Good news for new Mums!
Supermarket chain Iceland has dropped the price of baby formula in all of their UK stores in a bid to help families through the cost of living crisis.
Iceland already slashed prices earlier this year – it dropped three of its popular Aptamil formula milk products to the low price of £11.20.
Now, the company is doubling down on its baby formula price reduction by selling 800 grams of SMA’s Little Steps formula milk for £7.95 across its stores and online from this week.
The new price makes the product £1.80 cheaper than its rivals.
Iceland’s previous move of reducing Aptamil to £11.20 led other supermarkets such as Asda and Tesco to follow suit and drop their prices too.
Iceland CEO Richard Walker is using these internal changes to call on other businesses to “step up and do more” amidst a crippling cost of living crisis.
Mr Walker, a dad-of-two, told Metro: “We’ve heard terrible stories of customers watering down feeds, skipping feeds or ignoring sell by dates, all of which is really bad for the baby. That prompted us to take action.”
He insisted it’s not just a clever business move either, as he continued: “The price is a mind-blowing £7.95 which makes it the cheapest infant formula milk on the market. I think it will really really help our customers.
“We’re not making any profit out of this now. We’re passing on the savings which we’re managing to persuade the manufacturer to give straight on to our customers.”
The baby formula industry is a sector that has seen prices rise dramatically in recent years, as a result pricing many low-income families out of being able to afford the products.
The Government’s Independent Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) revealed that some infant formula companies boosted profits by raising prices 25% over two years.
While many mothers choose not to breastfeed, for some it’s not an option. The organisation suggested a list of measures to safeguard families from these crazy price rises which included introducing effective policies and access to proper welfare schemes, strengthening UK Law on the marketing of infant formula and breastmilk substitutes, and introducing a Baby and Toddler Guarantee, ensuring that parents can access the basic services they are entitled to.
