Food prices have fallen for the first time in almost two years, but the cost of a traditional Christmas dinner will still be around 9% up on 2021.
Latest grocery inflation figures from industry body Kantar Worldpanel show prices rose by 14.6% last month from a record 41-year-high of 14.7% in October.
However the report, which tracks 75,000 supermarket items, showed that at the current rate shoppers would typically have to spend an extra £60 in December to buy the same products as last year.
It said the cost of a traditional Christmas dinner for four had hit £31 for 2022 – up 9.3%.
Frozen turkeys are up 11% year-on-year. Parsnips are up 30% and potatoes 20%.
However, carrot costs were 7% down with brussels sprouts 3% lower.
Essential items have gone up in price by as much as 65% over the year, according to separate findings from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Russia’s war in Ukraine has had a significant impact on prices that were already strained due to Brexit and surges in demand post Covid.
The cost of producing and transporting goods has also risen sharply because of record energy and fuel prices.
- What is inflation?
- How much should I spend on my food shop?
- How can I save on my food shop each month?
- Are loyalty schemes worth it?
- Real life story: What I’m doing to lower my bills during the cost-of-living crisis
Related content: Cost of living crisis: everything you need to know
Find out more: How the Bank of England interest rate rise will affect your money
Inflation and food prices – how are they linked?
Inflation is the measure of rising prices. The consumer prices index (CPI), which measures the cost of living, shows inflation is currently at 11.1%.
Inflation has gone up for several reasons, most notably:
- Brexit regulations
- An increase in demand post lockdown
- Soaring energy prices linked to Russia’s war in Ukraine
Right now, the two areas where prices are rising the most are for food and energy.
The ONS found that some essential items had increased in price by 17% in the past year. This is greater than the overall rate ofinflation for food and drinkwhich stood at 14.5%.
To give an example, if a loaf of bread costs £1 one year and £1.07 the next year, that’s an annual inflation rate of 7% on bread.
Here’s how the inflation rate is calculated.
How price of 10 food items have changed over time
The ONS, which tracks 1.5 million food prices online, shows essential items are going up the fastest. Its latest report suggests the following increases:
- Vegetable oil: 65.2%
- Pasta: 59.9%
- Tea: 46.0%
- Chips: 38.7%
- Bread: 37.6%
- Biscuits: 34.4%
- Mixed frozen vegetables: 31.9%
- Milk: 29.4%
- Crisps: 23.7%
- Tomatoes: 19.3%
Meanwhile, the largest price decrease recorded was fruit orange juice with which fell 9%. Beef mince also fell 7% in price.
What is a good grocery budget for two people?
UK households now spend an annual average of 16% of their budgets on food and non-alcoholic drinks, according to the ONS.
That’s an annual spend of £3,312 on groceries. Broken down by occupants, the average couple spends an estimated £374 a month – although a third of this goes towards takeaways and restaurants.
17 ways to reduce the price of your weekly grocery spend
Here are our top tips on how to cut the cost of your food bill.
1. Bulk buying
If you have the cupboard space, bulk-buying can be really cost-effective.
If you check the label of the product you are buying, it will tell you the price per kilogram – and the big bags almost always work out much cheaper. The deals can be even better if you can buy from a wholesaler or bulk-buying specialist such as Costco – although bear in mind these firms come with annual membership fees that you need to factor in.
Start with items such as pasta and tea bags – these have long shelf lives and are great for meal planning when money is tight.
It’s also great for household essentials. Tesco charges £8 for a pack of 36 Ariel All-in-1 washing pods. However, a pack of 120 will cost you £20. That’s 22p each versus 17p each. Watch out though as sometimes the smaller packs can work out cheaper, so always check.
2. Avoid pre-prepared fruit and vegetables
Convenience sells, whether that be ready-sliced fruit, boil-in-the-bag rice or pre-cooked chicken – but it often comes at a premium.
Don’t fall into this consumer trap. Ready-chopped fresh fruits and vegetables are much more expensive because not only are you paying for the item, you are also paying for someone to prepare them.
If you need to buy pre-prepared, aim for frozen; these prices tend to be more competitive and the product itself will last longer.
