It's Not Just Meat And Eggs: This Sweet Grocery Staple Is Costing You Way More Now

A sharp increase in grocery bills arrived soon after the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020. As supply chains all around the world were suddenly disrupted, the cost of pantry and fridge staples noticeably increased. But once the pandemic was over, prices kept climbing, resulting in a sharp and rapid inflation, the likes of which we haven't seen in half a century. Although grocery prices have spiked overall, there are some items in particular that were hit the hardest. Candy, for example, has seen a 43% increase in price since March 2020, as reported by Trace One.

There's a staggering difference between grocery prices now versus the 1950s, but it's easier to wrap your mind around the prices increasing when you're looking back several decades. In the current case, however, the prices have climbed exponentially within a mere six years, barely giving the shoppers time to adjust. Just recently, shoppers have noticed a steep price increase on chocolate, even at Costco. In concrete numbers, the cost of candy has gone up 20.7% in the last three years, 13.6% in the last two, and 10.1% in the last year alone.

This might, in part, be connected to the rising costs of sugar and sweeteners, the price of which has risen by 38.3% since 2020. Americans are also paying 33.2% more for cakes, cupcakes, and cookies. Ice cream, another sweet treat, costs us 19% more than it did six years ago, too.

Despite the 43% price spike, candy is not at the top of the inflation list. The grocery item with the highest price jump since March 2020, per Trace One, is beef. Ground beef is 52.2% more expensive now, while beef steaks have increased in price by 57%. But it's the beef roasts that take the cake, no pun intended. Those cost 73.8% more than they did in 2020, rising in price by 17.5% just in the last year. The high inflation of beef is a result of a cattle shortage that is currently plaguing the U.S., making the beef supply scarcer and the prices consequently higher.

Alongside beef products, eggs and coffee are the only two other items with higher price increases than candy. The inflation of eggs has gone down by 13.2% in the last year, after the market successfully contained the avian influenza — and yet, Americans are still paying 51.4% more for eggs than they did in 2020. Another beloved item that has seen a big price surge is coffee, climbing by 18.8% in the last year and overall costing 47.3% more than it did in 2020. It's hard to predict what the future will bring, but according to inflation data, grocery prices could look worse in 2050.