Instant coffee kept in security cases after inflation causes prices to soar to £10.50 a jar

Instant coffee is being kept in security cases at a supermarket after the price soared to £10.50 a jar.
Sam Johnson
By Sam Johnson
Published 31st May 2023, 12:42 BST
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The GPS security cases were spotted on shelves at a Co-op food and petrol shop. It comes as the rate of price rises at UK supermarkets hit a new high in the year up to May due to coffee, chocolate and non-food goods.

Prices for fresh food have fallen very slightly, but the cost of coffee has gone up. The Co-op food and petrol shop, in Harborne, Birmingham, shows a £9.85 jar of Douwe Egberts and a jar of Kenco Smooth retailing for £10.50 - both in cases to deter shoplifters.

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The cases come with a caution warning shoppers they will need to be removed at checkout before leaving the store, and shoplifters will be prosecuted. One shopper said: "I couldn’t believe it when I saw it. That price for a jar of instant coffee is unbelievable."

Coffee in GPS tracked security boxes at the Central Co-op Food-Petrol Harborne in Birmingham as a theft prevention initiative. Coffee in GPS tracked security boxes at the Central Co-op Food-Petrol Harborne in Birmingham as a theft prevention initiative.
Coffee in GPS tracked security boxes at the Central Co-op Food-Petrol Harborne in Birmingham as a theft prevention initiative.

A Co-op spokesperson said: "Protecting the safety of our colleagues is a priority and we know shoplifting can be a flashpoint for violence against shopworkers so whilst this is not a nationwide policy, a decision to implement product security measures at a local level can be made, if a store is experiencing a particular issue."

Related topics:CoffeeInflationFoodSupermarketChocolateBirmingham