Households across the UK should brace for supermarket price rises, a leading consumer group has warned, as the cost of the top-rising food products are revealed.
Supermarket inflation rose for the first time in more than a year in June, research by consumer champion website Which? has found. There was an uptick from 2.4 per cent in May to 2.6 per cent last month, with increased pressure on supply chains due to the US’s war in Iran thought to be a key factor.
The new data reveals that Britons are are paying a massive 11.1 per cent more for fish than in June last year, making it the food product that has risen the fastest in price.
This is followed by energy drinks, which have risen 5.5 per cent, chocolate (3.8 per cent), water (3.6 per cent) and fresh fruit (3.4 per cent) – all rising at inflation-busting rates.
Researchers tracked the price of over 27,000 products over the year to draw their findings.
The rise in the price of fish mirrors the increased costs reported by fish and chip shop owners this year, many of whom have warned that the rising cost of cod and haddock is forcing them to make customers pay more.
Reena Sewraz, Which? retail expert, said: “After months of easing grocery inflation, this month’s increase is a reminder that pressure on household budgets hasn’t disappeared.
“While overall inflation remains far below the highs seen during the cost of living crisis, our latest data, combined with retailers’ own warnings that cost pressures remain in the system, suggests supermarkets cannot be complacent and it remains crucial for affordable budget ranges to remain widely available across all stores so shoppers aren’t forced to pay more for everyday essentials.”
Looking at the biggest price rises for individual products, researchers found that a 10-pack of Asda own-brand cheddar slices increased the most, from 65p in the three months to June 2025, to £1.39 in the same period this year – a 113 per cent rise.
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This was followed by the 750ml bottle of Shloer Zero White Grape at the retailer, rising 95 per cent from £1.42 to £2.77. Also making the list was Sainsbury’s own-brand pork pies, up 92 per cent, a 40g bag of Kettle crisps at Morrisons, up 70 per cent, and a 350g pack of breaded haddock fillets at Tesco, up 54 per cent.
Inflation held steady at 2.8 per cent in May after a spike to 3.3 per cent in March, driven by higher fuel costs due to the US-Iran war which began in February.
Despite making progress on peace talks last month, conflict between the two nations has resumed in the Middle East, with the crucial Strait of Hormuz shipping waterway becoming a bargaining chip.
Around 20 per cent of the world’s gas and oil passes through the key trading route, with its effective closure spiking oil prices and hitting the cost of fuel, energy and food around the globe.
At the end of last month, Sainsbury’s chief executive Simon Roberts said grocery inflation had so far remained lower than had been feared, but he warned that “pressure in the system” remained.
He told stakeholders that “consumer sentiment is not strong with a good deal of uncertainty on how things will shape up for them and there was a lot of uncertainty still in terms of exactly how the impact of the conflict in the Middle East will impact the economy and consumers”.
“We certainly think by the mid-summer, we’ll start to see some of the pressure building from the fresh food supply chains,” he said, delivering the supermarket chain’s trading update.
Mr Roberts added: “I think [it’s] super clear as we all know, a big component of the cost of food is energy cost. As the cost of energies being under more pressure, hence the inflation pressures in the system.”
A Tesco spokesperson said: “We are committed to keeping the cost of the weekly shop as low as possible. We do not recognise these figures, and Which? has not shared its calculations with us. Customers can be confident in the great value that they will find at Tesco, week-in, week-out.”
A Sainsbury’s spokesperson said: “The three products highlighted are not representative of a typical weekly shop, we offer our customers great value across their whole basket when they shop with us. Over the past five years, we have invested more than £1 billion in keeping prices low, rather than passing on the full impact of rising costs to customers.”
An Asda spokesperson said: “Asda offers the lowest prices of any traditional supermarket on the products families buy most, from everyday essentials to the big brands they know and love, with independent surveys by Which? and The Grocer consistently showing that.”
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