The FAO Food Price Index shows the average price of vegetable oils has risen in early 2026, reaching the highest level since June 2022.

In today’s global food market, fluctuating ingredient costs are putting increasing pressure on hospitality and foodservice businesses.

Vegetable oils are a prime example, as according to the FAO Food Price Index, prices have increased in early 2026, reaching the highest level since June 2022.

Trends vary across different oils, with the price of palm, soybean, and rapeseed oils jumping up. In contrast, sunflower oil prices have eased slightly, but still remain above year-earlier levels.

Driven by production changes, along with broader geopolitical and economic factors, this ongoing volatility is a growing concern for commercial kitchens, particularly those that rely on fryer oils.

Continue reading to discover three solutions to help your business handle rising or fluctuating costs.

If Oil Prices Continue to Rise, How Can I Future-Proof my Commercial Kitchen?

If oil prices continue to rise, this could have a significant impact on Commercial Kitchens, especially businesses that use Vegetable Oils in their kitchen fryers.

In fact, we have already heard from hospitality sites that have noticed a rise in prices and have been looking for a suitable strategy for managing these costs. With this in mind, we wanted to share three future-proof ideas:

1. Evaluate your choice of cooking oil

An overall price increase for Vegetable Oils, doesn’t necessarily mean all of the oils within this category are trending in the same direction. Instead, it could mean that some of the more reassuring trends are being offset by an overall spike. Taking the time to evaluate past and potential trends will play an important part in you making the most cost-effective choice for your Commercial Kitchen, especially when it comes to negotiating contracts with your suppliers. Even if the oil you select continues to rise in price, you could secure long-term savings if the increase is less significant than it is for the other options.

2. Reduce the frequency of your oil changes

Another important step is to eliminate unnecessary oil changes at your site. This is a common occurrence in Commercial Kitchens where oil changes are reliant on guesswork, with team members wrongly assuming a change in colour always means that oil has reached the end of its lifespan. Often, this is not the case. The best way to resolve this issue is with a Food Oil Monitor that provides a digital measurement of oil quality in a matter of seconds. The unit also operates under a simple traffic light system, flashing green if the oil is suitable for use, amber if it will need changing soon, and red if a replacement is required.

Sites that previously relied on visual checks, before making the switch to Food Oil Monitors have reported a reduction in oil usage of up to 52%.

Learn more about Food Oil Monitors, now with Bluetooth Connectivity
Discover three reasons your fryer oil is changing colour

3. Prioritise skimming and filtering your oil

Through ongoing training, visual reminders, and other employee engagement strategies,
it is important that you encourage your team to embrace simple practices like skimming and filtering the fryer oil. The removal of any large food particles from your oil will prevent it from getting clogged in your fryers and has the potential to extend the lifespan of your oil by a further 1-2 days. Again, this will reduce the need for unnecessary replacements and could have a significant impact on oil usage at your site. If your kitchen doesn’t have a built-in fryer filtration system, our Manual Oil Filtering Kits could provide support in this area.

Help Guide: Filtering Fryer Oil in a Commercial Kitchen

From selecting the oil with the most stable prospects to eliminating the risk of unnecessary oil changes, you can not only manage, but even reduce the ongoing costs of cooking oil at your site.

This is an area we specialise in, so we are always happy to provide support. You can contact us directly on 01473461800 or sales@klipspringer.com. Alternatively, you can fill out the contact form below and we will be in touch.

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    Libby Loughnan, Content Manager at Klipspringer

    About the Author

    Libby Loughnan is Content Manager at Klipspringer, specialising in food safety and compliance. She writes extensively on helping commercial kitchens improve food safety, cut costs, and work more efficiently, covering everything from equipment storage to food oil management.