Historically high levels of inflation are not only squeezing people’s purses but have altered their buying choices altogether, often taking them towards unhealthy choices.

Mohammad Ahsan Kidwai, co-founder and chief commercial officer (CCO) at Krave Mart, told Business Recorder that people who were spending Rs40,000 on groceries are now forced to spend up to Rs75,000.

He added that his company’s basket that had once been priced at Rs350 is now priced at Rs2,100.

Kidwai said that Krave Mart has introduced 150 private label brands that provide a bigger margin to the company than other brands.

He added that main brands offer only 18% or 19% profit while it goes upto 40% on private label brands.

Kidwai said that people are choosing cheaper brands that often mean that the product is less healthy.

Inflation reached a historically high level of 38% last year but has since slowed down to 28.3% in January 2023.

In urban areas, inflation increased by 1.81% in January to 30.23%. In rural areas, the inflation stood at 25.69%.

Chicken prices increased by a whooping 31.44% in the month of January.

Prices of vegetables increased by 8.31% in January, while prices of spices increased by 7%.