by A supermarket criticized for selling essential groceries 18% more than almost all others has raised the price of another staple.
We reported last week that the 300g pack of chicken breast at Asda is now £2.65, which is 40p more than Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Aldi and Lidl and 24p more than Morrisons.
The rise confirmed the retailer’s position as the ‘most expensive’ in our weekly comparison, which monitored the prices of the same eight items at the six main supermarkets since March 2022.
Read more: Costco brand ‘ridiculous’ for making a big change in the store
Now his bill for the basket, which also includes bread, milk, butter, tea bags, coffee, beans and mince, is higher again, after he last raised the cost of a block of butter from £1.89 to £2. a week.
At £12.89, it has now been the most expensive title for eight weeks in a row and has been in the bottom spot many times since the first comparison began.
Asda isn’t the only one raising the price of butter though. Lidl, which has often outbid the cheapest supermarkets, has made the same move, increasing its butter by the same amount and bringing its total bill to £12.34.
It has widened its gap between the cheapest retailer Aldi, which comes in at £12.02, and the second cheapest Morrisons, at £12.11.
Sainsbury’s is fourth at £12.40, followed by Tesco at £12.43.
Despite working out to be the cheapest, Aldi has, for some time, disputed the results of our comparison, saying it does not take into account similar or ‘higher quality’ products.
For example, the supermarket says its beans are 20g heavier than Sainsbury’s and Aldi’s tea bags are ‘better quality than comparable products used’.
Asda also disagrees with our comparison and says that our small sample of products does not reflect the fuller price picture and does not account for its markets. The supermarket says its Just Essentials range is the biggest and cheapest available, alongside Aldi’s.
An Asda spokesman said: “A limited price comparison of just eight products shows the true value customers get every time they shop with us. Asda is consistently recognized as the best value traditional supermarket in independent price comparison surveys including supermarket Which? The Big Shop price survey, which compares the cost of 165 branded and own-label lines across major supermarkets.
“This week we were also recognized as the cheapest supermarket compared to The Grocer’s 33 basket, despite loyalty pricing now being included in this survey.
“As well as offering the lowest prices of any traditional supermarket, our customers can make further savings by using the Asda Rewards app. The app gives them cash back into their Money Pot every time they shop, which they can use to reduce the price they pay at the till. In less than two years since its launch, Asda Rewards is now used by over six million customers who have saved more than £600m in total.”
An Aldi spokesman said: “Our promise to customers is that they’ll make significant savings every time they shop with Aldi, which is why we’ve named Which? Cheapest Supermarket of the Year for three years in a row. Which one? Aldi has been named the UK’s Holiday Supermarket every month this year, even in its latest analysis which includes loyalty prices.”
The full list is as follows:
Aldi
Loaf of white bread 800g – 47p
2 pints of milk – £1.20
Coffee 200g – £1.79
160 tea bags – £1.85
Salted butter 250g – £1.89
Tin beans 420g – 28p
Chicken 300g – £2.25
Mince 500g 25% fat – £2.29
Total £12.02
Maurice
Loaf of white bread 800g – 47p
2 pints of milk – £1.20
Coffee (2 x 100g) – £1.98
160 tea bags (2 x Save 80-pack) – £1.60
Salted Butter Savers 250g – £1.89
Beans 410g tin – 27p
Chicken 300g – £2.65 for 330g, equal to £2.41 for 300g
Mince 500g 25% fat – £2.29
Total £12.11
Lidl
Loaf of white bread 800g – 47p
2 pints of milk – £1.20
Coffee 200g – £1.99
240 tea bags – £2.79 / £1.86 for 160
Salted butter 250g – £2 (from £1.89)
Tin beans 420g – 28p
Chicken 300g – £2.25
Mince 500g 25% fat – £2.29
Total £12.34 (up from £12.23)
Sainsbury’s
Loaf of white bread 800g – 47p
2 pints of milk – £1.20
Coffee 200g – £1.98
160 tea bags – £1.85
Salted butter 250g – £1.89
Beans 400g tin – 27p
Chicken 300g – £2.40 for 320g / equal to £2.25 for 300g
Mince 500g 20% fat – £2.49
Total £12.40
Tesco
Loaf of white bread 800g – 47p
2 pints of milk – £1.20
Coffee 200g (2 x 100g) – £2
160 tea bags (2 x 80-pack) – £1.84
Salted butter 250g – £1.89
Tin beans 420g – 29p
Chicken 300g – £2.25
Mince 500g 20% fat – £2.49
Total £12.43
Asda
Loaf of white bread 800g – 47p
2 pints of milk – £1.20
Coffee 200g (2 x 100g) – £2
160 tea bags (4 x 40-pack) – £1.80
Salted butter 250g – £2 (from £1.89)
Beans 410g tin – 28p
Chicken 300g – £2.65
Mince 500g 20% fat – £2.49
Total £12.89 (up from £12.78)
