Rolling coverage of business as UK regulator says prices of branded baked beans, mayonnaise and infant formula rose faster than costs
Premium baby food costs new parents more than £500 extra in the first year of life, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has said in its review of allegations of “greedflation” in food.
The regulator is launching an investigation into the infant formula market after saying it was “concerned that suppliers may not have the right incentives to offer infant formula at competitive prices”.
The market for infant formula is highly concentrated, with very limited own-label presence. There is one main manufacturer, Danone, which produces the Aptamil and Cow & Gate brands. Other branded manufacturers have lower shares.
While the choices made by some brands to increase unit profitability may have contributed to inflation, we do not, however, consider that this indicates weak or ineffective competition in manufacturing across the relevant product category (ie including both branded and own-label suppliers).
In November 2023, one branded tin of baked beans was nearly three times more expensive per 100g than the standard level own-label equivalent, and five times more expensive when compared to the entry-level own-label version.
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