Christmas inflation sets in with price hikes on turkey and chocolate
Shoppers can save money this Christmas by buying from Aldi, Lidl and Asda, Which? found
Lucy Harley-McKeownWed 17 December 2025 at 1:00 am GMT-5
4 min read
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Price jumps are likely to hit consumer shopping baskets this Christmas, with a new analysis finding rises of up to 70% on some items compared with last year.
According to Which?'s inflation tracker, a turkey could cost up to £15 more than it did last year.
Each quarter, the consumer group tracks the prices of over 25,000 food and drink products across eight supermarkets in 20 categories including meat, vegetables and baked goods.
As cocoa prices continue to feel the squeeze from supply issues due to poor harvests, chocolate was worst-affected by price rises, up 14.2%, according to the tracker.
Some chocolate treats that are typically sold at Christmas saw price jumps of more than 70% compared with last year, Which? found.
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The cost of a Lindt Lindor milk chocolate truffles box at Asda went from £1.15 last year to £1.98 this year — a hike of 72.2%, according to the analysis. Similarly, at Morrisons, Lindt Milk Chocolate Teddy Christmas Tree Decorations went from £3.50 in 2024 to £6 in 2025 — a sharp increase of 71.4%.
This option is unavailable due to your privacy preferences. Please update your privacy settings to enable it.Turkey as a category — which includes fresh whole birds, crowns and other smaller cuts — was up by 4.7%, according to Which?’s research.
However, problems such as bird flu and rising operational costs for farmers are having an impact on individual prices. Specific examples in Which?’s research showed much starker price hikes at some supermarkets.
In one of the highest cash increases Which? found, a Tesco (TSCO.L) Finest Free Range Bronze Turkey Crown Medium (2.99kg) had increased by £14.95 — from £53.82 to £68.77, a percentage increase of 27.8%.
Similarly, Which? found that the KellyBronze Free Range Extra Large Turkey (6.5kg) at Ocado (OCDO.L) increased by £14.63 — from £117.00 to £131.63 — a rise of 12.5%.
Whole frozen turkeys were less available this year than in previous years as Waitrose announced that due to falling demand it would no longer be stocking whole frozen birds. This follows the same decision by Marks and Spencer (MKS.L) last year, as alternative Christmas centrepieces rise in popularity, Which? said.
Christmas tipples
Drinks were also in the spotlight in Which?'s analysis, which found certain brands opted to push up their prices for both alcoholic and alcohol-free options.
At Ocado, Which? found non-alcoholic option, Belvoir Sparkling Elderflower Presse 750ml, went from £2.60 last year to £3.55 this year — a hike of 36.5%.
Meanwhile, at Morrisons, La Gioiosa Prosecco Brut 75cl increased from £8 to £10.50 — a hike of 31.3%.
Story Continues
Read more: How to avoid overspending at Christmas
Higher-priced bottles were most affected. At Ocado, Amie Sparkling Cremant de Limoux 75cl saw a price jump of £5.33 as it went from £19.67 on average in 2024 to £25.00 this year — a 27.1% increase.
Where to shop for a deal
Waitrose (6.2%), Sainsbury's (SBRY.L) (5.4%) and Morrisons (5.0%) had the highest levels of inflation in November, according to the tracker, while Asda (3%) and Aldi (3.8%) had the lowest.
When it came to range, Which? found it was supermarket’s premium own-labels that suffered most from price increases (8.2%), followed by budget ranges (6.6%), while regular own-label and branded ranges had the least (4.7%).
Which?’s research shows that while some items have shot up in price since last year, shoppers who stick to the cheapest supermarkets — Aldi, Lidl and Asda — and are happy to buy standard supermarket own-brands can beat the worst of inflation.
This option is unavailable due to your privacy preferences. Please update your privacy settings to enable it.“Shoppers worried about their finances this festive season can save money by shopping in Aldi, Lidl and Asda, which have among the lowest rates of inflation year on year and also tend to be the cheapest supermarkets overall," Reena Sewraz, Which? retail editor said.
“It’s also a good idea when shopping at any time of year to keep an eye on the unit price as this makes it easier to compare across different pack sizes, brands and ranges to ensure you are getting the best deal.”
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