‘My big shop used to cost £100, now it’s £150’: readers recount their shock at supermarket food bills

“Food prices are ridiculous, but it’s the fact they are still rising that is keeping me awake at night,” says Nikki of the strain caused by higher grocery bills. The mother of two from Aberdeenshire adds: “My weekly shop with in-between top-ups now costs in excess of £220 and is fast becoming unaffordable. Before 2020, I was spending £135 a week.” The family’s food costs are also affected by the need to buy “free from” products, which have become even more expensive. “I have two children with coeliac disease, so they cannot eat anything containing gluten,” Nikki says. They are unable to save money by opting for no-frills products as these “nearly always contain wheat as a filler”. While the cost of living crisis is no longer at the top of the news agenda, for many Britons it is worse than ever, particularly when confronted with the price of even a small basket of groceries at the till. When Karen recently posted on X a picture of her four neatly packed shopping bags with the caption “£98!!! At Aldi no booze included & only meat is sliced for a sandwich & a chicken to roast 6 months ago this would have been £70! Cost of living is just ridiculous”, the post went viral. Other Britons have taken to posting videos of their shops on TikTok as they become exasperated about their food bills. The latest Office for National Statistics data showed UK inflation was unchanged last month at 3.8%. A breakdown of the figure offered some light at the end of the tunnel, as annual food price inflation eased from 5.1% in August to 4.5% – the first time it has slowed since March. Even though overall inflation is well below the 41-year-high of 11.1% recorded three years ago, the cumulative effect of rising prices means essentials such as groceries cost a lot more than they used to. Shona Goudie, a policy and advocacy manager at the Food Foundation, a charity, says that while food inflation was down from the previous month, “prices remain incredibly high. The cost of a weekly shop is still 30% higher than in 2022, and this is continuing to have a huge impact on the lives of people up and down the country.” The charity’s data shows that one in seven UK households with children struggle to afford food. Of these “food insecure households”, 64% report cutting back on fruit and 50% have cut back on vegetables. Nikki was one of almost 100 readers who shared their experiences after we asked whether they were shocked at food prices in the supermarket. ‘I buy mostly own-brand supermarket items’ Chris, a stay-at-home father, is another reader who responded. “I used to be able to get a weekly shop for a family of five for about £90, plus maybe another £20 for additional bits later in the week. Now I’m spending £110-£120 and it doesn’t even cover what we need for the week,” he says. Reflecting a common theme among the respondents, Chris, who lives in Manchester, says the price of branded groceries “just go up and up. There doesn’t seem to be anything for less than £2-£3, so you end up with a bag full, maybe 10 or so items, and that’s £30 on its own. “I now buy mostly own-brand supermarket items, but there are some items such as toiletries, cleaning products or pet food that you can’t scrimp on. A bag of dry cat food (that my cats will actually eat) can cost upwards of £6-£7.” ‘I don’t buy branded anything if I can help it’ Stacey, with a family of four – plus a cat – to feed, says it is a “struggle to keep my weekly shop below £100”, which she reckons is an increase of about £40 since lockdown. The special educational needs teaching assistant had previously stopped getting groceries delivered to her home in Thetford, Norfolk, because she struggled to meet the spend threshold. Now, she says, “I never don’t hit that”. The “almighty increase” in the price of minced beef has meant a switch to pork mince in her shepherd’s pie and bolognese. “I don’t buy branded anything if I can help it,” she says. Some readers say they are not prepared to pay silly prices for previously affordable branded foods such as baked beans, ketchup or tinned soup “on principle”. In Tesco, a four-pack of Heinz baked beans costs £3.90, compared with £1.60 for its own-brand beans. Ready meals – including Charlie Bigham’s got several name-checks – and treats such as chocolate and wine are also among the products being dropped from shopping lists due to the cost. ‘£2 for a multipack of crisps – it’s just potatoes!’ “Heinz soup is stupidly expensive,” says Richard, a scientist based in Berkshire. “Tomato sauce too. I no longer buy oat milk as a treat for my tea. Have you seen the price of minced beef? Also, Walkers crisps at over two quid for a multipack – it’s just bloody potatoes!” ‘I paid £5 a jar of coffee last year, now it’s £8.35’ Anne, a retired school teacher, does a big shop that generally comes in at £150, which she says is about £50 more than 18 months ago, “especially if it includes wine”. “I’ve bought the same brand of instant coffee since the 70s. Paid £5 a jar last year – now it’s £8.35.” Needless to say, Anne has switched to a cheaper brand. The decisions being made by shoppers are changing the shape of grocery sales, with supermarkets’ own lines now accounting for 51.2% of all takings, up from 50.9% a year ago, according to the grocery analysts Worldpanel. Its data shows shoppers swapping household names for premium own-brand ranges such as Tesco Finest or Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference. Fraser McKevitt, the head of retail and consumer insight at Worldpanel, says sales of premium own-label products have been rising at a rate of more