3. Meal planning
Deciding what you will eat each day well in advance, stocking up on ingredients accordingly in a big shop and aiming to use them all can go a long way.
Not only will it save you having to do expensive top-up shops, but it will make all the difference when time is tight.
Meal planning also allows you to balance your diet as you forward-plan, while eradicating the stress of last-minute cooking and simultaneously reducing the amount of food waste.
Plus, cook it in advance and pop it in the freezer, and you can enjoy no-cooking days.
4. Get freezing
It’s a common assumption that frozen food isn’t as nutritious, but this is not necessarily the case.
Frozen food is picked for freezing straightaway, whereas fresh food can be in transit for days before it gets to its destination.
For example, frozen fish is just as fresh, if not fresher than fish on the counter, some of which has been frozen previously. It is also often much cheaper.
You can also freeze many of the items you buy on yellow sticker discounts – allowing you to save them for another day.
In addition, frozen things like garlic, ginger and chopped onions are often much cheaper than the fresh variety and can be kept for as and when you need them.
Frozen vegetables are also a great alternative to canned ones, which are often packed with salt to preserve them.
5. Don’t shop when hungry – and make a list
Shopping for food when hungry can be dangerous as you may be tempted to throw things into the trolley that you don’t need.
Aim to shop on a full stomach and you will find yourself being much more sensible with what you grab from the shelves.
Always write a shopping list of what you need and make it a rule to stick to it.
6. Watch out what you chuck in the bin
Figures from campaign group WRAP show UK households throw away 9.5m tonnes of food each year, almost three-quarters of which is produce we could have eaten.
But the average family of four could save just over £60 a month by reducing their food waste.
Most of what people throw away is made up of fruit and veg, and these are some of the easiest ingredients to utilise for all sorts of recipes: you could freeze them for future smoothies or cakes, or use them to bulk out other dishes and freeze them in batches.
It’s also a good idea to arrange your fridge in order of freshness so you have all the items approaching expiry at the front. That way, you will know where to start when you are deciding what to cook for your next meal.
Food waste apps such as Kitche can help you with this. Kitche alerts you when items in your fridge are about to go off.
You can also use special sites that suggest recipes for the items left over in your fridge or cupboard, such as SuperCook or BigOven.
7. Look up and down
Supermarkets often place the most expensive items at eye level – but this product placement is merely a marketing gimmick.
You can often get similar items for much less if you look at the shelves above and below you.
Similarly, some items can be found at cheaper prices in different aisles. For example, wet wipes can be found in the baby or beauty sections at different prices, so compare them to find the cheapest offer.
8. Meat-free Monday
Meat is expensive and our consumption is contributing heavily to greenhouse gas emissions – so there are multiple benefits to be reaped from cutting back.
Having a meat-free day each week can save you money. You can make perfectly filling and nutritious vegetarian meals to feed the family for a fraction of the cost of a meat dish.
9. Buy store brands
Try dropping one brand level on your groceries – and if you or your kids can’t tell the difference, then stick with the cheaper option.
Downshifting on all the bands you buy typically cuts the cost of your supermarket shop by 30% according to a MoneySavingExpert comparison. Even if you swapped half the items, that’s still a 15% saving.
A 630g of Nutella is £3.65, for example, while Nutoka – the Aldi rival – is £1.15 for 400g.
The same applies for products such as washing-up liquid and toilet roll.
10. Yellow-sticker aisles
We know that most supermarkets reduce the price of fresh items at the end of each working day – but at exactly what times should you be heading into a store for the biggest discounts?
The first yellow stickers may appear mid-morning, but between 6pm and 9pm, the discounts can be as high as 75% off.
In Asda, the final reductions tend to start at about 7pm. With the Co-op’s “75% off” discounts, 8pm is generally the prime time.
Reductions in Morrisons may begin late morning or at lunchtime, while Sainsbury’s discounts kick in at about 7pm.
Tesco and Lidl reduce food prices as early as 8am, while big discounts materialise in the early evening.
Half-price stickers start appearing from 8pm in Aldi, while “final reduction” stickers can be seen 30 minutes to an hour before closing in M&S stores. Aldi discounts are usually marked with a red sticker.
