Sainsbury's to invest in keeping price rises down as inflation rockets

The UK’s second largest supermarket chain said it will invest more than £500m into lower pricing by March 2023.

It comes amid a surge in inflation, with the Office for National Statistics revealing that food inflation grew by 6.8 per cent last month, on the back of sharp increases for meat and dairy products.

Sainsbury’s chief executive Simon Roberts said the supermarket has had to pass on some increases in the price of essential products, such as milk, but stressed that it has invested money to ensure smaller rises than rivals.

“We have a really important relationship with our suppliers and will work with them when the cost of food production is going up and impacting upon farmers,” he said.

“Increases in price are at the front of customers’ minds because they are everywhere, so we are ensuring we limit those and, when we have to make increases, offer better value than the rest of the market.

Sainsbury’s said price investment will be focused on essential items, such as milk, eggs, meat, fish, fruit and vegetables, and key household products.

The pledge came as ONS figures showed the price of the cheapest pasta in all UK supermarkets jumped by half in just a year due to runaway inflation.

It said pasta prices rose 50 per cent since April last year with crisps (17 per cent), bread (16 per cent), minced beef (16 per cent) and rice (15 per cent).