Grocery inflation has fallen to its lowest level in two years as the cost of living crisis finally eases (The Telegraph £). UK grocery inflation has dropped to its lowest level since February 2022, before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to sector data that suggests the surge in food costs is finally fading (The Financial Times £).

Food prices inflation has slowed to its lowest pace in more than two years, but nearly a quarter of households are still struggling to cope with the rising cost of living, figures from Kantar show (The Times £). Grocery price inflation in Great Britain has slowed to 4.5%, its lowest level since February 2022, but one in four households are still struggling financially, retail researchers have found (The Guardian).

Chocolate is among the products placing upwards pressure on grocery inflation in the run-up to Easter, according to closely-watched supermarket data. (Sky News)

Talks between Ocado Group and Marks & Spencer over the final multimillion-pound payment for their joint grocery venture are still “ongoing”, its boss has said (The Times £).

The boss of Ocado said it has ‘hit the ground running’ this year as it was named the fastest growing supermarket in Britain. (The Daily Mail)

The Telegraph writes: “In the eyes of its founders, the company has always been a technology business founded on the strength of its robot warehouses. Shorn of its retail arm, new worlds lie ahead – including, analysts say, a possible home in the US. A possible shift across the Atlantic could help Ocado fulfil the promise once heralded by its technology division, Ocado Solutions.” (The Telegraph £)

Fevertree Drinks faced a cocktail of cost pressures in 2023, but solid performance in the US helped annual profits meet market expectations. (The Daily Mail)

Fevertree Drinks may be best known for its posh tonic, but the company now claims that it is also the world’s biggest ginger beer brand (The Times £)

A New York-listed paper producer is mobilising to gatecrash a £5.1bn takeover of DS Smith, the British-based packaging group (Sky News). A multibillion-pound bidding war for Britain’s leading cardboard packaging company was triggered on Tuesday night after DS Smith confirmed it was in talks with a rival in the United States (The Times £). A transatlantic bidding war has broken out for London-listed packaging group DS Smith (The Daily Mail).

The price of cocoa surged past $10,000 a tonne for the first time on Tuesday, as a dizzying rise in prices caused by poor harvests in Africa accelerates. (The Financial Times £)

Nearly a tenth of Papa John’s pizza outlets in the UK are to close in an effort to boost company profits (Sky News). Pizza chain Papa Johns has said it will close nearly a tenth of its UK restaurants - all of which it says are “underperforming” (The BBC).

Banning disposable vapes will not be “effective”, the boss of the UK’s largest tobacco firm has claimed. Tadeu Marroco, chief executive of British American Tobacco (BAT), also said raising the smoking age would have “non-intended consequences”. (The BBC)

Revolution Bars shares have lost almost 40% of their value  after the firm said it was considering strategic options on the back of continued weak trading performance. (The Daily Mail)

Some “fashionable” toilet roll brands claiming to be made from sustainable bamboo actually contain very little and are instead using virgin wood, a new investigation suggests. (Sky News)

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