A balanced UK food basket saw prices rise 2.7% in 2025 versus 4.5% for the standard basket, about 40% less inflation, according to new analysis from the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU), a UK climate think tank. It estimates a household spending about £70 a week in 2021 would have saved around £520 cumulatively by August 2026.

Chocolate was the single largest contributor to the gap (32%), and meat a further 22%, with beef and lamb alone nearly 15%; both meats averaged around 10% annual inflation over two years. ECIU senior economist Chris Jaccarini links the sharpest rises to extreme weather, from cocoa farms in West Africa to British livestock, and says a balanced diet offers "some protection" but is "not a silver bullet."