Latest news with #foodinflation
Daily Mail
3 hours ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Loblaw warns Canadians of price hikes
Canadians should brace for more expensive groceries. Loblaw Companies Limited, a major Canadian retailer, warns that prices on everyday essentials will continue to climb. This is largely due to the impact of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs, which are increasing costs for goods imported from the United States. Loblaw Companies Limited, parent company of major Canadian grocery chains like Loblaws, No Frills, and Real Canadian Superstore, released its May food inflation report on Tuesday, May 27. The report indicates that thousands of everyday items are set to rise in price. While this isn't welcome news for Canadians struggling with grocery bills, the retailer noted that the increases could have been even more severe. Loblaw has indicated that recent government actions, specifically a six-month reprieve on tariffs for certain U.S. food manufacturing and packaging imports, are helping to prevent a drastic surge in grocery prices. The stabilization of the Canadian dollar is also contributing to mitigating the risk of a sharp or prolonged spike in food inflation. Loblaw has confirmed that the Canadian government's recent decision to exempt 'indirect tariffs' on certain US imports will help stabilize food prices. This applies to products like chocolate chips or peanuts, which are used as ingredients in goods manufactured in Canada. Previously, these indirect tariffs were a significant concern for food costs due to the widespread use of imported components in Canadian-made products. With this change, only final products imported from the US will now be subject to tariffs, offering relief across a substantial number of items on supermarket shelves. Despite some relief, Loblaw states that tariffs continue to apply to thousands of different items, including a wide range of food products imported from the U.S. This impacts categories such as produce, rice, pasta, dairy, and coffee, alongside health and wellness products like soap, shampoo, and cosmetics. Loblaw estimates that consumers can expect tariff-related price increases on approximately 6,000 items in a conventional grocery store, with roughly half of these being food products.
Telegraph
3 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
I tasted 13 vanilla ice creams – this budget supermarket tub beats the posh offerings
I did a double take when I looked at my tasting notes for this article. In front of me were 13 bowls of vanilla ice cream – no labels or brands visible, just a lineup of anonymous products (marked A to M) for me to taste and judge. Now, it was time for me to wipe my sticky face and fingers, open my laptop and reveal the labels on the tubs. One ice cream had stood out as too sweet and too strongly flavoured with an oddly woody vanilla taste that reminded me of an over-oaked chardonnay. I gave it a middling star rating accordingly, but when I checked which brand it was, I was surprised to discover it was a Häagen-Dazs tub – the very ice cream which had come top in my last tasting of posh vanilla ice cream two years ago. How could this be? Was the sugar buzz from tasting 13 ice creams addling my brain, or had its recipe changed? Happily, I still have my spreadsheet of data from 2023 (in which I record the prices, volumes, sugar content and more for each product – just some of the number crunching I do for all of my taste tests). I checked this year's Häagen-Dazs label against my notes, and sure enough, the ingredients had changed. While the price of the 400g tub has risen less than five per cent (roughly in line with inflation, but below the higher rate of food inflation) savings have been made elsewhere, it seems. The sugar content has gone up from 18.8g to 19.9g per 100g – enough to tip it from 'on the sweet side' (as I judged it to be in 2023) to cloying. Perhaps it's there to make up for the new ingredient – water – now listed alongside cream and condensed skimmed milk, sugar and egg yolk. More significantly, the vanilla extract used in the 2023 ice cream has been replaced with 'natural vanilla flavouring'. By law this must be made from 95 per cent vanilla, with the additional 5 per cent coming from natural sources (although these may be so highly refined they are unrecognisable from the original). The purpose of these extras (according to Neroliane, a French company that creates flavourings for the food industry), is to 'convey fresher, spicy, biscuity, buttery or even milky notes to the original vanilla.' Or, in the case of my Häagen-Dazs spoonful, woody notes. It's not a successful addition, and it's hard not to conclude that it's been made to cover up a switch to a lower quality vanilla. Talking of money saving, a favourite method of some manufacturers is to whip as much air into their ice cream as possible, so they need less of the mixture to fill a tub. This is called 'overrun' in the trade, and in this area Häagen-Dazs (which was approached for a comment) actually comes out shining, with the lowest overrun I've come across. Those who add the most air usually have to add emulsifiers – generally mono- and di-glycerides of fatty acids – to stop the mixture splitting. This puts the ice cream in the ultra-processed food (UPF) category, and also makes for an unpleasantly foamy consistency as it melts. In order to estimate how much of your tub is air, I've calculated the difference between the weight of the ice cream and the volume as a percentage (a high percentage signals more air in the mixture). This isn't a perfect equation but it's a decent approximation, and it allows you to understand where you're spending money on real ingredients – and where it's just all hot (or cold) air. Skip to: How we tasted All the ice cream was given time to soften slightly in the fridge. A scoop was taken from each tub and placed in a glass bowl identified with a letter A to M. I tasted all the ice creams 'blind'. In order to work out the weight of the product and its overrun (the amount of air added to the ice cream), I placed any that did not declare a weight on accurate professional digital scales, subtracting the weight of the tub (these products I have marked with an 'approx' figure). The taste test
