Supermarket price comparison: which UK stores raised prices on value ranges the most from 2022 to 2023?

Prices for value range food, drink and cleaning products at UK supermarkets have risen by almost a quarter over the last year, far higher than the rising cost of food overall, an exclusive study by NationalWorld can reveal. 

Whether it’s a 41% markup on pasta at Aldi, a 69% rise on sausages at Asda, or a 119% hike on marmalade at Tesco and Sainsbury’s, shoppers who rely on supermarkets’ basic food lines have faced truly staggering inflation over the past year, with almost nine out of 10 of the cheapest products on shelves getting more expensive. 

In some cases, customers have seen prices more than double over the last 12 months – at the same time families have been struggling with the spiralling cost of energy, petrol, and other essentials. Budget eggs, cheese, fruit, meat and biscuits are among the products to see the biggest price hikes. Having tracked value range prices since April 2022, NationalWorld can also reveal that Tesco shoppers have been hardest hit, while those who buy the in-house value range at Aldi have seen the smallest price rises. 

Food inflation has risen faster than the overall cost of living for the last nine consecutive months, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). But there have been concerns that official measures of inflation – which also account for price changes in more luxury or non-essential products – do not reflect the reality faced by the poorest households, who spend a larger proportion of their income on food and may rely on goods at the lowest price point. 

What did we measure? 

We took online price snapshots on the first Monday of the month beginning on 4 April 2022, with the latest data collected on 3 April 2023. Value range products from Aldi, Asda, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and Tesco were included.  

At Aldi, Morrisons and Asda these products are part of a single value range line – Everyday Essentials, Savers, and Just Essentials, respectively. Both Tesco and Sainsbury’s ditched their standalone basics ranges in recent years, replacing them with a group of so-called ‘tertiary’ brands. These include own-brand labels such as Creamfields, Stockwell and Co and Hearty Food Co at Tesco, and Allcroft’s, J. James and Family and Hubbard’s Foodstore at Sainsbury’s.

How many value range products got more expensive?

We were able to compare online prices in April 2022 and April 2023 for 586 items across the five supermarkets. Over the course of the year prices have risen by an average of 23%, with almost nine in 10 products (87%) getting more expensive. 

The latest ONS inflation data covers up to February, and shows that between April 2022 and then, the cost of food went up by 16.3%. The ONS’s measurements are far more complicated and cannot be directly compared with our value range tracker – but the results do still suggest that the poorest shoppers may be seeing even sharper price increases than official food inflation data would indicate. 

The proportion of value range products that got more expensive was broadly similar across the supermarkets, and above 80% in all cases. Sainsbury’s put up prices on the biggest chunk of its products – 89% of them. There were however significant differences in the volume of products tracked, depending on how many value range items the supermarkets carried in April 2022 and April 2023, with the size of our basket ranging from only 32 items in Morrisons to 204 at Tesco.

Our figures show that Tesco put up prices by the biggest margin, with average inflation of 24.5%., followed by Asda on 24%. The biggest single price rise also came at Tesco, where a packet of Ms Molly’s chocolate chip cookies went from 29p to 66p – a rise of 127.6%. Tesco and Sainsbury’s tied for second place, having increased the price of jars of marmalade (by Stockwell & Co and Hubbard’s Foodstore respectively) by 118.5%, from 27p to 59p. 

Condiments have experienced among the steepest rates of inflation among any food group, according to the ONS, with prices up 30.9% in the year to February. Inflation for baked goods, which would include biscuits, was at 18.3%.

Value range eggs had the highest rate of inflation of the foods in our tracker, with prices up 54% – although only Asda and Sainsbury’s sold eggs on their websites during both months. Flour prices, also only available at two stores, were up 53.3% while the prices of jams, marmalades and honeys (of which there were eight products across Asda, Sainsbury’s and Tesco) were up by 51.5%. 

You can find the full results for each supermarket, including a list of the biggest price rises, below. 

Aldi

There were 73 Everyday Essentials products in our price tracker in both April 2022 and 2023, of which 63 (86%) saw price rises. The average rate of inflation across the basket of 73 products was 17.8%, which was the lowest of any of our five supermarkets. However one item saw a price hike of 82.4%. 

In recent months the shop has had an increasingly high number of products out of stock online, meaning price snapshots could not be taken. It should also be noted that many items at Aldi which are not from the Everyday Essentials range – and which were therefore not included in our tracker – have similar price points to the value range items at other supermarkets. 

