Supermarkets add security tags to Lurpak as price soars to £9 a tub

5 July 2022, 15:22 | Updated: 6 July 2022, 16:39

Supermarkets have started adding security tags to packs of Lurpak butter as the price of a 1kg tub soars to over £9 in some shops.

Furious customers shared pictures of the popular brand of butter on supermarket shelves with eye-watering price tags.

Prices ranged from £6 for a 750g tub in Asda and £7.25 for a 750g tub in Sainsbury's.

One shopper took a photo of a 1kg tub priced at £9.35 - but it was unclear which supermarket the Lurpak was stocked in.

And now one Asda store has even resorted to putting security tags on its tubs of Lurpak, a process normally reserved for expensive products, such as electrics, that are prone to theft.

The luxury butter brand is made by a Danish company but is extremely popular in the UK.

Shopper Charlie Bennett spotted packs of the product with yellow, security protected bands pasted across the lids in Asda.

The sports writer tweeted: "Britain in 2022… Lurpak butter is at £6 a tub in ASDA and even has a security tag on it. Mental!"

Read more: Tesco removes Heinz beans and ketchup from shelves in row over 'unjustifiable' price rises

Another wrote: "Stop the world, I want to get off."

Asda has told LBC that adding security tags to Lurpak isn’t a store wide policy.

They said they have not seen any evidence of increased thefts of Lurpak, and that they don’t believe the tags are related to the cost of living crisis.

However, it doesn't appear to just be Lurpak products that have been security tagged by some supermarkets in a bid to avoid them being stolen off shelves.

Shopper Tam shared photos of cheese and lamb chops that were tagged in her local Aldi and Co-op stores in Wolverhampton.

She wrote: "If you think Lurpak is bad - the local Aldi and Coop have started security tagging food. There was a GPS protected tag on a pack of lamb chops as well... #ThisMorning #CostOfLivingCrisis"

Read more: Royals cost of living crisis: Palace forced to dip into savings to plug £15m shortfall

A spokesman for Arla, which owns Lurpak, told LBC: “We understand that recent inflation in food price is hitting many households really hard right now. Unfortunately, our farmers are facing a similar situation with prices for the feed, fertiliser and fuel they need to produce milk, all rising significantly in recent months.

"While we don’t set the prices on the shelves, we do work closely with the retailers to ensure our farmers receive a fair price for the milk they produce. Prices on the shelves have had to rise in recent months to ensure our farmers can continue supplying the products that we all enjoy.”

Consumers are facing a nightmare with food prices rising in the UK alongside inflation.

A row erupted between Tesco and Heinz last week over "unjustifiable" price rises, with the supermarket giant taking the decision to pause supplying some products.

Heinz beans and Ketchup have been stripped from Tesco shelves after the companies failed to resolve a dispute over soaring prices.

The US supplier has paused its supply, affecting products such as Heinz baked beans, salad cream, chicken noodle soup, Ketchup and BBQ sauce.

Tesco apologised to customers for empty shelves where the products would normally be, saying it would not pass on “unjustifiable price increases”.

Meanwhile, Kraft Heinz, the American company that owns the Heinz brand, said it was “working closely with Tesco to resolve the situation as quickly as possible”.

Many people are choosing to shop for own brand goods as a result of rising costs, to help keep extra cash in their pockets.