to Kantar, inflation in grocery hit 5.2% in March 2022, its highest rate for 10 years. Consumers are already being squeezed by sky high energy and fuel costs and now increasingly turning to own label goods in their regular supermarket shop. Own label’s share of grocery sales has increased to 50.6% vs 49.9% for the same period last year.

All major supermarkets are introducing initiatives to demonstrate their value credentials – even those at the premium end of the market like Marks & Spencer with a new ‘Remarksable Value’ campaign.

Meanwhile some pandemic trends such as the shift to on-line are holding their own, with current share of grocery at 12.6% (Kantar) compared with levels of 7-8% before shopping patterns shifted dramatically because of Covid.

Meanwhile the government has put on hold its plans to ban promotions of HFSS goods – a tool to tackle the obesity crisis. Now is not the time, it seems, to worsen the situation for hard up shoppers looking for deals.