There's often an ad on TV with the price of a trolley load of shopping from Aldi compared to a trolley load from one of the bigger supermarkets (Asda or Tesco) - I can't remember which.
The trolleys are very full to almost overflowing - a ton of shopping - lots of branded things in the Asda/Tesco trolley compared to Aldi's own brand. I think the ad says the Aldi trolley full costs one third less than the big supermarket price - £60 compared to £90 - or something similar.
So that's for a big family shop but what about in real life for 1 person, especially as prices seem to be shooting up everywhere. Investigation needed
. I went to Aldi first with my shopping list and bought everything they had from my list. Then I went to Morrisons with my list and a pen to write down their prices (I didn't want to buy everything twice!) and to buy the things Aldi didn't have.
A normal sort of big shop for 1 person (well normal for me)
Here we go
Aldi price Morrisons Price
6 Braeburn apples £1.19 £1.59
2 Bananas 26p 28p
Conference Pears £1.49 (4) £1.50 (6) on offer
Punnet of Red Grapes £1.49 £1.99
Carrots 500g 28p 29p
Broccoli 47p 46p
Baby Plum Toms 59p 59p
Baby Charlotte Potatoes 62p 75p
Cucumber 43p 45p(on offer)
Butternut Squash ------- £1.25
Lettuce(2 little gem) 49p ------------
Onions 69p 69p
Savoy Cabbage 43p 39p(on offer)
Extra Mature Cheese £1.79 £2.00
Greek Salad Cheese 75p £1.35
Paneer Cheese ---------- £1.60
Unsalted butter £1.48 £1.48
2 pints whole Milk ---------- 95p
Bread Flour 59p £1.00
Self Raising Flour 45p 65p
Tin Plum Tomatoes 28p 45p
Jar Pitted Olives 49p £1.00
Pack of 8 Frothy Coffee 79p £1.50
Pasta Penne 29p 30p
Tube Tomato Puree 31p 65p
Tin Salmon £1.49 £2.40
6 Cheese/onion in pastry £1.19 £1.49
Bacon 300g £1.39 500g £2.00 (on offer)
Chicken Thighs £1.79 £2.20
Small Pizza 49p 65p
TOTAL £22.00 TOTAL £31.90
If I've added things up correctly.......which is debatable...........
Aldi didn't have any Butternut squash, milk in 2 pint bottles or Paneer cheese. Morrisons had no Little Gem lettuces.
Aldi total when missing things are added using the Morrisons price for the missing items is £25.81
Morrisons total when missing things are added using the Aldi price for the missing items is £32.39 ( but that includes 2 extra pears and 200g more bacon)
Lots of the things here will last me months, especially the meat as I only eat it occasionally, others will last a couple of weeks and some just a few days. My shopping list is never the same twice as I tend to make a list to replace things I've eaten rather than for the week ahead. I have all sorts of stuff already in the cupboards and freezer and the sort of meals I will make will be Huge pan squash/veg/paneer curry (usually makes at least 7 portions for the freezer); Chicken and stir fry veg.; Salmon and broccoli bake(4 portions for freezer); Feta(salad cheese) and Pasta salads; Pizza(adding extra topping); Cheese and onion rolls (with a bit of added cheese and heated in the microwave) with veg; Quiche with the bacon, cheese and tomatoes; Chicken and salad.
And if you've got right through this post - well done.
Have I proved the ads right or wrong? Perhaps almost right but a different trolley full might not?
Although I reckon all I've proved is I have too much time on my hands!
Back Tomorrow
Sue
PS I was ever so excited to find Aldi's baby potatoes are from Suffolk!
I've never done a comparison as thorough as yours but I have done comparisons and yes, I find Lidl cheaper than Tesco. I also find the same problem as you did in that Lidl may not have everything I want eg I buy small tins of beans. And like you, I may have too much time on my hands.
ReplyDeletePS And I was delighted to find the Tesco baking potatoes (on a Clubcard deal this week) are from Lincolnshire, my home county!
I've always felt that Aldi is cheaper than Morrisons but everything's going up terribly right now, even Aldi. I rarely go to Lidl - maybe I ought to try it more.
