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The average UK household is set to spend £275 more on food this year than last, thanks to relentless price rises on essentials like meat, tea, butter, and vegetables.
According to the latest British Retail Consortium (BRC) data, food prices are now four per cent higher than a year ago, and the trend has been climbing for six months straight.
So if it feels like your weekly shop is getting more brutal, it’s because it is.
The excuse: a “perfect storm”
Industry bosses, including the founder of sausage brand Heck, blame a “perfect storm” of supply issues — like avian flu and tighter livestock regulations — for pushing meat prices up.
For example, the wholesale price of chicken has nearly doubled in two years, rising from £2.85 to £5.50 per kilo.
Fair enough.
There are real global supply pressures.
But there’s a crucial question the headlines won’t ask:
If prices are rising, who’s cashing in?
You’re told these are just market forces. But ask yourself:
-
Are supermarket CEOs taking pay cuts?
-
Are food conglomerates freezing dividends?
-
Is the government stepping in to limit profiteering?
Of course not.
Retailers and producers are still making money, often record amounts — by not absorbing costs themselves.
Instead, they’re pushing those costs onto you, the consumer, and treating it as inevitable.
Real wages flat, food prices soaring
While the Consumer Price Index (CPI) sits at 3.6 per cent, food inflation is outpacing it at 4.5 per cent, with some cupboard items climbing by 5.1 per cent.
Young people, low-income families, and renters — already spending a disproportionate slice of their income on essentials — are being squeezed hardest.
This isn’t just about budgeting.
It’s about policy.
Where’s the government in all this?
We’ve heard nothing from ministers about:
-
Price controls on essentials
-
Windfall taxes on companies profiting from crisis
-
Raising benefits or the minimum wage in line with food inflation
Instead, the government sticks to the script: inflation is “cooling” (barely), and the economy is “resilient.”
But that resilience isn’t showing up at the checkout.
The big picture they won’t show you
The BRC data — and the BBC’s coverage — focus on consumer prices, not corporate profits. But the public deserves a fuller picture:
-
Nestlé made nearly £15 billion in profit last year.
-
Tesco’s profits surged to over £2.3 billion in 2023.
-
The average FTSE 100 CEO now earns 118 times more than a full-time UK worker.
Are these companies victims of a supply crisis — or beneficiaries of it?
The loop of blame
We’re told:
“We have no choice but to raise prices.”
But while food prices rise, workers are told not to ask for pay rises because it “fuels inflation.”
It’s a vicious cycle — and it’s deliberately structured to make ordinary people pay the cost, while profits remain protected.
What can be done?
If the government really wanted to protect the public:
-
It could introduce temporary price caps on essentials.
-
It could tax excess profits from food giants.
-
It could raise Universal Credit in line with food inflation.
-
It could increase minimum wage indexing to reflect real-world costs, not just CPI targets.
But none of this is happening – because in the current system, inflation isn’t just a side effect — it’s a business model.
This is what we’ve been leading up to: it means that some companies aren’t just reacting to rising costs — they’re using inflation as cover to raise prices more than necessary.
While they claim it’s about “supply shocks” or “market pressures,” their profit margins have stayed strong or even grown. In other words:
“Costs go up a little, prices go up a lot — and the difference goes to shareholders.”
This practice — sometimes called greedflation — has been flagged by economists at the European Central Bank, the IMF, and others.
But you won’t hear much about it from the government or corporate press, because it exposes a basic truth:
Inflation has become a profit strategy — and you’re the one footing the bill.
The bottom line
You’re not imagining it.
The £275 rise in food bills isn’t just some natural disaster — it’s the product of policy choices, corporate priorities, and a political class that sees rising prices as your problem to manage alone.
If you’re struggling with the cost of living, don’t just ask why.
Ask who benefits — and who lets them.
Share this post:
Why your weekly shop is £275 more expensive — and who’s making sure you pay it
Share this post:
The average UK household is set to spend £275 more on food this year than last, thanks to relentless price rises on essentials like meat, tea, butter, and vegetables.
According to the latest British Retail Consortium (BRC) data, food prices are now four per cent higher than a year ago, and the trend has been climbing for six months straight.
So if it feels like your weekly shop is getting more brutal, it’s because it is.
The excuse: a “perfect storm”
Industry bosses, including the founder of sausage brand Heck, blame a “perfect storm” of supply issues — like avian flu and tighter livestock regulations — for pushing meat prices up.
For example, the wholesale price of chicken has nearly doubled in two years, rising from £2.85 to £5.50 per kilo.
Fair enough.
There are real global supply pressures.
But there’s a crucial question the headlines won’t ask:
If prices are rising, who’s cashing in?
You’re told these are just market forces. But ask yourself:
Are supermarket CEOs taking pay cuts?
Are food conglomerates freezing dividends?
Is the government stepping in to limit profiteering?
Of course not.
Retailers and producers are still making money, often record amounts — by not absorbing costs themselves.
Instead, they’re pushing those costs onto you, the consumer, and treating it as inevitable.
Real wages flat, food prices soaring
While the Consumer Price Index (CPI) sits at 3.6 per cent, food inflation is outpacing it at 4.5 per cent, with some cupboard items climbing by 5.1 per cent.
Young people, low-income families, and renters — already spending a disproportionate slice of their income on essentials — are being squeezed hardest.
This isn’t just about budgeting.
It’s about policy.
Where’s the government in all this?
We’ve heard nothing from ministers about:
Price controls on essentials
Windfall taxes on companies profiting from crisis
Raising benefits or the minimum wage in line with food inflation
Instead, the government sticks to the script: inflation is “cooling” (barely), and the economy is “resilient.”
But that resilience isn’t showing up at the checkout.
The big picture they won’t show you
The BRC data — and the BBC’s coverage — focus on consumer prices, not corporate profits. But the public deserves a fuller picture:
Nestlé made nearly £15 billion in profit last year.
Tesco’s profits surged to over £2.3 billion in 2023.
The average FTSE 100 CEO now earns 118 times more than a full-time UK worker.
Are these companies victims of a supply crisis — or beneficiaries of it?
The loop of blame
We’re told:
But while food prices rise, workers are told not to ask for pay rises because it “fuels inflation.”
It’s a vicious cycle — and it’s deliberately structured to make ordinary people pay the cost, while profits remain protected.
What can be done?
If the government really wanted to protect the public:
It could introduce temporary price caps on essentials.
It could tax excess profits from food giants.
It could raise Universal Credit in line with food inflation.
It could increase minimum wage indexing to reflect real-world costs, not just CPI targets.
But none of this is happening – because in the current system, inflation isn’t just a side effect — it’s a business model.
This is what we’ve been leading up to: it means that some companies aren’t just reacting to rising costs — they’re using inflation as cover to raise prices more than necessary.
While they claim it’s about “supply shocks” or “market pressures,” their profit margins have stayed strong or even grown. In other words:
This practice — sometimes called greedflation — has been flagged by economists at the European Central Bank, the IMF, and others.
But you won’t hear much about it from the government or corporate press, because it exposes a basic truth:
Inflation has become a profit strategy — and you’re the one footing the bill.
The bottom line
You’re not imagining it.
The £275 rise in food bills isn’t just some natural disaster — it’s the product of policy choices, corporate priorities, and a political class that sees rising prices as your problem to manage alone.
If you’re struggling with the cost of living, don’t just ask why.
Ask who benefits — and who lets them.
Share this post:
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