Waitrose discounts tend to start later, but they are at their peak in the last 30 minutes before closing.
11. Shop around
It’s always worth comparing branded products across supermarkets, but you may find some are cheaper in other shops.
Often, local markets, butchers and greengrocers can be cheaper than the supermarkets. If you have the time, it is worth shopping around.
You can also sometimes save by buying non-food items such as bin-liners and cleaning products in a discount store, rather than in the supermarket.
12. Storing food correctly to prolong lifespan
You can prolong the shelf-life of your food by storing what you buy correctly.
Eggs last longer when kept in their box, while oranges, and some fruit and vegetables, should be stored in the fridge.
Items such as potatoes, bananas, pineapples, onions and bread should be preserved in a cool, dry place and kept in their original packaging to prolong their lifespan.
13. Apps offering free or cheap food
People have started signing up to apps such as Olio for free produce.
With the aim of eliminating waste and “sharing” food, big supermarkets such as Tesco and retailers such as Pret A Manger offer unsold fresh products to Olio at the end of each day. Volunteers sign up, collect the food, and then list them on the app for locals to collect.
Too Good To Go is another free app that allows you to purchase unsold food at a discounted rate to prevent it from being thrown away. Businesses place these items in “magic bags” and price them up at about a third of the original value.
You pay in advance and have to pick up your food during a certain timeframe.
14. Sniff test
Avoid throwing away best-before-date items; these are just the manufacturer’s view of when they’re at optimum quality – and often, the products are still perfectly edible after that date.
Sometimes, you may find the item has lost its flavour or texture – it’s then up to you to decide what you want to do with it.
However, use-by dates mean you should chuck food away after this point, as otherwise it’s a health risk. Typical foods to watch include dairy – milk, fish and eggs.
15. Grab free fast food through apps and clubs
Fast-food chains may offer discounts and freebies to new and existing customers via their apps and membership “clubs”. Often, the motive is that they are trying to drive up their mailing lists or app downloads.
For example, sign up to Krispy Kreme’s newsletter and enter your details to get a free original glazed Krispy Kreme doughnut.
If you download the McDonald’s app, you will get 20% off the first time you use it to order. Greggs offers a free hot drink when you register.
Most will also give you an extra reward on your birthday, so remember to add that at the log-in page.
16. Take advantage of newbie offers for online grocery shopping
If you are doing an online food shop, you may be eligible for a discount – especially if you are a new customer, so check mailing lists and deals sites for voucher codes and coupons.
Shoppers may also be eligible for cashback through sites such as TopCashback and Quidco. In essence, these pay you to shop through them, but bear in mind that often you won’t be able to combine the two discounts.
17. Are supermarket loyalty schemes worth it?
Supermarket loyalty clubs are worth joining for the rewards – but remember that you need to spend there to accumulate points. Make sure you don’t fall into the trap of only spending because you’re a cardholder – always go for the most competitively priced retailer if you’re looking to make savings.
The biggest potential benefit of these clubs is that you can often collect points on petrol, which means you can get something back, albeit slowly, as fuel prices rocket.
- Asda. The Asda Rewards app allows shoppers to earn cashback on selected branded and own-label products. Once shoppers build up enough cash, they can create a voucher in the app, which can be used on their next shop or saved up to pay for a full shop in the future. The app is still at trial stage, so not available UK-wide.
- Lidl. The Lidl Plus app promises “personalised” discounts that customers can activate at the till. It will also enter you into a £20 scratchcard competition every time you scan it.
- M&S. At M&S – every week, in every store – one shopper who swipes their Sparks card at the till will get their shopping for free. So if you are making a purchase, remember to scan your card.
- Morrisons. My Morrisons (previously known as Morrisons More) also offers “personalised” discounts based on your shopping habits. You can also get offers to use online, but you need to use a discount code at the checkout, and paper vouchers can be provided to shoppers without internet access.
- Sainsbury’s. Sainsbury’s is part of the Nectar club, which allows you to pick up one point per £1 spent in-store and online, as well as one point for every litre of fuel purchased at Sainsbury’s fuel stations.