ReplyDelete(nice to know about the potatoes)
xx
I found that I could buy a large tin of beans for less than the cost of a small tin. I just use half and then freeze the other half till I need them.
ReplyDeleteI'm a Lidl shopper, and it is true you don't get everything you want from them but much cheaper. Our main delivered shopping is from Morrisons. Both have decent fruit and vegetables. Most of us have to admit though we are not going after the cheapest food as some people have to and that is where the argument lies over cheap food.
ReplyDeleteWe have one supermarket chain that is appreciably cheaper (called Pak'n'Save) but they are inclined to only have large sizes that are often too big for one or two people. I often end up shopping at two different places to get a balance between good prices and what I want.
ReplyDeleteQuite often they put a couple of "loss leaders" in their comparison trolleys for the ads. That is, some item (big box of washing powder or nappies) which is on offer that week - which by itself represents perhaps £2 saving. And as you say, much depends on whether you are a single household, a large family or somewhere between. Well done for your diligent price checking Sue.
ReplyDeleteWe don't have the same choice of supermarkets here, just the local Co-Op, one big Tesco in Douglas or the locally owned chain. We have given up price checking as they are all just as expensive as each other!
ReplyDeleteWe find Lidl cheaper than Morrison’s but shop at both. Our Asda is small and more expensive. Price increases we have noticed for a year now and shrinkflation longer still. Only going to get worse unfortunately but cooking from scratch and freezing the extra helps us a lot.
ReplyDeleteOur main shop cones from Sainsburys and although it's more expensive than Aldi or Lidl we recoup the extra in Loyalty points which we spend on food. It's always harder to buy for one person I think as pack sizes are often too big. Well done on the comparison though, I wouldn't have the patience to do it!
ReplyDeleteI always wondered about that advert and the naming of the other supermarkets. Obviously it's okay otherwise they would be up in arms about it.
ReplyDeleteMy husband does all the shopping and I just tag along occasionally. He mostly shops at Tesco, going first to Aldi if he remembers and every week he tells me of some price rise or other. But saying that Tesco is cheaper than Sainsbury's which is where we used to do our main shop and also cheaper than the Co-op. The Co-op took over the supermarket I used to work for so I have their discount card, but we haven't been there since Wales and we didn't go there much then either as it was a long way away.
We shopped in Lidl and Tesco when in Carmarthen. That is our nearest Lidl now - 50 miles away! Our nearest Morrisons is in Brecon (20 miles off). In the town we have two Co-ops, and they are much more expensive and limited choice too, so just buy oddments there. I go to Llandod for our main shop, to Aldi first and then the things I couldn't get there from Tesco. The latter occasionally price-match Lidl on certain items, and their fruit and veg is fresher (if dearer).
ReplyDeleteEverything has been going up and up not by the pennies that used to get added on but by 10p or 20p or more.
Never knew you could freeze baked beans! I just put any I don't use in a mug in the fridge with cling film over and incorporate it into a meal later in the week.
Thanks for doing the hard work for us Sue!
We only pop to the huge supermarkets every couple of months, Lidl is local to us, we love their meats and are happy with the fresh fruit and veg. There are a few brands we can't get at Lidl, hence the need for a big shop as we run low. Like you we prefer to keep our freezer and cupboards full, when we shop it's to fill gaps, we look at offers to restock.
ReplyDeleteTheir mushrooms were from Suffolk last week too 😁
ReplyDeleteI shop at Aldi myself. It astonishes me the wide variation in pricing from store to store. $6 for a box of Cheerios the other day! We didn't buy there.
ReplyDeleteA very interesting exercise. I really miss my mysupermarket.com for things like this as I used to be able to plan a shop on there for Challenges before trawling round all the shops.
ReplyDeleteI've discovered that a lot of Aldi fruits and vegetables are from the UK, it makes me very happy. Even a selection of the tomatoes that are available now, which are virtually all grown under glass are from the UK.
