British pet owners are having to dig deeper into their pockets as petfood prices soar in supermarkets and discounters.
Shelf prices are up almost 58% year on year in some instances, according to The Grocer’s KVI tracker [Assosia 52 w/e 3 July 2023].
Nestlé’s Go-Cat Adult Chicken & Duck 750g, for instance, has climbed 57.5% – from £2 to £3.15 in Asda. In the same retailer, Pedigree’s mixed multipack of wet dogfood tins (6x400g) from Mars Petcare has shot up 55.6%, from £4.50 to £7.
In Tesco, Pedigree Adult Dry Dog Food Chicken & Vegetable 3kg is up from £7 to £8.75 – a 25% increase.
Across the mults and discounters, own label catfood pouches (12x100g) have jumped 38% in price on average. Asda, Morrisons and Tesco have seen the steepest rises – up 39.3% from £2.80 to £3.90.
Own label dry dogfood (2.5kg-3kg) has increased 14.7% on average. The fastest-rising prices were in Aldi and Lidl: up 27% from £2.59 to £3.29.
Higher prices were a “last resort” to manage soaring input costs, said a spokeswoman for Nestlé. “Overall inflation continues to have a significant impact on the supply and production of petfood.”
A spokeswoman for Mars Petcare said the supplier would “always offer our high-quality petfood at the best possible value for money”.
At Tesco, the grocery giant was “focused on providing great value”, said a spokesman.
Morrisons, meanwhile, was “working hard to keep prices down” in “an unprecedented period of inflation”, it said.
And a spokeswoman for Sainsbury’s said it was “committed to doing everything we can to support customers”.
The Grocer approached Asda, Lidl, Aldi and Waitrose for comment.
It comes after research by the RSPCA found almost a quarter (23%) of pet owners were worried about feeding their animals amid the cost of living crisis.
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