From Kerry Katona to Coleen Nolan, celebrities over the years have proclaimed the benefits of a certain supermarket, telling us: ‘That’s why mums go to Iceland.’
But while the retailer’s famous slogan was dropped two years ago, the prices for some of its food are still frozen at £1 now – having been unchanged for 21 years.
These include several of Iceland’s most popular ready meals – lasagne; spaghetti bolognese; chicken curry and rice; and cheese and tomato thin crust pizza.
The retailer checked its pricing archives and said the meals have risen by just 1p in three decades after all launching at 99p in 1996 – before a small rise to £1 in 2005.
The chain compared this to the price of petrol increasing over that period by 173 per cent, diesel by 198 per cent, milk by 81 per cent and a pint of lager by 179 per cent. The starkest example was the Freddo, going from 10p to 35p in a 250 per cent rise.
As well as the 1996 products, the Deeside-based chain confirmed its cottage pie and sweet and sour chicken with rice have both stayed at their 2005 prices of £1 too.
This week, Iceland revealed it is marking the 30th anniversary of the £1 range by introducing or cutting the price of 750 more products to £1.
Household staples such as tea bags, baked beans and bread, as well as classic meals such as toad in the hole, pasta bake will all now be priced at £1 or less.
Kerry Katona advertises the £1 chicken curry with rice in an Iceland advert from 2005
Coleen Nolan has also promoted the £1 foods, shown here in an Iceland advert from 2001
Iceland’s spaghetti bolognese was priced at 99p upon its launch in 1996, and now costs £1
A pre-Christmas flyer issued by Iceland in 2005 which references some of its £1 ready meals
Cheese, chips and burgers are among the £1 products advertised in this 2005 Christmas flyer
A freezer full of ready meals costing £1 is pictured in an Iceland supermarket in 2005
| Product | 1996 price | 2026 price | £ increase | % increase |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iceland Lasagne | 99p | £1 | 1p | 1.01% |
| Iceland Chicken Curry and Rice | 99p | £1 | 1p | 1.01% |
| Iceland Spaghetti Bolognese | 99p | £1 | 1p | 1.01% |
| Iceland Cheese and Tomato Thin Crust Pizza | 99p | £1 | 1p | 1.01% |
| Petrol | 56p per litre | 152.68p per litre | 96.68p per litre | 172.6% |
| Diesel | 57p per litre | 170.01p per litre | 113.01p per litre | 198.3% |
| Pint of Milk | 35.9p | 65p | 29.1p | 81.1% |
| Pint of Lager | £1.73 | £4.83 | £3.10 | 179.2% |
| Freddo | 10p | 35p | 25p | 250% |
It comes as research from Iceland found 69 per cent of Brits are worried about rising food prices, with 55 per cent say rising prices make them feel stressed and anxious.
Some 74 per cent of Brits say they want supermarkets to step in during the latest cost of living crisis to help with prices, according to its survey released last month.
The cost of some foods at supermarkets has more than doubled since 2005, while UK food prices rose an overall rate of 39 per cent in the five years leading up to 2026.
An Iceland spokesperson said: ‘The cost of living has transformed almost beyond recognition over the last 30 years.
‘Petrol has nearly tripled, a pint costs almost three times as much and even a Freddo has shot up by 250 per cent, but some of our best-selling family meals have increased by just one penny.
‘We know customers are counting every pound, which is why we’re doubling down on value.
‘With 750 products now at £1 or less, shoppers can still pick up everyday essentials, family favourites and complete meals at prices that have become increasingly hard to find anywhere else.’
Iceland’s executive chairman is Lord Walker of Broxton, the Government’s cost-of-living champion, who hit the headlines last month when he called for Ministers to cut the triple lock on pensions.
The Labour peer told a debate on youth unemployment on June 11 that the state pension policy was unaffordable and decried inaction by successive governments on the issue.
