Cost of classic fish and chips soars by more than 100%

With National Fish and Chip Day earlier this month, we thought it was the perfect opportunity to take a closer look at the rising costs behind one of Britain’s best-loved meals.

Fish and chips remain a firm favourite with consumers, with an estimated 382 million fish and chip shop meals eaten in the UK every year1. However, caterers and foodservice operators have faced significant inflation, with our pricing data* revealing that some classic fish and chip shop staples have more than doubled in price since 2021.

Among the sharpest increases were breaded whitefish cakes, which have risen by 116% between 2021 and 2026. Branded oven chips followed closely behind with an increase of 111%, while MSC battered pollock fillets rose by 99% and wholetail scampi by 89%.

However, not every seafood product has experienced the same level of inflation. MSC Alaskan pollock fillets increased by just 5% over the same period, making them the least affected product in our analysis. Elsewhere, MSC cod fillets rose by 41%, haddock fillets by 44%, and MSC breaded pollock fish fingers by 56%, highlighting the varying pressures across different species and product categories.

It’s not only the fish that has become more expensive. Traditional accompaniments have also seen notable price rises, including curry sauce (+68%), vinegar (+37%) and mushy peas (+32%).

Commenting on the findings, Paul Wright, Managing Director here at Quenelles, said: “Fish and chips are woven into British food culture and remain one of the nation’s best-loved meals, but behind the scenes, caterers and operators have faced huge pricing pressures over the past five years.

“From rising energy costs and supply chain disruption to inflation impacting seafood, potatoes and cooking ingredients, the industry has had to navigate an incredibly challenging trading environment.

“While some increases are more dramatic than others – and increases will vary depending on pack format – the figures provide a realistic reflection of what catering teams and foodservice operators are seeing day-to-day when purchasing many of the UK’s most popular fish and chip products.”

By benchmarking prices daily, we help operators, contract caterers and in-house catering teams understand how competitive their purchasing prices are and identify opportunities for smarter procurement decisions.

Today, our database contains more than £1.5 billion worth of benchmarked food purchasing data, covering over 470,000 coded product lines, 3,100 named suppliers and more than 51,000 benchmarked products.

If you would like help navigating inflationary pressures with greater confidence and visibility, get in touch with our team here.

The Quenelles team

*Data used in the analysis

The analysis was based on the following pack and product sizes:

· 6 x 2.6kg mushy peas

· 6 x 2.5kg branded straight cut oven chips

· 1 x 50 skinless haddock fillets (112g)

· 36 x 85g breaded whitefish cakes

· 10 x 450g wholetail scampi

· 1 x 35 battered pollock portions (110g-140g)

· 1 x 35 MSC battered pollock fillets (140g-170g)

· 1 x 50 Atlantic MSC cod fillets (112g-136g)

· 1 x 36 MSC Alaskan pollock fillets (110g-140g)

· 60 x 25g MSC breaded pollock fish fingers

· 1 x 400 vinegar sachets (9g)

· *1 x 4.54kg curry sauce mix bucket (2021-2025 comparison)