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Prices on thousands of grocery items to rise despite tariff break, says Loblaw
Relaxed tariff rules are easing some concerns about prices, but consumers should still expect to pay more for food, says Loblaw Cos. Ltd. Last month, the Canadian government announced a six-month tariff reprieve for items used in food and beverage processing, manufacturing and packaging. Loblaw said the policy and a stabilized loonie are helping to reduce the risk of a sharp spike in food prices, but thousands of items are still expected to cost more. 'Tariffs remain on food products imported from the U.S. like produce, rice, pasta, dairy and coffee, as well as health and wellness products including soap, shampoo and cosmetics,' the company said in a recent Food Inflation Report. 'In a conventional grocery store, there can be upwards of 80,000 items, and consumers can expect tariff-related increases on approximately 6,000, about half of which are food.' The grocery chain earlier this month also warned that food prices could surge as pre-tariff inventory runs out, and it has added a 'T' symbol to products affected by tariffs. Loblaw said it and other grocers are looking at sourcing tariff-vulnerable items from other countries to mitigate price impacts. Grocery price increases outpace overall inflation Egg prices fall to $5 a dozen in the U.S. Food inflation reached 3.8 per cent in April, surpassing the overall consumer price index of 1.7 per cent, according to Statistics Canada data. • Email: bcousins@
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
The Reason Even Retailers That Raise Prices Want to Keep Your Grocery Bills Down
General retailers, such as Walmart and Costco, want to avoid raising grocery prices as they adjust prices in response to tariffs, executives said on recent earnings calls. Lower food prices can offer retailers steady food traffic, and may be a way to build loyalty using a category that relies less on imports than some other types of merchandise, experts said. Higher food prices can have a pronounced impact on brand perception and consumer sentiment, consumer research experts retailers say they need to raise prices. They'd rather not do it in the grocery aisle. Executives at several big chains have lately said they want to keep food prices manageable, and experts say there's a good reason for that: While groceries are must-buy goods, shoppers who don't like the prices they see could look elsewhere. Walmart (WMT) executives have said fighting food inflation is top-of-mind. BJ's Wholesale (BJ) leaders want to keep their food prices 25% lower than those at grocery stores. Target (TGT) and Costco Wholesale (COST) executives on recent conference calls said they're selling seasonal fare and kitchen staples at bargain rates. General retailers have traditionally treated food as a 'loss leader,' experts said, meaning companies may set prices meant to draw in people who might pick up other, higher-profit items. 'The psyche of the consumer could be: I just saved on my groceries, so I can splurge,' said Sally Lyons Wyatt, global executive vice president and chief advisor at Circana, a market research company. This may pave the way for purchases of items that have seen price increases, Lyons Wyatt said, such as tech gadgets or pet products. Groceries are vital to 'a retailer's business plan, providing essential goods that encourage frequent visits and foster customer loyalty,' said Steve Zurek, vice president of advanced analytics thought leadership at market research firm NielsenIQ. Companies that sell food have some flexibility, experts said. Many—though not all—grocery items are sourced domestically, meaning they're less likely to become more expensive due to tariffs, said Stewart Samuel, director of retail futures at IGD, a food industry insights group. Retailers are mindful that Americans are still acclimating to food prices that surged during the pandemic. Given how frequently people buy food, higher grocery prices can have a dramatic impact on brand perception and consumer confidence, experts said. 'We've been through a number of years here where prices have gone up on food, and our customers have felt that,' Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said during an earnings call earlier this month. 'They don't want any more food inflation.' Walmart won't let pressure on general merchandise bleed into the grocery section, McMillon said. Low food prices are a priority, he said, while acknowledging that the retailer may raise prices on foods that are difficult to source domestically, such as bananas, avocados and coffee. 'A lot of retailers take Walmart's lead,' said R. J. Hottovy, head of analytical research at a firm that measures retailers' foot traffic. 