There are other ways you can make the most of the Nectar scheme, such as through Sainsbury’s Bank products.
Sainsburys’ Nectar Dual 24-month credit card, for example, allows you to earn 500 Nectar points each time you spend £35 or more on Sainsbury’s shopping.
You can do this up to ten times in the first two months, giving you the chance to collect up to 5,000 points. But make sure the account is right for you first.
Five hundred Nectar points are worth £2.50. The card also allows you to earn up to three points for every £1 spent at Sainsbury’s, Argos, Habitat and Tu Clothing.
- Tesco. Tesco Clubcard lets you collect one point per £1 spent in-store and online. When purchasing Tesco fuel, you will get one point for every £2 spent.
You will also unlock Clubcard Prices, which offers special discounts to loyalty-card holders.
There are lots of opportunities to earn points through other Tesco products such as Tesco Mobile and Tesco credit cards.
The Tesco Bank Purchase card, for example, allows you to earn five Clubcard points for every £4 spent in the supermarket and on Tesco fuel, and one point for every £8 spent elsewhere. Each point is worth 1p, and for every 150 points, you get £1.50 in Clubcard vouchers.
You can also boost the value of your points with selected partners such as theme parks and cinemas.
It should not be mistaken for Tesco Clubcard Plus, which is a monthly subscription service that costs £7.99 and offers 10% off two in-store food shops a month (maximum value per shop: £200).
If you do a couple of big shops in-store each month, this scheme could be worthwhile. For example, two £150 shops a month will save you £30, or £22 once you subtract the monthly charge.
But if you do numerous small weekly shops or mainly shop online, the savings are likely to be minimal.
Remember: the monthly fee adds up to almost £100 a year, so you need to be making good use of it. As a general rule, aim to spend at least £80 on a qualifying food shop to cover your costs.
- Co-op. The Co-op loyalty scheme allows you to earn 2% cashback when you buy selected Co-op own-brand items or services – and 2% goes to a cause in your area.
Any money you earn will be paid into your membership account. The account costs a one-off £1 to open.
- Waitrose. Lastly, Waitrose offered free hot drinks to myWaitrose customers, but it has yet to reinstate this after the Covid pandemic. It also recently scrapped its free-newspaper promise, which was one of its biggest perks.
However, you do still get a free copy of the monthly Waitrose & Partners Food magazine and access to in-store deals such as 20% off either meat, fish, cheese or deli counters each week.
Real life story: “How I save money every week”
Nikki Pilkington, 49, from Northampton, says the price of her food shop has risen from £80 to £120 in the wake of the cost-of-living crisis.
She always uses discount codes, cashback offers and loyalty club savings to limit her outlay.
“We’re all struggling, but there are people out there who cannot afford fresh vegetables or nappies for their children – and it’s heart-breaking,” she says.
Nikki, a married mum-of-one, visits her local supermarkets every night for food with yellow-sticker discounts. “I buy them and freeze them,” she says. Her golden rule is to only buy meat when it’s reduced in price. “Last week, I went into my local Tesco store at 9pm and picked up fresh chicken for 5p. If you meal-plan, that’s two to three meals for a family.
Meal planning helps
“Meal planning is hugely cost-effective, but remember to keep an inventory of everything in your freezer. If you’re making a sauce, split it across meals; for example, pasta sauce can also be used to make a chilli. This can also save you money on gas and electricity.
She adds: “I also bulk buy when there’s an offer on – usually canned foods and cleaning products.”
Nikki recommends investing in a slow cooker – she says it’s cost effective because you’re saving energy and avoiding wasting water and time effective because you can start cooking when you want rather than having to rustle up a meal when you’re busy. It also means you’re getting a nutritious meal.
Her top tip when out food shopping is to ask yourself: “Will I use this and how?” This applies even if it’s a yellow-sticker discount. If the answer isn’t a clear yes, she will put it back on the shelf.
When it comes to brand swaps, she recommends dropping down to a premium own-brand first. “I like my Heinz products and won’t swap ketchup, but Lidl’s salad cream and tomato soups taste almost identical.”
