Price inflation climbs in bakery category

Baked goods are among the grocery categories experiencing the highest price inflation.

The food-at-home Consumer Price Index (CPI) for June jumped 12.2% year over year, topping the 11.9% rise in May and representing the largest 12-month uptick since the period through April 1979, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

All six major grocery store food group indices rose over the 12-month span through June, with five of the six up more than 10%, BLS reported. The index for other food-at-home saw the biggest increase at 14.4% year over year, with the index for butter and margarine escalating 26.3%. Increases ranged from 8.1% for fruit and vegetables to 13.8% for cereals and bakery products among the other groups.

Bakery product inflation grew 13.2% year over year for June. All subsegments saw double-digit increases, including bread ( 10.8%); fresh biscuits, rolls and muffins ( 13.2%); cakes, cupcakes and cookies ( 13.4%); and other bakery items like doughnuts, coffee cakes, sweet rolls and refrigerated/frozen treats ( 15.1%).

“On a per unit basis, deli inflation was right around the total average price increase seen across total food and beverages. Bakery — covering both in-aisle and perimeter baked goods — and dairy inflation were above average in June 2022 versus year ago,” the International Dairy Deli Bakery Association (IDDBA) reported in its June marketplace update.

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The month-over-month rise in the food-at-home index also has remained sharp in 2022, up 1% in June, BLS said. That came after gains of 1.4% in May, 0.9% in April, 1.5% in March, 1.4% in February and 1% in January. The latter increase followed just a 0.4% uptick in December.

Five of the six major grocery store food group indexes increased month to month in June. The index for other food-at-home rose 1.8%, with steep increases in the indexes for butter and sugar/sweets. The index for cereals and bakery products climbed 2.1% in June, including a 5.3% gain in the index for flour. The dairy and related products index advanced 1.7%, and the fruit and vegetables index edged up 0.7%. Nonalcoholic beverages inflation increased 0.8%. The only major grocery group index to decline in June was meats, poultry, fish and eggs, which fell 0.4% as the indexes for beef and pork decreased.

Month-over-month in June, inflation in bakery products was up 1.8%, with all subsegments recording increases, including bread at 1.6%; fresh biscuits, rolls and muffins at 3.4%; cakes, cupcakes and cookies at 1.8% (with fresh cakes and cupcakes up 2.9%) ; and other bakery items at 1.2%.

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