Annual food shop bills soar by £788 as grocery price inflation hits record 16.7%

Latest figures come amid soaring bills as cost of living crisis deepens

Food prices continue to rise alongside energy bills (PA Archive)

Grocery price inflation has hit a record 16.7% to add a potential £788 to annual shopping bills, figures have shown.

The “staggering” 2.3 percentage point jump in the four weeks to January 22 has exceeded the previous high recorded by analysts Kantar in October and is the highest figure since their records began in 2008.

Intense competition among grocers striving to retain customers saw them boosting their own-label ranges, with sales of these growing by 9.3% in January - well ahead of branded alternatives, which were up by just 1%.