Walkers and Birds Eye become the latest brands to up prices
Consumers are being urged to brace themselves for a further round of supermarket price hikes after Walkers and Birds Eye warned that they will hike prices of crisps and fish fingers to recoup losses stemming from a post-Brexit devaluation of the pound.
Since the vote to leave the European Union the value of Sterling has sunk by 18 per cent against the dollar, leading to a corresponding increase in the price of importing goods and materials.
These costs will be passed onto retailers and likely then to consumers at the till in a sign of growing inflationary pressure following similar decisions by Apple and Unilever to charge more for everything from MacBook’s to Marmite.
PepsiCo-owned Walkers will increase the cost of a standard bag of crisps from 50 to 55p and that of a large bag from 75 to 80p – although the prices set by individual retailers may differ.
In a further blow to grocery shoppers Nomad Foods-owned Birds Eye will lift prices on some of its products by 12%.
The pricing changes have been criticised by retailers as ‘opportunistic’ with some warning consumers will simply switch to supermarkets own-label brands rather than swallow higher prices.