McKinsey’s head of UK consumer business Bogdan Toma said UK food and beverage inflation has fallen to 1.3%, the weakest in about five years, a level he views as unsustainable for retailers operating on low-single-digit margins. He said retailers are absorbing a large share of rising costs amid weak consumer demand and price flattening, compressing margins and creating mounting tensions that need to be resolved. Toma added that hot weather and supply-chain disruptions for many farm products could

McKinsey’s head of UK consumer business Bogdan Toma said UK food and beverage inflation has fallen to 1.3%, the weakest in about five years, a level he views as unsustainable for retailers operating on low-single-digit margins. He said retailers are absorbing a large share of rising costs amid weak consumer demand and price flattening, compressing margins and creating mounting tensions that need to be resolved. Toma added that hot weather and supply-chain disruptions for many farm products could put upward pressure on food prices this autumn.