LW - Time to pick up cooking?: Food at home prices fall for first time since 2020

2023-04-12 08:54:34 ET

While the overall food index in the latest CPI report was unchanged sequentially as food away from home prices continued to inflate, the food at home index fell for the first time since September 2020.

The index slid 0.3% sequentially, led by a 1.4% decline in the index for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs. Eggs, which have been a point of contention and even provoked congressional attention to firms like Cal-Maine Foods ( NASDAQ: CALM ) fell 10.9%. On the other end of the spectrum, cereals and bakery product prices increased 0.6% and the non-alcoholic beverages index rose 0.2% sequentially.

The decline for food at home contrasted with persistent inflation in food away from home, which jumped 0.6% month over month. Full service meal prices increased 0.7% while limited service options rose 0.5%.

Despite the contrasting sequential trends, both indices are notably higher year over year. The food at home index is up 8.4% in the past year, while the index for food away from home has risen 8.8% over the past 12 months.

Related tickers: Kraft Heinz ( KHC ), BellRing Brands ( BRBR ), Mondelez International ( MDLZ ), Simply Good Foods ( SMPL ), Invesco Dynamic Food & Beverage ETF ( PBJ ), TreeHouse Foods ( THS ), SunOpta ( STKL ), Lamb Weston ( LW ), WestRock Coffee Company ( WEST ), MGP Ingredients ( MGPI ), Post Holdings ( POST ), General Mills ( GIS ), Campbell Soup ( CPB ), Lifeway Foods ( LWAY ), Lancaster Colony ( LANC ), Bridgford Foods Corporation ( BRID ), TreeHouse Foods ( THS ), Kellogg ( K ), ConAgra Brands ( CAG ), Celsius Holdings ( CELH ), Vita Coco ( COCO ), PepsiCo ( PEP ), and National Beverage ( FIZZ )

Elevated food prices also typically provide a margin lift to major retailers. Watch Walmart ( WMT ), Target ( TGT ), Kroger ( KR ), Albertsons ( ACI ), Sprouts Farmers Market ( SFM ), and Costco ( COST ) as pricing power for grocery items could falter.

Read more on recent Nielsen data regarding packaged food sales .

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