Last week, grocery shoppers shared their outrage online as many discovered a 1kg tub of Lurpak was retailing for £9.35 in Iceland.
Prices for the salted spreadable butter have raised eyebrows in other supermarkets, with 750g packs often selling at £7.25.
Here, Which? looks at why Lurpak prices are rising, and ways you can save when buying butter.
Why is Lurpak so expensive?
Though pictures of the £9.35 1kg tub were posted on social media last week, when we checked the Iceland website, the largest Lurpak tub available was 750g, and it was on offer, reduced from £7.25 to £6.00.
As reactions to Lurpak’s prices went viral on social media, the brand itself responded with a Tweet explaining the possible reasons for the price rise.
It said: ‘Prices in store are decided by retailers, taking account of factors incl [sic] what’s paid to farmers. Unfortunately, with farming facing huge inflation like everyone else costs have had to rise. We are working hard to make sure our products continue to be accessible and affordable.’
It’s no understatement to say the country as a whole is facing ‘huge inflation’.
Last month’s inflation figure was 9.1%, the highest in 40 years – and one of the major drivers was the price of food and non-alcoholic drinks. Between April and May 2022, food prices rose by 1.5%. That’s in sharp contrast to the same period in 2021, when they actually fell by 0.3%.
And earlier this year Which? analysed the prices of more than 21,000 groceries and found butters and spreads experienced the second-biggest price rises on average at 4.9% after fizzy drinks (5.85%).
How to save money on butter
Use our tips below to cut the cost of this staple item in your weekly shop and for more advice use our guide on how to spend less at the supermarket.
Try a different supermarket
The table below shares the cost of Lurpak at the major online supermarkets, based on prices for ‘Lurpak Slightly Salted Spreadable’ gathered via their websites on 11 July 2022. The table is arranged alphabetically.
Compare unit prices
To find the cheapest butters or spreads online or in-store, you should look at the unit price (per 100g or per kilo) rather than the overall pack price. This will make it much easier to compare the product against alternatives.
For example, the 750g Lurpak is £6 at Iceland (£8 per kilo) but compared to a 500g tub for £5 (£10 per kilo) – the £6 tub is better value.
Usually, bigger is better value but this might not be the case if smaller tubs are on offer, or there are other promotions.
Switch brands
We used independent pricing data to get an overview of butter costs at the major supermarkets.
Packs of 750g were available from comparable spreadable salted butter brands Anchor and Country Life for less than Lurpak at most supermarkets, though sometimes it does cost more.
Country Life tubs ranged from £4.20 (£5.60/kg) at Waitrose to £5.60 (£7.47/kg) at Ocado.
Anchor’s equivalent was cheapest at Waitrose for £4.75 (£6.33/kg) and priciest at Ocado for £6.50 (£8.67/kg).
When we checked own-label salted butters they were priced similarly to Lurpak. The cheapest – Tesco’s 250g salted butter – came in at £2.25, or £9.00 per kilo.
Switch products
You’ll find the real savings by switching products entirely.
Own-label lard is just 39p for 250g at most supermarkets, making it £1.36 per kilo. Own-brand margarine tends to cost around 75p for the same amount, so £3.00 per kilo.
You could also try vegan spreads. Asda’s own-brand vegan spread is just £2.00 per kilo, and Stork’s vegan baking block works out at £4.80 a kilo from Morrisons.
