Food and non-alcoholic drink annual inflation rate reached 4.4% in May, rising from 3.4% in April.
The May 2025 figure was the highest recorded since February 2024, when the rate was 5.0%.
On a monthly basis, food and non-alcoholic beverages prices rose by 0.7% in May 2025, compared with a fall of 0.3% a year ago.
Seven categories saw inflation in double digits: butter (18.2%), chocolate (17.7%), beef and veal (17.0%), coffee (13.9%), lamb and goat (11.2%), edible offal (10.1%), and cocoa and powdered chocolate (10.1%).
Chocolate has seen particularly high inflation as a result of poor harvests due to unfavourable weather conditions in West Africa. The World Bank estimates that global cocoa production has declined by 14% in the 2023-24 season, falling to 4.2 million metric tons (mmt) from 4.9 mmt.
To put this into context, Sainsbury’s No Added Sugar Dark Chocolate (100g) has increased in price by 115% from £1.25 to £2.68, whilst Morrisons Savers Milk Chocolate (100g) has seen a 71% rise up from 47p to 80p; and Tesco’s Fruit and Nut Milk Chocolate (200g) price has spiked by 63% up from £1.38 to £2.25, according to Which? data.
Meat also made a small contribution – on a monthly basis, prices rose by more in May 2025 than May 2024.
Meanwhile, prices fell the fastest for olive oil (-6.0%), pasta products and couscous (-6.0%), and rice (-2.9%).
“Food and drink inflation shot up in May 2025, reaching 4.4% compared to 3.4% in April. These figures are being driven by rising energy and ingredients costs,” commented Dr Liliana Danila, lead economist for The Food and Drink Federation, (FDF).
“Food manufacturing is an energy intensive sector, and wholesale gas prices are 7.8% higher compared to last May, as UK businesses face significantly higher industrial energy costs compared to other nations. Meanwhile, the price of ingredients has also surged. For example, in the last two years, the price of cocoa has tripled, while wholesale butter prices are also 55% higher than last year. Recent and upcoming regulations are also bringing additional costs to manufacturers.
“With these price increases being coupled with a drop in consumer confidence and a fall in retail sales, food manufacturers have been absorbing rising costs for several years. Recent geopolitical uncertainty is also likely to result in higher pressure on energy and imports, and so unstable manufacturing costs are likely to persist. As a result, we now expect to reach our forecast of 4.8% food and drink inflation for December sooner than anticipated.”
