Popular Snacks and Food Getting Price Increase

The prices of some of our favorite junk foods and snacks are getting a boost.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the federal minimum wage is still $7.25, with some states increasing wages up to between $12.00 to $17.30 per hour. Despite people struggling to pay for everyday items, cheaper foods many depend on are getting hiked up in price.

Companies like Kraft Heinz and Mondelez said it would be raising its prices on a slew of items, including Kraft Mac & Cheese, Jell-O, Bagel Bites and more. CNN reports that even meat companies have begun to boost prices for certain products.

Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData Retail, says some companies will retaliate and raise their pricing just to be able to keep up with other brands. “Retailers may want to absorb some of the price increase to remain competitive,” said Saunders. However, he says, “a lot of them will not because they’ve got their own cost increases,” adding that “quite a lot [the increased pricing] will probably be passed through to the consumer.”

Much of the move to increase prices comes from seeing consumers’ willingness to pay more. CNN reports that many companies have made the decision to increase prices because of higher costs of labor, transpiration and other expenses related to food production and distribution. With more people at home amid the COVID-19 pandemic, snack and junk foods have become more in demand.

Mondelez, which makes Oreos, Chips Ahoy and some candy products, says its has “been increasing prices,” and have been planning “to increase prices more than [they’ve] done … probably for quite a while as a company,” says CEO Dirk Van de Put.