How much the favourite items in your food basket have gone up
How much it is now costing to make a cake, spaghetti bolognese and a packed lunch
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Families are set to pay hundreds of pounds more to make basic meals this year compared to 2022 with inflation hitting a record 16.7 per cent.
Research by The Independent has found making a sponge cake will cost an extra £1.35, a packed lunch for a week will be an extra £2.03, while the staple spaghetti bolognese will cost £1.68 more to make.
Analysts Kantar said on Monday that the recorded 2.3 percentage point jump in the first four weeks of January is the highest ever.
Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar, said: “Late last year, we saw the rate of grocery price inflation dip slightly, but that small sign of relief for consumers has been short-lived.
“Households will now face an extra £788 on their annual shopping bills if they don’t change their behaviour to cut costs.”
The Independent’s study found an average price for an item this week and compared it against the price for 2022. Where possible, the price was taken for Tesco but when there was no matching product an average price for a non-supermarket brand’s product was used. Where there was no data for 2022 or 2023, the inflation level amount was applied between the two prices.
For spaghetti bolognese, beef mince has seen a bike price hike and while a mid range bottle of wine has not gone up so much in relative terms it could now set you back £8.
2022 | 2023 | |
Spaghetti (500g) | £1.22 | £1.25 |
Beef mince 3 per cent fat (500g) | £3.81 | £4.60 |
Onions (200g) | £0.18 | £0.24 |
Canned tomato (400g) | £0.63 | £0.75 |
Red wine (bottle) | £7.32 | £8.00 |
Total | £13.16 | £14.84 |
Sponge cake, made with the BBC Good Food recipe, will cost £1 more to make if all ingredients are bought from scratch.
2022 | 2023 | |
Butter (225g) | £2.30 | £3 |
Caster sugar (225g) | £0.27 | £0.45 |
Eggs (six) | £1 | £1 |
One lemon | £0.13 | £0.13 |
Flour (225g) | £0.50 | £0.50 |
Milk (One pint) | £0.70 | £0.90 |
Icing sugar | £0.86 | £1 |
Jam | £1.47 | £1.60 |
Total | £7.23 | £8.58 |
And the cost of a packed lunch, made with cheddar cheese sandwiches, fruit and snacks, will also rise by more than £1 per week.
2022 | 2023 | |
Bread rolls | £1.12 | £1.35 |
Butter | £2.30 | £3 |
Cheddar cheese | £3.19 | £3.40 |
Salad tomato | £0.76 | £0.85 |
Frusli bar | £2 | £2.30 |
Apple | £1.72 | £2 |
Banana | £0.70 | £0.70 |
Caramel Wafer | £1.38 | £1.60 |
Total | £13.17 | £15.20 |
BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said: "Retail prices rose in January as discounting slowed and retailers continued to face high input costs.
"With global food costs coming down from their 2022 high and the cost of oil falling, we expect to see some inflationary pressures easing.
"However, as retailers still face ongoing headwinds from rising energy bills and labour shortages, prices are yet to peak and will likely remain high in the near term as a result."
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments