Iceland is cutting the cost of SMA’s Little Steps formula milk after an investigation found that prices across the market have soared in recent years.
The frozen food retailer will sell the Nestle-owned 800g baby formula products for £7.95 in its stores and online from today (27 February) – £1.80 cheaper than its rivals, Sky News reported.
It comes as an investigation found that prices rose by an average of 25% in the past two years.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is now looking into whether companies have been profiteering as CEO Sarah Cardell said earlier this month that prices remain “at historically high levels”.
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Iceland executive chairman Richard Walker said: “We have a moral obligation to take action. The prime minister has said he is ‘sad’ families are watering down formula to try and make it last longer, but again these are just words and Iceland is today taking further action.”
Last month, Walker called on lawmakers to give retailers more freedom to help reduce the cost of baby formula.
He explained that a change in the law could allow stores to sell baby formula in exchange for vouchers or loyalty points, or promote discounted products.
In January, infant formula manufacturer Danone, which with Nestle controls 85% of the infant formula market, cut the wholesale price of its Aptamil baby powder by 7%.
Following this, Asda and Tesco joined Iceland in reducing prices. Asda cut a total of six Aptamil lines by an average of 7%, while Tesco slashed the cost of five Aptamil products by between 80p and £1.