than 10%. “Brands are holding ground in some categories, including baby toiletries, toothbrushes and frozen chicken, showing that consumers still value well-known names,” he says. ‘The amount is reduced and the quality is poor’ The march of food prices means a basket that used to cost £20-£40 is now £40-£70, says Eddie. Lamb, beef mince, fish, eggs, cheese, chocolate, cooking oils and ready meals are on his list of items he thinks have increased the most in price. “It’s not just that the price has gone up – the amount you get has reduced and the quality is poor,” he says. “Even the plastic on some packaging is lower quality.” Based in Yorkshire, he would prefer to shop at a discounter but is unable to travel to one, forcing him to use his local Tesco. “Corners have been cut everywhere but prices continue to rise and the Clubcard offers aren’t as good as they used to be.” Like other readers, Eddie is buying supermarket own-label products these days over big-name brands, even for treats such as chocolate. “They’re the same price as the brand-name shop you could do four to five years ago,” he says. ‘We buy based on what is on offer that week’ It is the same story for Alison, with a family of four to feed in Redbridge, east London. “We have stopped buying anything which is not supermarket own brand,” says the former primary school teacher, adding that buying free-range eggs is her only red line. “We buy based on what is on offer that week,” she says. In 2024, a study by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) showed the bill for a weekly shop among the poorest UK households increased by far more than that among wealthy homes at the height of the cost of living crisis, as the sharpest price rises affected cheaper brands. Peter Levell, a deputy research director at the IFS, says even if food price inflation “hasn’t hit the dizzying heights” of 2022 and 2023, the run rate “will have hit poorer households hardest as they devote a large share of their budgets to necessities”. “Overall, the ONS household cost indices suggest lower-income households experienced inflation rates only a little bit higher than higher-income households (4.1% v 3.8%), because while high food price inflation is more significant for poorer households, higher-income households spend more on mortgage interest and transport costs that have also risen rapidly,” he adds. ‘I have to stick to a tight budget’ Mary*, who is in her early 50s and is divorced with two sons, is struggling with the cost of living in Cambridgeshire. She works full-time but is on what she describes as a “low wage”. “I have to stick to a tight budget. While it was the three of us at home, I’d stick to £75 per week. When my eldest went off to uni in 2022, I expected to save money on food. I did to begin with, but now spend £75 per week for two people. “I’ve watched beef mince go up and up weekly over the last few months, and this week I made the switch to turkey mince. I’ve also swapped our much-loved Yorkshire teabags for supermarket red label.” “I haven’t made a beef or lamb stew for several years now as these meats are too expensive. Same for roasting joints. When my shopping basket reaches £75, I stop adding things regardless, or make swaps if there are items I still feel we need.” The steepness of food price increases has led some to question whether supermarkets are profiteering. ‘I am genuinely shocked at the rate of price increases’ “Our weekly shop costs £100-£150 per week,” says Laurie, a public sector worker based in the West Midlands. She says she is “genuinely shocked” at the rate of price increases in her local Morrisons supermarket. “I can’t help thinking supermarkets might be profiteering,” she says. “I’m not suggesting that is happening, because I don’t know, but it feels like it.” In fairness to Morrisons, she notes that the price of its own-brand products remains low and it has maintained the quality. When fingers are pointed at the substantial profits made by the big supermarket chains – Tesco is on course to rake in £2.9bn-£3.1bn for the full year – business analysts in turn point to rising costs linked to government policies, Brexit and the impact of the climate crisis on food production. The British Retail Consortium says retailers, already operating on tight margins, have been hit with £7bn in additional taxes this year alone – costs they “simply can’t absorb”. ‘I collect points wherever I can and I meal-plan’ To navigate sky-high food prices, London-based Emma, who is expecting her first child, says the only solution is to become a savvy supermarket shopper and “play them at their own game”. She and her partner spend between £70 and £100 a week on food, but it can be more if they buy “big-ticket items” such as dishwasher tablets. “I look for deals only. I am not loyal to supermarkets or brands – I collect points wherever I can, and I meal-plan,” Emma says. *Name has been changed How much? Ten of the biggest risers Product prices taken on 21 October 2023/21 October 2025 • Own-label standard lean beef steak mince 5% fat (500g) £3.62/£5.24. • Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate bar (110g) £1.43/£2.02. • Own-label standard carrots 1kg £0.50/£0.69. • Lurpak (400g) £3.75/£4.69. • Maryland choc chip cookies 200g £1.43/£1.60. • Own-label free-range medium eggs (6 pack) £1.50/£1.75. • Nescafé Gold Blend instant coffee (190g) £7.00/£7.93. • Birds Eye cod fish fingers (10 pack, 280g) £3.82/£4.50. • Yorkshire 80 teabags (250g) £3.30/£3.75. • Pampers Baby Dry size 4 essential pack (44 nappies) £9.88/£10.75. Source: Assosia. Note: data is based on the average pre-promotion price at Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons