Even though CPI remains static at 3.1%, food price inflation is still a bitter to swallow for hard pressed consumers.

The news is a timely reminder of the need to take action to control the cost of your weekly shop. Last month mySupermarket-Insights.co.uk found that the price of family essentials such as bread, eggs and meat had shot up in price by an average 21%, over the last three years. We now reveal that fish hasn’t escaped the trap either, rising by 28% over the last three years (see table one). Tinned tuna, a family lunch box staple has seen a whopping 48% hike, while fresh tuna steaks have seen a 40% increase. Supper time favourite salmon has shot up a massive 29% in price since 2007. On the up side, if you fancy treating yourself, it is good to know that luxury lobster and scallops are cheaper than they were three years ago – by 7% and 13% respectively.

Other family staples have been hit hard too; in the last year alone, the cost of butter and margarine has risen by 15% (see table two). Despite these price increases, by hunting around for the best deals, you can still beat food inflation. Even when with the planned VAT rise hits in January, by carefully comparing prices, mySupermarket shows shoppers how to avoid spending a penny more than they did in 2007. With a record 30,000 special offers currently available on mySupermarket.co.uk, Brits can easily cut their weekly bill by 20%, saving an average family £800 over the year.

Read more here:

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/news/article.html?in_article_id=516293&in_page_id=2&position=moretopstories

http://news.scotsman.com/comment/Store-price-drops-offer-plenty.6574603.jp

The Welsh are the biggest spenders on healthy vitamins and supplements, according to the latest analysis by mySupermarket-Insights.co.uk.

Welsh shoppers spend the most on vitamins and supplements online, over double that of those living in the North East. Brits living in the South and the Scots aren’t far behind their Welsh counterparts, taking second and third spot respectively.

Health conscious online shoppers at mySupermarket.co.uk are spending a whopping 16% more on their vitamins and supplements than they did a year ago, even though their average cost rose by just five per cent.

Mums and dads beware – the cost of feeding your bundle of joy has rocketed, according to the latest analysis by mySupermarket-Insights.co.uk.

In line with high food inflation among staple food categories, the nation’s parents have been hit with a 31% price rise in baby food since the onset of recession in 2007. If that wasn’t enough, mySupermarket-Insights.co.uk also found that new mums have also faced a 20% increase to the cost of formula for their little ones. On a brighter note though, the cost of other baby necessities such as nappies and wipes has remained steady, increasing by only 4% over the past 3 years.

Parents looking to combat the rising cost of baby food need to be super-savvy when it comes to making the most of special offers. The baby categories are some of the most heavily promoted with 78% of nappies and 49% of baby food on promotion last month at the leading supermarkets. Some of these promos offer much bigger savings than others, so parents need to be smart in knowing when it’s best to stock up. Over 80% of parents who shop via mySupermarket.co.uk use the Swap & Save feature in order to make sure that they’re buying the brands with the best deals (to find out more regarding what people swap, check out our Product Substitution Report.)

Read more here:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2010/sep/23/price-baby-food-raised

The analysis looks at trends in the composition of online trolley/basket contents for shoppers at Tesco, ASDA, Sainsbury’s and Ocado within the context of the overall online grocery market.

The broader overall e-commerce market includes the sales of goods to consumers, and excludes business-to-business (B2B) activity and the sales of services such as travel and insurance.

To find out more about the report, please visit http://oxygen.mintel.com/sinatra/reports/display/id=527397

About Mintel

Mintel is an independent award-winning provider of world-leading market intelligence, delivering robust information, analysis and critical recommendations. Mintel’s trusted portfolio of proprietary industry solutions and products has been supporting high profile clients in key sectors such as FMCG, financial services, media, retail, leisure and education for over 38 years.

Although British consumers may now be firmly set in the age of austerity, there are still some items where shoppers are simply not willing to scrimp and save. Data from mySupermarket-Insights.co.uk has revealed that over the last two years, consumers have largely stuck with their favourite brands as opposed to increasing their reliance on cheaper supermarket alternatives.

Life of grime

When it comes to cleaning products, British shoppers have largely stuck to the brands they know and love. Products such as washing up liquid, laundry detergent and kitchen towels have all seen leading brands grow their market share since 2008, with the likes of Fairy washing up liquid increasing by 54% across the big four supermarkets. At the same time, sales of own label washing up liquid have fallen by 11%.

% Market Share of brands v. own label: Washing up liquid and Laundry Detergent

Washing up liquid

Laundry detergent

Source: mySupermarket-Insights.co.uk data, June 2010

Comfort food

Likewise when it comes to comfort foods such as bread, baked beans, fish fingers and hearty soups, shoppers are still saying brands are best. Since 2008, sales of the leading bread brands – such as Hovis. Warburton and Kingsmill – have increased overall by 11%, whilst own label products have fallen by 21%.  Similarly, fish finger brands like Birds Eye and Young’s have seen sales increase by 7%, whilst own label sales have fallen by 10% during this period.

% Market Share of brands v. own label: Bread, Baked Beans, Fish Fingers & Tinned Soup

Bread

Baked beans

Fish fingers

Tinned soup

Source: mySupermarket-Insights.co.uk data, June 2010

Penny pinching

However, there are some items where penny pinching Brits don’t mind ditching the brands.  For example, sales of ASDA’s own label toilet roll increased by 9% over the past 2 years.  Consumers also aren’t too bothered about trading down on items such as tinned tomatoes and even tomato ketchup or deodorant.  Own label tomato ketchup sales have increased by 16% over the last two years, whilst branded labels sales are 5% down overall. Own label tinned tomato sales are also up by 10%, whilst branded products are down by 16%.  Even own label deodorant sales have increased by 2% over the last 24 months.

Jonny Steel, spokesperson for mySupermarket-Insights.co.uk commented: “Consumers have been smart at adapting to the changing economic climate – trading down where they have to, but without giving up on their favourite brands. However, it does seem that for many shoppers brand is still king, and this is why so many brands have been able to maintain or even grow their market share through these turbulent times.  However, there are also noticeable categories where consumers really aren’t afraid to scrimp and save like toilet roll or tinned tomatoes. If it saves them money then they seem willing to try it.”

The biggest change is that you can now track Waitrose prices and promotions, in addition to Tesco, ASDA, Sainsbury’s and Ocado, but there’s plenty more to check out:

• Price Per Unit – You can now track the price per unit (PPU) along with price and promo, making it even easier to compare by value for money.
• Powerpoint, PDF or Excel – Export the tables, graphs and pie charts – Great for further analysis, presentations or to print out reports!
• Enhanced Excels – If you’ve used our Excels before you’ll see that we’ve added far more data making it easier to crunch the figures.
• Simpler Navigation – The site is now much easier to navigate, making it quicker to find the data you need.

As you will have discovered, mySupermarket Insights tracks all grocery products sold in Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose & Ocado, with historic trends going back 12 months. With data updated daily, this allows a responsiveness and granularity not available anywhere else today.

In addition we have launched a new range of bespoke reports with unique insights into your competitive landscape and customer purchasing behavior. Click here to download free samples of them.

To find out more about the improvements, or to request a free demo of the new features, please don’t hesitate to be in touch on 020 7935 6033 or email insights@mySupermarket.co.uk.

An annual Health Food Index from mySupermarket-Insights.co.uk, reveals a shocking disparity between the healthy eating habits of different regions across the UK.  The index, which tracks regional spending on fresh fruit and vegetables has revealed that Londoners top the list as the healthiest for the second year running spending on average a total of £499.81 per household per year on fruit and vegetables.  However, overall fruit and veg sales have dropped across the UK by 6% since this time last year.

Over the last year, shoppers in London and the South East bought the most fruit and veg, and in the case of avocadoes they purchased nearly five times as many as the Welsh.  Shoppers in London actually spent 26 per cent more on fresh fruit and vegetables than people in the North East, who hold on to their position as the least healthy region for the second year running.

Scottish shoppers, towards the bottom of the table, did outspend the rest of the UK in one notable category – packs of pre-prepared mixed vegetables, suggesting that an easy meal is the key to getting the Scots to eat more healthily.

Jonny Steel, spokesperson for mySupermarket.co.uk commented:

“Our annual Health Food Index last year showed us that Northerners were eating the least fruit and veg.  We were hoping to see the disparity we uncovered last year lessen but there’s actually been very little change over the past 12 months.  There’s definitely a misconception that healthy foods such as fresh fruit and vegetables are more expensive than processed food, which it’s simply not true, particularly if bought in season.”

