Reckitt Benckiser has begun a sale process for its baby formula business that could fetch $7bn to $10bn and would complete the unwinding of the consumer group’s largest-ever acquisition, the purchase of Mead Johnson five years ago. (The Financial Times £)

The owner of Boots has set a mid-May deadline for final bids for Britain’s high street chemist as it battles an array of economic headwinds which threaten to depress its valuation. (Sky News)

German-owned discounter Lidl will pay shoppers thousands of pounds to identify new sites for stores as it ramps up its expansion in the UK. (The Daily Mail)

Aldi and Lidl combined now do more business in the UK than any other supermarket apart from Tesco. (The Daily Mail)

Food giant Kellogg’s is taking the government to court over new rules that would prevent some cereals being prominently displayed in stores because of their high sugar content. (The BBC)

Cabinet tensions have broken out over a plan for Britain to unilaterally cut tariffs on food imports, after the price of groceries in the UK rose 5.9% in the past year. (The Financial Times £)

The war in Ukraine will result in expensive food and energy for the next three years, the World Bank has warned, intensifying fears that the global economy is heading for a rerun of the weak growth and high inflation of the 1970s. (The Guardian)

PepsiCo has taken almost $500mn of charges related to the impact of Russia’s war against Ukraine on its drinks and snacks business in the region, reflecting the conflict’s rising costs to western brands that had seen eastern Europe as a growth market (The Financial Times £). PepsiCo raised its annual sales forecast amid robust demand for its snacks and fizzy drinks despite rising prices (The Times £).

Primark owner Associated British Foods has said it will raise prices to offset the impact of rising inflation, which it warned is set to drag down profits this year and next (The Financial Times £). The owner of Primark has warned that it will have to raise clothing prices this year as inflationary pressures dent profit margins (The Times £). The owner of Primark has said the clothing chain will have to raise prices on its autumn and winter ranges as it is no longer able to offset cost increases with savings (The Guardian). Budget clothing chain Primark is set to raise prices due to severe inflationary pressures, its parent company Associated British Foods revealed this morning, in another blow to squeezed households (The Daily Mail). Primark, it said, had not been able to offset rising bills through cost-cutting alone (Sky News).

Gousto plans to open more automated factories to supply its meal boxes in the UK as it moves to keep operating costs lower and offset spiralling food and supplies inflation. (The Financial Times £)

The Telegraph’s Ben Marlow commenting on investor unrest at Just Eat Takeaway.com, writes: “This isn’t simply a case of old-fashioned deal indigestion brought about by a chief executive whose eyes are bigger than his belly. Rather, it may turn out to be the moment that the age of the overpriced takeaway came screeching to a very abrupt end.” (The Telegraph)

The Guardian looks at why UK supermarkets are rationing sunflower oil. “Millions of tonnes of sunflower oil earmarked for foreign buyers is trapped in Ukraine, triggering in a scramble to source alternative vegetable oils, of which there are not enough to go round.” (The Guardian)

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