Some suppliers have raised prices by more than their costs went up over the past two years, according to the UK’s competition watchdog.
This has helped push up food prices, the Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) said.
The findings are part of an analysis of pricing in 10 categories, including baby formula, milk and baked beans.
High food price inflation has mainly been driven by rising energy and fertiliser costs, the CMA said.
But about three quarters of branded suppliers have also been making higher profits.
As a result shoppers have increasingly turned to own-label products, but in the case of baby formula there are not many alternatives.
New parents could save £500 in the first year of a baby’s life on baby formula by shopping around, the CMA added.
The watchdog said it would probe the baby formula market further, and will also look at supermarket loyalty card schemes.
Families could make significant savings on baby formula over the first year of a baby’s life by buying cheaper formula – which needs to follow rules on providing the nutrients babies need, it said.
But the market is dominated by two big players, and there is little evidence of parents switching to cheaper alternatives.
“We’re concerned that parents may not always have the right information to make informed choices and that suppliers may not have strong incentives to offer infant formula at competitive prices,” said Sarah Cardell, chief executive of the CMA.
She added that the pace of food price rises “has put huge strain on household budgets”.