I am in the U.S. we would not buy a third of that for that price! Our shopping for 2 people is hundreds of dollars and going higher by the minute
ReplyDeleteCathy
Shopping in multiple grocery stores seems to be the same for everyone (UK & US). No one store has everything. Prices continue to rise weekly. Lately our Costco wholesale store (designed for buying in bulk) is more expensive than retail stores. I was there last week and the store was not busy with customers.
ReplyDeleteA noble act Sue snd an interesting price comparison.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, such as it is, it's apples and oranges. Morrisons and Aldi aren't really equivalent. Morrisons carry a wider range of stuff and my experience is that their fruit and veg is slightly better. Aldi have a lot of really good prices on basics, and their aisle of wonder is always worth a look if you have strong willpower but they don't carry everything. Tesco and Sainsbury have started price matching Aldi on some basics, although I think you would need a Clubcard to get those prices from Tesco. Also, I think a lot more of Aldi meat is British, which I like.
ReplyDeleteAtomic Shrimp did a price comparison a few weeks ago and I found it very interesting. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__6ujPujCTc
I think you need a black belt in maths to get anywhere near to working it out nowadays.
I don't compare prices anywhere. It's bad enough having to shop, period. I hate it! Wasting gas, wasting energy, putting up with my ailments as I try to shop, ugh! But that's just me & my shortcomings. Usually I make a curbside pickup order from Walmart, whenever I need some things.... but if I was in the mood to go out, to shop, I'd just go to Aldi as they have the cheaper prices overall. If my husband agrees to shop, I don't tell him where to go.... I'm just grateful he's going and I'm not. He always-always-always goes to a locally-owned Mom-n-Pop grocery store in town. He believes in patronizing local, even though this particular grocery store has to charge more... of course... for their items because they don't get the discount like the big box stores do. If he spends $5-$7 more for one of his little errands, he considers that worth it as it's going into the pocket of someone who owns the store & has lived in our town all of his life, as his parents before him. That's a whole other subject tho, isn't it... locally-owned vs. big box store. Anyway, this was a wonderful little project, Sue. I'm glad you did it and shared your findings. ~Andrea xoxo
ReplyDeleteThat's a great comparison for prices. If the quality is just as good it does look like you can save money on many items at Aldi. I think it's kind of fun to do comparisons like that!
ReplyDeleteI might be in the minority here and it might sound a bit ‘precious’ but two things put me off shopping in Aldi. They charge a surcharge on credit card payments and they don’t pack my bags. Many of my friends swear by them so out of curiosity I’ve looked around (doing a mini price check) and the prices didn’t appear to be much cheaper than our two big nationals. Unknown brands, unsocial ‘check out chicks’ and having to wend my way round all the ‘middle aisle non grocery stuff’ was another put off.
ReplyDeleteSo I’ll just walk on by or use another entrance in the shopping centre to get to my preferred supermarket- yes they are both under the same roof, one at each end of the building
Really interesting comparison - thanks for that!
ReplyDeleteI remember many moons ago, being very scientific and doing a comparison like that. It also entailed a balancing act between brands and products. Headache inducing!! In New Zealand there aren't many choices of large chains. Countdown is Australian owned, and pushes the Australian products over NZ grown (eg tins of tomatoes, peaches etc) Pack'nSave has a big range but it's like a warehouse and doesn't have the 'luxury lines' by and large. New World advertise as "locally owned and operated" and are more expensive, BUT they make a point of employing a number of people with disabilities, which gets a huge tick from me, AND they do carry more exotic/expensive brands. So, now we're past the having to scrimp and count every penny so I largely just shop New World, and as Omicron is starting to take hold over here, I'm having groceries delivered by them. I'm immune suppressed so have to be very careful.
ReplyDeleteComparing national brands to store brands probably is not fair.
ReplyDeleteWow I'm so jealous. Prices here are so much more. I can't get any veggies for those prices.
ReplyDeleteI don't shop at our Aldi's as much as I should. I usually go there around the holidays when they have their imported cheeses and such. Otherwise, I tend to shop at a local chain or Walmart. I like Walmart because they stock English cheeses. I like our local chain as their vegetables seem fresher. I do tend only to buy sale items. I could do better on my food shop, but I do find that if I meal plan and buy in one lot I spend less so that's what I've been trying to do.