Rapid price changes in the UK’s fast-food market in 2025 provoked debate and discussion, with menu increases consistently outpacing retail inflation. Data from Meaningful Vision’s price tracking intelligence system shows that fast-food inflation (same items) accelerated steadily throughout the year, rising from 4.8% in January to 7.7% by November and December.
Food & Beverage inflation reported by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) remained significantly lower, moving from 3.3% at the start of the year to 4.5% in December. While both measures show an upward trend, the gap between retail and foodservice pricing widened to more than three percentage points by year end.
This disparity reflects the cost pressures currently faced by the hospitality trade. For fast-food businesses, labour typically accounts for 25–35% of operating costs, leaving them vulnerable to minimum wage increases and higher National Insurance contributions. Combined with elevated input costs such as those currently affecting beef and coffee, leaves brands with very little room to manoeuvre in response to inflationary pressure, without adjusting menu prices upwards.
Meaningful Vision’s item-level tracking reveals price growth was not uniform across product categories and segments. In the second half of the year beverage inflation exceeded food, largely due to coffee price increases. Beef prices led growth among proteins by more than 10% compared to last year, but other prices grew as well. Pizza remained comparatively restrained at around 3%, underlining its highly competitive positioning.
The acceleration in fast-food pricing through the second half of the year coincided with a softening of like-for-like traffic. As prices rose faster than retail inflation, consumers became increasingly value sensitive, pushing operators to rely more heavily on meal deals, app-based promotions and limited-time offers to defend frequency.
“The widening gap between retail and restaurant inflation is reshaping consumer expectations,” says Maria Vanifatova, CEO and Founder of Meaningful Vision. “Operators are navigating a delicate balance between protecting margins and maintaining value perception.”
With further wage increases scheduled, and inflation forecast to moderate only gradually, foodservice prices are likely to remain under upward pressure. In this environment, accurate pricing intelligence and reliable competitor benchmarking may prove to be critical tools for sustaining both traffic and profitability.