Woolworths Food price increases from 2022 to 2023 – with interesting results

An analysis by Daily Investor revealed that Woolworths Food prices increased by just under 12% between January 2022 and January 2023 – lower than South Africa’s food inflation.

For this analysis, we tracked the prices of 33 Woolworths Food products in multiple categories over the last year.

The products included milk, bread, fruit, prepaid meals, sweets, household products, sauces, and breakfast cereals.

The analysis revealed that 28 of the 33 products increased in price, four products’ prices remained the same, and one product reduced in price.

The products which saw the biggest price increases were white seedless grapes, baked granola, and a bag of multi coloured eggs sweets.

The products where prices remained stable were a mango & berry snack pot, buttermilk rusks, Handy Andy cream, and Woolworths black refuse bags.

The only product which experienced a price decrease was a 1.2kg bulk banana box.

The average price increase for the basket of 33 products was 11.76%, which is in line with South Africa’s latest food inflation figure of 12.5%.

The Household Affordability Index by the Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice & Dignity group (PMBEJD) also showed that food prices in South Africa significantly increased in 2022.

The index revealed that food prices in South Africa shot up significantly in December 2022, where a basket of goods cost 13.5% more than the year before.

For December 2022, the group’s basket of nutritional foods came to R4,853.18, up R577.24 (13.5%) from R4,275.94 in December 2021.

The year-on-year increase outstrips headline inflation by a considerable margin, and even food inflation tracked by Stats SA.

Woolworths Food has a reputation for significantly increasing prices, but this analysis debunks the myth that it is worse than other food retailers.

Woolworths Food price increases from 2022 to 2023

The table below shows the Woolworths Food price increases between January 2022 and January 2023.