‘Topsy-turvy’ Super Bowl food prices reflect volatile market: Wells Fargo

Consumers hosting a Super Bowl party can expect to pay about the same for food as in 2024, with a sharp increase in meat prices offset by declines in frozen pizza and chips.

A shopper buying food and drink for 10 people can expect to pay $139, a 0.1% increase over 2024, according to Wells Fargo’s Super Bowl report. 

The biggest food increases came in raw chicken wings, which are 7.2% more expensive, while avocados jumped 11.5% amid concerns about the threat of tariffs on imports from Mexico. But celery prices dropped 8.4%, broccoli declined 7.2% and shrimp fell 4% compared to 2024, according to the report.

Prices for frozen pizza, another popular game-time meal, fell 3.7%. Tortilla chip prices declined 1.4% for snacks, and salsa dropped 1.1%.

The banking giant said this mix of positive and negative pricing is reminiscent of a duck: It looks serene swimming on a pond “but under the surface, the duck is paddling like mad.” 

Dr. Michael Swanson, chief agricultural economist at Wells Fargo, told Food Dive in an interview that certain food categories are experiencing sales growth right now, but the volatility of the industry and consumer demand calls into question how long that can last.

“Take beef as a category. Producers are seeing very strong shares they haven’t seen since 2014, but how long can they hang onto it? Usually, it’s two or three years before it floats back down,” Swanson said.

He added that after several years of post-pandemic inflation, people are spending the smallest percentage on food than at any time since 1959.

While that statistic may sound questionable on its face, Swanson said the metric does not reflect total spending which remains high because shoppers are prioritizing other categories, such as car insurance or rent. He said because of this, consumers have become more choosy with their food purchases.

“If people really like chicken wings, they’re buying chicken wings,” Swanson said. “People are back to buying what they want.”