Table one: Annual household spend on fruit and vegetables, 2009 vs 2010

Source: mySupermarket-Insights.co.uk data, June 2010

The data, taken from the annual mySupermarket-Insights.co.uk Health Food Index 2010, shows that the number of special offers on fruit and vegetables at supermarkets has increased by 17 per cent in the last year, and by a massive 48 per cent since 2008.  So although spend is down nationwide by 6%, shoppers are getting more for their money.

 Table two: Top five fruit promotions 2008-2010

Table three: Top five vegetable promotions 2008-2010

With the supermarkets continuing to tempt shoppers with special offers on seasonal fruit and vegetables, bargain hungry shoppers (or hungry bargain shoppers!) should be bikini ready in no time.  You can check current prices and promotions online at mySupermarket-Insights.co.uk to be sure to get the best deal on your shopping – healthy or otherwise.

Read more here:

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2010/06/29/fruit-veg-sales-divide-the-nation-115875-22368687/

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5j5ZSI6S2cRD6vVh8l26xwMn_O2ZA

While most food is exempt from VAT, many shoppers are unaware that plenty of grocery staples such as the majority of confectionary, drinks and snacks are not, and will soon be costing 2.5% more. Non-food grocery items such as toothpaste and cleaning products will all also be affected by the VAT rise.

Based on the average basket of goods, the VAT hike of 2.5% could cost consumers around £33 a year.

Jonny Steel, spokesperson for mySupermarket-Insights.co.uk says: “Consumers should be aware that the VAT rise will affect the cost of their basic weekly groceries. But there are some strange discrepancies between the types of foods that qualify for VAT making it hard to predict where the increase will hit us most. By making some smart decisions, consumers can avoid paying VAT on a lot of convenience foods. For instance, a gingerbread man decorated with two chocolate eyes is exempt from VAT, but if it contains any more chocolate, standard-rated VAT is charged. Likewise, unshelled salted nuts are exempt, but shelled salted nuts are not.”

Other foods that come under the zero-rated VAT banner, despite being “convenience foods” include Jaffa cakes, milkshakes, chocolate spread and tortilla or corn chips.

Jonny Steel, spokesperson for mySupermarket.co.uk continues: “It may not seem like a great deal of money, but by making some wise decisions, consumers could save up to £33 a year.”

Read more here:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/consumertips/7854289/How-to-make-your-shopping-list-VAT-free.html

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/jun/22/vat-rise-average-shopping-basket

Daniel King Chief Commercial Officer of mySupermarket.co.uk commented: “As an independent consumer champion our aim is always to help shoppers compare prices across the supermarkets in a fair and comprehensive way, and to make sure they get the best value for money.  We are powering the ASDA Price Guarantee website to help shoppers continue to do this and we will be running all the comparisons based on independently collected prices. UK shoppers now have more tools at their finger tips than ever before to help them make their money go further when it comes to their grocery shopping.”

To read more on the ASDA Price Guarantee, please visit http://www.thegrocer.co.uk/articles.aspx?page=articles&ID=209067

http://www.just-food.com/the-just-food-blog/the-launch-of-the-just-food-promo-tracker_id1860.aspx

The UK grocery sector is renowned as one of the most competitive in the world. The purchasing power of the UK multiples, the prevalence of private label and the sophistication of the country’s consumers mean brands have to fight tooth and nail to gain and grow listings.

Promotions have always been key weapons in the armoury of brand-owners but, given the fragile state of the UK economy and the weakness of consumer confidence, they have become ever-more vital.

However, suppliers are coy about how much or how often they use promotions to drive sales. And so, in a bid to shed more light on the promotional landscape in the UK, just-food has teamed up with mySupermarket-Insights.co.uk to provide monthly data on which brands, which categories and which retailers have promoted most heavily in a certain month.

According to mySupermarket-Insights.co.uk data for April, published today, Muller yoghurt was the most promoted food brand in the UK with 90.6% of all of its SKUs on promotion. The second most-promoted food brand was also in the dairy aisle, with Danone’s Actimel promoting 84.6% of its SKUs.

Now, this is data for just one month. Brand-owners featured at the top of the list may protest that April was a key month in their promotional strategy and that May and June may seem them dial down their activity.

However, as the year progresses, just-food’s Promo Tracker will highlight just which brands have been promoted, which categories are seeing some of the fiercest promotional activity and which of the retailers are using promotions most often.

For those looking to keep tabs on the promotional strategies of their competitors, the Promo Tracker will be an indispensable tool.