The cost of some traditional afternoon tea favourites has risen sharply over the past four years, with some classic favourites increasing by more than 60%, according to new analysis from food benchmarking specialist Quenelles.
To coincide with Afternoon Tea Week (10-16 August), Quenelles has analysed the price of popular staples commonly associated with a traditional British afternoon tea, comparing 2026 prices with those recorded in 2022.
The analysis reveals that classic scone toppings have seen some of the biggest price increases. Strawberry jam has risen by 67%, over the past four years, while clotted cream is up 49%. British strawberries aren’t far behind, up 41% while scones themselves have seen a more modest increase of 7%.
Meanwhile, sandwich ingredients have also seen significant rises. Artisan sourdough is up 43%, as is cucumber while smoked salmon has risen by 21% since 2022.
Afternoon tea isn’t complete without a cup of tea, and tea essentials have also increased in price. Tea bags are up 11% and whole organic milk has also risen by 11%. Semi-skimmed milk has seen a larger increase of 26%.
Not every ingredient has followed the same upward trend, however. Sliced ham is now 7% cheaper than it was in 2022.
Paul Wright, Managing Director at Quenelles, commented: “Afternoon tea is one of those quintessentially British traditions where relatively simple ingredients come together to create something that feels quite special. But our data shows that the cost of those familiar ingredients has changed considerably over the past four years.
“Jam and clotted cream in particular stand out, while the rise in the cost of strawberries, cucumber and sourdough shows that even some of the simplest components of an afternoon tea are costing caterers more.
“Of course, these figures look at individual products and pack formats rather than the cost of a complete afternoon tea, so they shouldn’t be viewed as a recipe cost. But they provide a useful snapshot of how pricing has shifted across some of the key products that caterers rely on.”
The findings highlight the continued importance of effective purchasing and benchmarking for catering businesses operating in a challenging food price environment.
Quenelles benchmarks food prices, enabling contract caterers and in-house catering teams to understand how competitive their purchasing prices are, identify potential savings and make more informed procurement decisions.
With more than £1.5 billion worth of benchmarked data, Quenelles has one of the UK’s most comprehensive food benchmarking databases, covering more than 470,000 coded product lines, 3,100 named suppliers and 51,000+ benchmarked products.
For further information please visit www.quenelles.co.uk
Data is based on the following products and pack sizes:
- Cucumbers – 1 x each
- British strawberries – 1 x 400g
- Tiptree strawberry jam – 72 x 28g
- Smoked salmon L cut – 1 x 1kg
- Artisan sourdough loaf – 4 x 600g
- Sliced ham – 1 x 454g
- Sultana giant scone – 40 x 120g
- Tetley tagged tea bags – 12 x 100 bags
- Cornish clotted cream – 96 x 40g
- Semi-skimmed milk – 1 x 2 litre
- Organic whole milk – 1 x 2 litre
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