Food giant Nestle has announced it has hiked prices of by an average of nearly 10% so far this year as the cost of living crisis rages on.
The company said that its pricing increased by 9.8% overall in the first three months of 2023, with ice cream and pet food seeing some of the biggest hikes. Nestle owns dozens of the bestselling brands in supermarkets, including Aero, KitKat, Smarties, Haagen-Dazs, Quality Street and Nescafe, as well as Bakers, Felix and Purina pet food.
Nestle reported a 5.6% increase in sales during this period equating to £21.2bn, with Purina pet products proving to be the biggest driver of sales. CES Mark Schneider said that the price rises were "responsible" and had "helped to offset the ongoing pressures from two years of cost inflation" - but some shoppers were not impressed by the changes, with one person on Twitter branding the increases "pure greed".
READ MORE: Morrisons begins rationing affecting all shoppers amid fears of shortages
It comes as households continue to struggle in the face of rising costs, with food prices surging at the fastest rate for 45 years. Research from the Office For National Statistics (ONS) showed that the cost of groceries increased by 19.1% year-on-year in March, the sharpest jump since August 1977.
Price rises have partly been linked to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which forced the cost of export products including vegetable oils and grains higher. Recent fruit and vegetable shortages, due to poor weather conditions in north Africa and Spain, also contributed to inflation, according to the ONS.
Statistics showed that the average prices of everyday essentials have gone up by as much as almost 50% over the 12 months to March, with olive oil seeing the sharpest hikes of 49.2%. The cost of sugar also went up by an eye-watering average of 42.1%, while low-fat milk increased in price by 38.8% and cheese shot up by 33.6%.
The most recent supermarket price comparison from consumer experts Which? showed that Aldi was the cheapest place to shop overall in March 2023, with a 41-item shop costing £72.54 on average - beating rival Lidl by just 25p. The most expensive supermarket by comparison was found to be Waitrose, with a shop for the same range of products coming at £92.55.
READ NEXT:
Lidl announces where in North East it wants to open new stores - see if one is near you
Tesco making major changes to online delivery service from next week
Co-op takes on Sainsbury's and Tesco as it introduces special prices for loyalty members
Boots offering up to half price on 'amazing' skincare including Garnier, L'Oreal and Pixi
