Get Ready, A Super Bowl Party Must-Have Will Cost More This Year

(CNN) — Super Bowl LVII is just around the corner and there’s a lot to celebrate this year, aside from the game itself and the halftime show headlined by Rihanna.

And if you’re hosting a party, it’s probably going to cost you less this time than it did a year ago to serve up several classic party items, except one very important one.

While overall food price inflation rose 11.8% in the United States over last year, the prices of some popular snacks dropped just in time for game day, according to a new Super Food Report. Wells Fargo Bowl.

But with drinks, be prepared to feel the price shock on at least one of the must-have items of the Super Bowl for adults: beer.

Beer prices this year are up 11% from a year earlier, while wine and spirits are up 4% and 2%, respectively, according to the report.

Good news for lovers of wings and guacamole

However, there is some relief in the Super Bowl food budget.

Wing aficionados will like this: The price of a pound of chicken wings is down 22% since January 2022 due to increased supply.

This time last year, the retail price for whole chicken wings was $3.38 per pound during the week of Super Bowl LVI, according to the US Department of Agriculture’s weekly retail price report.

“It dropped to $2.65 a pound in early January,” said Michael Swanson, Wells Fargo’s chief agricultural economist. “Chicken wings were so expensive last year that consumers were looking for alternatives to serve them at parties. Poultry producers then brought in a significant increase in supply and it is now at the highest level of supply since the beginning of 2019.”

And if you plan to bring out the grill, sirloin prices are down nearly $1 a pound and bacon is also cheaper than last year, Swanson said. So is shrimp, as lower demand helped drive prices down 17%, to $3.78 a pound, compared to a year ago.

Go crazy with the guacamole too, because avocados are a bargain. The average retail price of an avocado is down 20% from last year, after a significant oversupply of this buttery fruit caused wholesale prices to drop.

That’s a change from 2022, when avocado prices rose in the first half of the year after a brief disruption to avocado imports from Mexico disrupted the supply chain and inflated prices.

“The amount of dollars per person at the Super Bowl party this year ultimately depends on what they drink and consume,” Swanson said.

Super Bowl LVII is scheduled for February 12, 2023 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.