Biscuit giant McVitie's have warned the price of the staple teatime snack is set to rise.
The brand, which manufactures classic biccies such as Jaffa Cakes and Hobnobs.
A variety of issues are due to lead to a hike in the cost of biscuits, according to Pladis Global, the parent company of McVities.
Covid-related staff absences are to blame for rising costs according to the company.
Add to that increasing labour costs and a spiralling price of palm oil, wheat and sugar, which Pladis Global also attributes the rising prices to.
‘Omicron disruption, absenteeism, and the rising cost of business going forward present a big challenge for us', according to the Managing Director of Pladis David Murray.
'At the end of the day, like in many other categories, it will flow through to higher prices. I’ve never seen a combination of challenges like this at the same time.
Jaffa Cakes are one of the brands due to see a price rise.
Clive Gee
‘We’ve dealt with substantial challenges in the past in the food industry – whether it’s natural disasters, inflation in the economic crisis. It’s the compression of the challenge, combined with the scale of some of them.
‘We’re kind of getting some sleepless nights. It’s really just testing our resilience.’
Pladis are battling with supermarkets it supplies over the degree to which prices are due to go up, says Mr Murray.
He did not confirm how much each product would go up.
If prices were to go up by 5 per cent, McVitie's Victoria biscuit collection would go up by twenty pence from £4.
Pladis are suffering 'double digit' increases in the percentage cost of raw materials, such as wheat.
‘There’s a constant drumbeat of opportunity to reduce cost, but when it is at this scale of inflation, I think we’re going to struggle,’ Mr Murray said, defending passing costs onto customers.
‘But the humble chocolate digestive will still be very affordable.’
Mr Murray noted that the company are ploughing more funds into research and development of products considered healthier.
This comes as the Government is pushing to tackle obesity in Britain.