Many of the supermarkets appear to tether their value range products to Aldi’s prices, meaning when Aldi puts a price up, the others immediately follow suit.

The Aldi products with the biggest price rises were:

• Everyday Essentials sparkling water 2lLitres – up from 17p to 31p, rise of 82.4%
• Everyday Essentials light mozzarella 200g – 43p to 69p, rise of 60.5%
• Everyday Essentials mozzarella  200g – 43p to 69p, rise of 60.5%
• Everyday Essentials plums 400g – 59p to 89p, rise of 50.8%
• Everyday Essentials easy peelers 600g – 69p to 99p, rise of 43.5%
• Everyday Essentials penne pasta 500g – 29p to 41p, rise of 41.4%
• Everyday Essentials white grapes 500g – £1.06 to £1.49, rise of 40.6%
• Everyday Essentials red grapes 500g – £1.06 to £1.49, rise of 40.6%
• Everyday Essentials 10 mild cheddar slices 200g – 99p to £1.39, rise of 40.4%
• Everyday Essentials spaghetti 500g – 20p to 28p, rise of 40%

An Aldi spokesperson said: "We are working hard to shield customers from industry-wide inflation, and our promise to our customers is that we will always provide the lowest grocery prices in Britain. Which? named us as the cheapest supermarket in 2022 and it has again confirmed that we were the lowest-priced supermarket in January, February and March 2023."

Asda

We were able to track the prices of 144 products at Asda over the course of the year. These started off as Smart Price or Farm Stores items before transferring to the new Just Essentials brand. Of these, 126, or 88%, got more expensive. We observed several instances in which Smart Price or Farm Stores products were replaced with more expensive Just Essentials items. We also saw examples of Asda changing the size of items, which initially masked price rises that were evident when measuring on a price per gram basis.

The overall level of inflation across the 144 products was 24%, while the biggest price hike came in at 87.5%. The Asda products with the biggest price rises were:

• Just Essentials tomato soup 400g – 24p up to 45p, rise of 87.5%
• Just Essentials sliced carrots in water 300g – 20p to 34p, rise of 70%
• Just Essentials 8 pork sausages 454g – 83p up to £1.40, rise of 68.7%
• Just Essentials 15 eggs – £1.18 to £1.99, rise of 68.6%
• Just Essentials ready to serve custard 385g – 30p up to 50p, rise of 66.7%
• Just Essentials fine cut orange marmalade 454g – 27p up to 45p, rise of 66.7%
• Just Essentials chicken paste 75g – 25p up to 40p, rise of 60%
• Just Essentials macaroni cheese 400g – £1.20 up to £1.90, rise of 58.3%
• Just Essentials cottage pie 400g  – £1.20 up to £1.90, rise of 58.3%
• Just Essentials fish pie 400g – £1.20 up to £1.90, rise of 58.3%
• Just Essentials chicken curry and rice 400g  – £1.20 up to £1.90, rise of 58.3%
• Just Essentials beef lasagne 400g – £1.20 up to £1.90, rise of 58.3%
• Just Essentials sausage and mash 400g – £1.20 up to £1.90, rise of 58.3%

An Asda spokesperson said: "All supermarkets have been impacted by global inflationary pressures which has increased the price of key ingredients. We’re working hard to keep prices in check for customers and we remain the lowest-priced major supermarket - a position recognised by Which? in their regular monthly basket comparison, naming Asda as the cheapest supermarket for a big shop every month for the last three years.

"We recently announced we would be freezing the prices of over 500 popular branded and own label products, more than half of which are fresh meat, dairy, fruit and vegetable products until the end of May."

Morrisons

Morrisons had the smallest value range when we began our price tracker in April 2022. It did introduce a significant number of new products in an expansion of its value range during the course of the year, however many have already been discontinued from the online offering. 

Only 32 products could be tracked between April 2022 and April 2023, of which 26 (81%) became more expensive. The average inflation rate stood at 19.5%, while the biggest rise was 59.2%. Morrisons has also been found to be engaging in ‘shrinkflation’ –  replacing products with smaller sized versions, that are proportionally more expensive than the original.

