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Eighty percent of consumers believe that food companies, such as PepsiCo, and Nestle, are using inflation as a cover to raise prices, in what they dub “greeflation”, according to a survey by consumer research company Attest.
The poll was conducted in February among 2,000 working-age consumers in the US, Attest said.
Grocery prices in the US rose 8.5 percent in March over 2022.
Prices for most other products and services, such as new cars, clothing, and gasoline, either rose more slowly or fell over the same period.
Costs of raw materials, labor, and shipping have continued to be high.
According to Jeremy King, CEO and Founder of Attest, Shoppers have become skeptical that the price hikes are just about companies covering higher costs.
As food companies' profits have been increasing, consumers believe that some of the higher prices are not just about covering production costs.
Recent earnings from food companies suggest that many have raised prices higher than inflation.
Conagra, the manufacturer of Swiss Miss hot chocolate mix and Slim Jim beef snacks, announced earnings per share that were 54% higher than they were a year ago in results earlier this month.
According to Sean Connolly, Conagra CEO, the company's sales rise was "primarily driven by inflation-justified price increases."
PepsiCo's earnings this week exceeded analysts' predictions. The higher-than-expected performance was driven by price hikes, with revenue increasing 14% despite only a 1% gain in beverage sales and a 3% decline in snack sales, which includes Doritos and Sun Chips.
