Copy article

Food price inflation rises for the sixth consecutive month

ended 29. July 2025

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) data shows families will have seen their food bills increase as food price inflation rose for the sixth consecutive month. 

Staples such as meat and tea were hit the hardest as wholesale prices for both categories have been hit by tighter global supplies. This has helped push up overall shop prices.

Period Covered: 01 – 07 July 2025

Shop price inflation increased to 0.7% year on year in July, against growth of 0.4% in June. This is above the 3-month average of 0.3%.

Non-Food inflation increased to -1.0% year on year in July, against a decline of -1.2% in June. This is above the 3-month average of -1.2%.

Food inflation increased to 4.0% year on year in July, against growth of 3.7% in June. This is above the 3-month average of 3.5%.

Fresh Food inflation decreased to 3.2% year on year in July, against growth of 3.2% in June. This is above the 3-month average of 2.9%.

Ambient Food inflation increased to 5.1% year on year in July, against growth of 4.3% in June. This is above the 3-month average of 4.2%.

  • What is your reaction to the figures?
  • What will be the impact on families?
  • What will be the impact/affect of the figures? For example on retail sales?

5 responses from the Newspage community

Copy all

Copy

Editor
Ranald MitchellVerified
Director at bad credit mortgage specialists Charwin Mortgages
Food price inflation has now risen for six consecutive months, with staples like meat and butter seeing some of the steepest increases. Families are feeling the squeeze at the tills, yet the government continues to look the other way. Retailers are battling falling footfall and cautious consumers, while household budgets are stretched to breaking point. Once again, rising prices meet rising inaction and it’s shoppers and the high street paying the price
Copy

Editor
Michelle LawsonVerified
Director at Lawson Financial
The cost of living is like a runaway train. The government are out of ccontrol on the tracks and missing all the signals, or choosing to ignore them. The public are not only running out of money, but running out of patience. Public money is being wasted like no tomorrow with businesses and families picking up the tab. The end of the line is getting closer but who gets there first out of Labour or the economy is the big question.
Copy

Editor
Scott GallacherVerified
Director at Rowley Turton
Regardless of income, it’s hard not to notice the relentless rise in food prices across the UK. After years of low inflation—when grocery bills barely changed—the recent surge has come as a real shock to many households. Even affluent shoppers are changing habits, trading down to cheaper brands or switching to lower-cost supermarkets in search of value.

Our clients tend to be wealthier, but they also pride themselves on being financially savvy. I already bump into more of them in Aldi than I do in M&S—it’s almost become a badge of honour.

This shift puts increasing pressure on mid-to-premium supermarkets like Waitrose, M&S, and Sainsbury’s, who may see even their loyal customers drift toward discount chains. But the people I worry about most are those already at the bottom—those who were already shopping at the cheapest supermarkets and buying the most affordable options. When you’re already at the bottom rung, there’s nowhere left to go. For these families, it's very tough,
Copy

Editor
David StirlingVerified
Independent Financial Adviser at Mint Wealth
If grocery bills continue at this rate, tea will be a luxury item by Christmas. Families have been suffering a cost of living crisis that has now been going on years, with little help from any government in that period. No wonder there's a parallel surge with food banks across the UK. Geo-political tensions and Trump's tariff tantrums also do little to ease the pressures.
Copy

Kundan BhaduriVerified
Entrepreneur, Investor and Landlord at The Kushman Group
When the cost of fundamental goods like meat and tea escalates, families are forced to cut back elsewhere. This is the quiet transfer of wealth from the productive economy of wants and aspirations to the survival economy of basic needs. This is not a sign of a healthy market. It is the hallmark of an economy where mismanagement and weak supply chains punish the consumer at every turn. This is the economy that Reeves is shamefully putting us through.

For the sixth month in a row, the cost of feeding your family has climbed, with staples like a Sunday roast or a simple cuppa driving the charge. A four percent rise is a hammer blow to household budgets that are already stretched to breaking point.