The products with the biggest price rises were:

• Savers toilet rolls 6 per pack – £1.25 up to £1.99, rise of 59.2%
• Savers marrowfat peas 300g – 39p up to 59p rise of 51.3%
• Savers soft cheese 250g – 70p to £1.04, rise of 48.6%
• Savers mixed beef 350g – £2.50 to £3.49, rise of 39.6% (was replaced by a 300g version. Price change reflects the equivalent price per gram)
• Savers spaghetti bolognese 400g – £1.20 to £1.67, rise of 39.2%
• Savers long life skimmed milk 1L – 50 to 69p, rise of 38%
• Savers soft buttery spread 1kg – £1.38 to £1.88, rise of 36.2% (was replaced by a 900g version. Price change reflects the equivalent price per gram)
• Savers 18 toilet rolls 18 per pack – £2.99 to £3.79, rise of 26.8%
• Savers washing up liquid 500ml – 34p up to 43p, rise of 26.5%
• Savers 80 tea bags 200g – 55p to 69p, rise of 25.5%

A Morrisons spokesperson said: “We are working hard to keep prices down and competitive for our customers while maintaining high standards and availability in all of our stores. Our Savers range continues to offer customers great value on the products they buy every day and we're committed to continuing to invest in the brand and expand the range to meet our customers’ needs."

Sainsbury’s 

Sainsbury’s imposed the most price rises on their customers, with 118 out of 133 products (89%) becoming more expensive in the year to April 2023. The average level of inflation came in at 23.5%. 

The supermarket imposed some hefty price hikes on customers, with two items at least doubling in price. At one stage we observed Sainsbury’s increase the price of a pack of cooking bacon by 177% in just one month, resulting in customers leaving outraged reviews. 

The items with the biggest price rises were:

• Hubbard's Foodstore orange marmalade medium cut  454g – 27p up to 59p, rise of 119%
• House 247 bio laundry liquid 980ml – 75p up to £1.50, rise of 100%
• Stamford Street 1.5kg frozen chips – 90p up to £1.65, rise of 83.3%
• Hubbard's Foodstore English mustard 180g – 45p up to 80p, rise of 77.8%
• Hubbard's Foodstore sparkling waters 2 litre – 17p up to 29p, rise of 70.6%
• Hubbard's Foodstore custard 385g – 32p up to 53p, rise of 65.6%
• Mary Ann's Dairy mozzarella 125g – 43p up to 69p, rise of 60.5%
• Mary Ann's Dairy low fat fruit yoghurts peach and strawberry 4x125g – 60p to 95p, rise of 58.3%
• Lovett's digestive biscuits 400g – 35p to 55p, rise of 57.1%
• Mary Ann's Dairy red Leicester 600g – £2.69 up to £4.19, rise of 55.8%

A Sainsbury's spokesperson said: “With costs going up, we are working hard to keep prices low. In the last two years, we have invested over £550m into lowering prices as part of our goal to put food back at the heart of Sainsbury’s.

"We're committed to doing everything we can to support customers with the rising cost of living. Through initiatives such as our Aldi Price Match campaign, Price Lock and My Nectar Prices, customers can find low prices on the products they buy most often both in stores and online. Our focus on value means that all our customers will find great deals when they shop with us and do not need to go anywhere else to get the best prices on their weekly shop."

Tesco

Tesco’s value range items saw the highest overall level of inflation, with prices up 24.5%. We were able to track 204 products over the year, and saw 174 of them (85%) get more expensive.

The supermarket also more than doubled the price of two of its products, including a massive rise of 127.6% for one item. The 10 products with the biggest price rises were:

• Ms Molly's chocolate chip cookies 250g – 29p to 66p, rise of 127.6%
• Stockwell & Co. orange marmalade 454g – 27p to 59p, rise of 118.5%
• Creamfields French brie 200G – 85p to £1.69, rise of 98.8%
• Hearty Food Co. tomato and herb pasta sauce 440g – 39p to 75p, rise of 92.3%
• Woodside Farms 8 fresh pork sausages 454g – 80p to £1.40, rise of 75%
• Creamfields Greek style natural yoghurt 500g – 49p to 85p, rise of 73.5%
• Suntrail Farms soft citrus pack 600g – 69p to £1.19, rise of 72.5%
• Creamfields mozzarella 210g – 43p to 69p, rise of 60.5%
• Butcher's Choice 20 frozen pork sausages 907g – £1 to £1.60, rise of 60%
• Grower's Harvest sweetcorn 907g – 77p to £1.22, rise of 58.4%

Tesco did not respond to a request for comment.