Business news and discussion on TalkFuse.
Supermarkets charging shoppers £666 for a kilo of dried parsley – more than luxury goods like caviar and truffles, investigation finds
An investigation has found that some supermarkets are effectively charging shoppers as much as £666 per kilogram for dried parsley once the price of small jars or packets is scaled up, a sum that outstrips the per-kilo cost of luxury foods such as caviar and truffles. The finding highlights how herbs and spices sold in small quantities can carry a vastly inflated unit price compared with their bulk value, a practice consumer groups have long flagged as a hidden cost for households doing their weekly shop.
The article's supporting detail was not available in the text retrieved, but the core claim centres on comparing the per-kilo price of dried parsley sold in supermarkets against benchmark luxury goods, with parsley coming out more expensive. This chimes with broader consumer concerns about "shrinkflation" and unit pricing tricks in supermarkets, where small packaging can obscure just how costly an item is relative to its weight.
In short
- Investigation finds dried parsley can cost £666 per kilo in supermarkets
- That's pricier per kilo than caviar or truffles
- Highlights inflated unit pricing on small herb and spice packets
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
The pricing structure exploits consumers, particularly those with lower budgets who cannot buy in bulk. When dried parsley costs more than caviar on a per-kilogram basis, it indicates the pricing is fundamentally disconnected from the product's actual value and represents a form of hidden cost that disproportionately burdens households stretching their budgets.
The case against
The bulk-price comparison is somewhat misleading because consumers cannot realistically purchase a kilogram of dried herbs, and small-quantity retail legitimately carries higher costs including specialty packaging, increased handling, spoilage risk and shelf management that bulk commodity sales do not. Supermarkets display unit prices for consumer information, and those choosing convenience over cost savings are making an informed trade-off common throughout retail.
Explained simply
Supermarkets sell dried herbs and spices in small packets because these ingredients are used in small amounts when cooking. Whilst individual packets might seem affordable, the price per kilo is surprisingly high, potentially higher than luxury foods. This pricing pattern raises questions about how much shoppers are actually paying for everyday ingredients.
This happens because of how herbs are packaged and priced in stores. When a small jar costs a few pounds, shoppers may not work out what a full kilo would cost, so they do not realise how expensive the product actually is relative to its weight. The small size and affordable-looking price tag can obscure the true cost.
Consumer groups have long raised concerns about this practice, pointing out that shoppers often do not know how expensive these products really are when calculated by weight. Checking what a full kilogram would cost can reveal significant differences in value across your weekly shop.