Parents who breathed a sigh of relief when the kids went back to school this month might be having second thoughts when they see their food bills.

The cost of many staple products in children’s lunchboxes has risen over the past year - although increases in promotional activity have meant the rise in the cost of goods has been, in many cases, considerably less than the year before.

And it’s plain to see why retailers would want to keep parents on side, as children are driving market growth - they account for 30% of lunchbox lunches, while the number of packed lunches eaten by children aged six to 16 has risen by 11% [Kantar Worldpanel 12 m/e February 2012].

One example of the slowdown in price increases is multipacks of juice drinks and smoothies, which have remained static [BrandView 52 w/e 11 September 2012] at £2.22, while the price rose 5% in the 12 months before that.

Over the same two periods, the number of promotions run on such products has grown from 2,060 to 2,684, although the typical saving has dipped from 27.5% to 25%.

Juice drinks is also one area of the market where the price of own-label products is increasing at a faster rate than the market. Over the past year, the average price of a multipack of own-label drinks has risen 15% from an average £1.26 to £1.48.

Another category where own-label price hikes have exceeded the market are multipacks of crisps. The average volume price of multipacks has risen just 4% year-on-year, but own-label packs have grown by 5%.

Wholesale prices 15 September 2012: packaging
Although many packaging materials remain cheaper year-on-year, the recent recovery in crude oil and naptha prices has seen plastics move up month-on-month, with seven of the 10 materials in our tracker becoming more expensive.

In particular, LDPE, HDPE and polypropylene all recorded double-digit price increases in the past four weeks. At £1,095/tonne, LDPE is also 4.3% dearer than this time last year.

As well as higher feedstock prices, plastics have also been hit by tighter availability, partly as a result of unexpected plant outages, such as a fire in a LDPE and HDPE plant in Spain.

Aluminium alloy, cartonboard and testliner prices have continued to fall over the past month, driven down largely by poor demand. Last month, Italian cardboard supplier Reno de Medici announced it had fallen into the red following poor demand for folding carton and warned the market was unlikely to recover before 2013.

Once again, promotions have helped to keep branded prices under control, with the number of promotions on multipacks up from 1,891 to 2,807 in the past two years, while the average saving has dipped from 29.8% to 29.4%. This has contributed to the average unit price of multipacks rising just 4% over the past 12 months compared with the 12% hike recorded over the preceding year.

Although wrapped bread - up 1% on average - is likely to go up further sandwiches are one area where parents can make a saving by choosing the right filling. Cooked chicken is one option - with the volume price down 7% year on year in stark contrast to the 15% hike in the preceding 12 months. And when the kids get bored with chicken, own-label cooked ham has also dropped in price by 2% - bucking the 2% increase in the overall cooked ham category.

The unit price of own-label yoghurts has dropped by 5% year-on-year, on the surface making it a good option for the cost-conscious given the 2% hike in the overall market. However, the volume price of own-label yoghurt has actually risen - by 5% - while the market average shows a 2% drop.

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