From Our Print Edition

Fourth-quarter gains of 9.2% and 7.7%, respectively, top other key segments charted by Price-Trak.

Frozen and refrigerated foods had the highest manufacturer price increases among key supermarket segments measured in the fourth quarter of last year versus the same period in 2020. That’s according to the latest report from Price-Trak, put out by National Promotion Reports (natpromo.com), Albany, N.Y.

Here’s a breakout among the segments researched, ranked in order:

1. Frozen foods, 9.2% (driven by meat, up 21.4% and
fruit, up 8.8%).

2. Refrigerated foods, 7.7% (driven by butter, 14.7%;
baked goods/dough, 14.6%; eggs, 14.0%; and meat,
8.1%).

3. Dry grocery, 7.2%.

4. Household products, 6.1%.

5. Cereal, 4.0%.

6. Beverages, 3.8%.

Price-Trak monitors more than 150 categories, 10 of which posted double-digit increases in the fourth quarter. In order, they were: cooking/salad oils, frozen meat, butter, refrigerated dough, eggs, canned fish, frostings, home paper/plastic, flour, cookies and cleaning devices.

The average for total grocery (excluding HBC) was 7.1%. “Supply chain issues, commodity costs, higher salaries and continuing Covid issues resulted in brands taking aggressive price increases,” the report said.

“These percent changes are hard to believe,” notes Andrew Rumpelt, president of Price-Trak. “We haven’t seen price increases like this in four decades. The pandemic has created major challenges for brands, deeply stressing already-fragile supply chains. Some products (i.e., household products and cereals) have tried to hold prices by reducing promotional monies or altering pack sizes or use-up rates. But the fourth quarter saw aggressive and widespread price increases across every major segment.”

Rumpelt figures that if Omicron tapers off early this year, inflation may start to flatten after another three to six months. But he’s not making any predictions if the pandemic stays with us.