'A lot of chains are going to try to do that, but not every retailer is going to have the same ability.' Perishable items have propelled recent growth at BJ's, CEO Bob Eddy said on an earnings conference call this month, adding that the company wants to use competitive prices to 'gain market share in these times of disruption.' 'Our advantaged structure allows us to consistently offer up to 25% off grocery store prices, and we are committed to maintaining this edge,' Eddy said, according to a transcript made available from AlphaSense. Target is adding seasonal food and beverages to sections stocked with $1 to $5 items, while Costco is getting comfortable with the idea that it may have lower profit margins on pineapples and bananas, executives at those companies said recently. Costco started charging more for flowers sourced from Central and South America, but held off on doing the same for fruits from that region, CFO Gary Millerchip said on an earnings conference call this week. 'They are key staple items for the member,' Millerchip said, according to a transcript. 'We felt it was important to really eliminate the impact there.' Read the original article on Investopedia Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
The Independent
5 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
Experts offer eight easy ways to save on your food shop
With grocery costs continuing to climb, finding ways to make your money go further at the supermarket is now more important than ever. New data from the British Retail Consortium (BRC)-NIQ Shop Price Index reveals that food inflation has risen for the fourth consecutive month in May, with a 2.8 per cent increase in food prices compared to last year, a slight increase from April's 2.6 per cent. The surge is particularly noticeable in fresh food prices, which have climbed by 2.4 per cent since last May, up from 1.8 per cent in April. Luckily, implementing a few simple strategies can lead to significant savings, whether shopping for a family or oneself. Here are eight practical tips to help reduce food shopping expenses without sacrificing quality or nutrition. 1) Make a budget for your food shopping 'If you're able to, plan and budget your food spending,' recommends Matthew Parden, CEO of money management app Marygold & Co.'Have an awareness about what your needs are and what your spend is capped at. 'Create a separate budgeting pot for food shopping. This helps ensure that this money is parked away from your day-to-day spending. On many money managements apps you can request nudges that remind you to put money away into this separate pot on pay day.' 2) Stick to a shopping list 'Mapping out your weekly meals and sticking to a targeted shopping list helps avoid impulse buys and cuts down on waste,' says Jamie Crummie, food waste expert and co-founder of Too Good To Go. Parden agrees and adds: ' Supermarkets have a very good habit of making you buy lots of things you didn't need or didn't know that you wanted. 'You might buy those five kilogram packets of whatever, and half of it gets chucked away after a week, either because you didn't understand the best before dates, or because you're not storing it properly. So, stick to a shopping list and be careful about what you're buying.' 3) Join your local supermarket's loyalty scheme for extra savings 'Every supermarket has its own loyalty scheme where you can collect points and get a small amount of cash back on those – and that's very worthwhile,' says Parden. 'You can also often get discounts by using supermarket gift cards, and generally you can get a 3 per cent discount on those. 'For example, if you buy a £100 gift card for your supermarket shop, you might only have to pay £97 for your shop if it offers a 3 per cent discount. 'I'm always surprised that these gift cards aren't used as much, and I think part of the reason behind this is a lack of awareness about them.' 4) Look for the yellow stickers 'Often you can get the yellow label discounts on things like beef and steak which can cost a fortune,' says Parden. 'If you learn when your supermarket has yellow sticker days, or which aisle you may find them in, then certainly there's significant savings to be made there.' 5) Buy non-branded or supermarket own branded products 'In many blind taste tests, the non-branded items often come out on top, and buying non-branded or supermarket own branded products is usually much cheaper and can lead to significant savings,' says Parden. 'There's some pretty good tinned fish out there in supermarkets, and they're often overlooked, but they're actually very well priced,' says Parden. 'Tinned food can be very versatile, has a longer shelf life and can actually taste very good.' 7) Make friends with your freezer Purchasing frozen fruits and vegetables is an excellent way to eat healthier while sticking to a budget and reducing food waste. Similarly, cooking meals in bulk and freezing them for later can also help achieve these goals. 'Your freezer is an underrated hero – think of it as a pause button on freshness,' says Crummie. 'Batch cook meals like stews, curries or soups, then freeze portions for ready-to-go dinners later. 'Use stackable containers and label them with dates to keep track. Don't overlook freezing perishables either – bananas (great for smoothies), bread, even grated cheese freeze beautifully.' 8) Go to the shops just before closing time 'Local markets, supermarkets, bakeries and greengrocers often slash prices near closing time – especially on fresh items,' says Crummie. 'These bargains are great for your wallet and help support your community too. 'The Too Good To Go app can also connect you with nearby stores offering surplus food, helping you discover hidden gems at a fraction of the cost.'
