SuperValu and Centra stores will cut the price of Kerrygold by 50c.
It has been a long time since there has been such a branded product price cut. The reductions work out at 9pc across the Kerrygold range.
A range of Kerrygold-branded butter products will be reduced.
The price of Kerrygold Creamery Butter (227g x 40) will be cut by 30c from €3.29 to €2.99, while Kerrygold Butter (454grm x 30) will be reduced by 50c from €5.49 to €4.99.
The move comes after SuperValu cut the prices on 500 grocery staples earlier this month, a move aimed at winning back market share for the company.
The chain has reduced prices by up to 10pc.
Lecturer in retail management at TU Dublin, Damian O’Reilly, said the Kerrygold price cuts were about winning back market share, but would probably be mimicked by Dunnes Stores, Tesco, Aldi and Lidl.
SuperValu’s market share has slipped below 20pc in the past few months.
Prof O’Reilly said Musgrave which owns the SuperValu and Centra franchises, is probably taking the profit-margin hit on the Kerrygold price cut, but rivals will respond.
“The others will react because they won’t want to be seen to be dearer,” he said.
He said SuperValu was struggling with a perception that it is more expensive than its rivals.
Overall, butter prices are up by 18pc in the last year, according to recent figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO). This calculation includes branded and non-branded butter.
Farm-gate milk prices have fallen lately, giving supermarkets scope to cut butter prices.
“The Kerrygold price cuts are part of a long-term strategy to build back market share. Musgrave is trying to position SuperValu as being super value,” Prof O’Reilly said.
Earlier this month, SuperValu, which has 221 stores nationwide, cut the price of fresh fruit, vegetables, dairy and meat products, nappies, pet food, firelighters, tea, coffee, orange juice, Parma ham, soups, bin bags, biscuits and other items.
Musgrave recorded €2.6m in profits each week in 2024, the most recent figures show.
There are about 480 Centra shops in the State.
Meanwhile, food prices are continuing to rise at a higher rate than the general level of inflation.
They are estimated to have risen by 0.2pc in the last month and increased by 3.9pc in the last 12 months, the CSO said.
This is compared with overall inflation at 2.6pc in the year to January.
The pick-up in food prices has been driven by outsized increases in the cost of high-profile staples such as beef, which is up 23pc in a year, and butter, which is up 19.4pc, Prof O’Reilly said, quoting more detailed recent CSO figures.
The prices of milk, coffee and chocolates have also risen.
Independent economist Austin Hughes said consumers are finding food price increases “threatening”.
Mr Hughes said there was a continuing uptick evident through the first half of last year after a slowdown in food price inflation during 2024.
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