UK: Demand for smelly cheese nosedives as dairy prices reach new highs

Food prices rose at the second highest rate in 45 years, according to the Office for National Statistics, with dairy products such as cheese experiencing particularly sharp rises. For example, a kilogram of Cheddar cheese costs £3 per kg more than it did just a year ago, now costing £9.40 per kg, up from £6.40 per kg in April 2022. The analysis is based on the average number of monthly online searches for cheese recipes in 2022 and 2023. Dairy products have been rising for several reasons including the bovine tuberculosis pandemic, the spike in the price of oils caused by the war in Ukraine, and rising energy, packaging and transport costs. Amid rising costs, food labelling consultants Ashbury report that consumers are shunning stronger cheeses in favour of milder varieties, which are more versatile. Ashbury analysed Google Keyword Planner data from the UK from over the past year, to determine which types of cheeses saw the biggest rise or fall. People are most likely to turn ...