The news that UK grocery inflation had risen to the highest level since February 2024 dominated yesterday, as Kantar’s latest data (as reported in The Grocer) revealed the all-important number had climbed to 4.1% in May, up from 3.8% the month prior.
The Guardian took a straight line on the story, leading with Fraser McKevitt’s warning that belts are set to be tighened even further as shoppers start to really feel the pinch. “Households have been adapting their buying habits to manage budgets for some time, but we typically see changes in behaviour once inflation tips beyond the 3% to 4% point as people notice the impact on their wallets more.”
Inflation itself was driven by the rising cost of butter, chocolate and sun cream, despite Brits chooosing discounts, deals and own-label products to keep costs down where possible. Premium own label was the fastest-growing part of the market since September 2023, The Mail highlighted in its coverage of the data. It also warned of further hardships to come, pointing out that the IGD has forecast that food inflation could hit nearly 5% this year.
The Telegraph led with the fact that Asda’s market share has continued to fall, reaching its lowest level for some time, describing it as a “fresh setback for the struggling supermarker”. It was the only supermarket to record a drop in sales, down 3.2%. Although this was Asda’s best performance in the past 12 months, its share fell to 12.1%, only slightly ahead of Aldi’s 11.1%.
Reuters didn’t hesitate to put the boot in, calling it “the industry laggard”.
Almost all coverage also included the news that the discounter chains Aldi and Lidl had reaped the benefits of shoppers searching for bargains, with Kantar revealing their combined UK market share had grown by 8.4% over the period. Between them, the discounters now account for almost a fifth of all grocery spend in the UK.
Despite Sainsbury’s being the first to launch VAR-style checkout cameras, it was Tesco’s adoption of the AI-assisted technology that really got people talking, as the BBC reported on consumer response to the news.
While some were aghast that their shopping would be monitored in such detail and said they would stop using the self-checkouts, others took a lighter approach to the news, mocking the technology and comparing it to questionable VAR decisions on the pitch.
One shopper told the BBC the tech “punishes shoppers who are honest and use the self-scan as intended”, describing it as “invasive”.
AI experts and data privacy campaigners told the Financial Times that the UK must toughen its regulation of facial recognition, in a move that could have wide-reaching impact if it goes ahead. The UK government is being urged to clamp down on the use of facial recognition and pass new legislation to regulate the technology, describing the UK’s current adoption as a ‘wild west’.
A report from the Ada Lovelace Institute, an independent researcher into the ethics of data and artificial intelligence, is calling for government to provide “clarity on the limits, lawfulness and proportionality of biometric systems”, and create a new regulator to enforce these stricter rules.
Skittles in the US are no longer being made with titanium dioxide, a colour additive that was banned in the European Union in 2022 over possible health risks. The BBC reported that Skittles owner Mars had stopped using the ingredient at the end of last year.
Mars has disputed claims of health risks associated with titanium dioxide, which is still allowed in many countries, including the US, UK, Canada and New Zealand. It also did not respond when asked whether the change would apply to Skittles sold outside the US.
In other bad news for ’real food’, scientists have found microplastics in insects for the first time, leading to fears that Britain’s entire food chain is contaminated. A report in The Independent revealed that researchers had found plastics were ”consistently turning up across an entire community of land invertebrates”.
Plastic fragments were found inside a wide range of the animals, who are believed to have ingested them from human slurry which can be used as manure.
The study raises fresh concerns about the long-term effects of plastic pollution and its impact on biodiversity. Researchers said the dangers of microplastics should no longer be seen as a marine issue.
A profile piece on Delicously Ella’s founder in The Telegraph reveals that people would just call Ella Mills a ‘nepo baby’, the daughter of a Sainsury’s heiress reveals, as she insists the brand’s success has “nothing to do with her wealthy family”.
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