A supermarket criticised for selling a key grocery essential for 18% more than almost every other has increased the price of another basic item.
We reported last week how the 300g pack of chicken breasts at Asda is now £2.65, which is 40p more than Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Aldi and Lidl and 24p more than Morrisons.
The rise cemented the retailer’s position as the ‘most expensive’ in our weekly comparison, which has monitored the prices of the same eight items at the six main supermarkets since March 2022.
Read more: Costco branded ‘ridiculous’ for making big change in store
Now its bill for the basket, which also includes bread, milk, butter, tea bags, coffee, beans and mince, is even higher once again, after it increased the cost of a block of butter from £1.89 to £2 in the last week.
At £12.89, it’s now held the most expensive title for eight consecutive weeks and has been in the bottom spot frequently since the comparison first began.
Asda isn’t the only one to up the price of butter though. Lidl, which has quite often worked out the cheapest of all the supermarkets, has made the same move, increasing its butter by the same amount and bringing its overall bill to £12.34.
It’s widened its gap between the cheapest retailer Aldi, which comes in at £12.02, and second cheapest Morrisons, at £12.11.
Sainsbury’s is fourth cheapest at £12.40, followed by Tesco, at £12.43.
Despite working out as cheapest, Aldi has, for some time, disputed the findings of our comparison, saying that it doesn’t take into account like-for-like products or ‘the higher quality’ of its products.
For example, the supermarket says that its beans are 20g heavier than Sainsbury’s and that Aldi tea bags are ‘better quality than the comparative products used’.
Asda also disagrees with our comparison and says that our small sample of products does not represent the fuller picture of prices and does not account for its deals. The supermarket says that, across the board, its Just Essentials range is the largest and cheapest available, alongside Aldi’s.
An Asda spokesperson said: “A limited price comparison featuring just eight products does not show the true value customers receive every time they shop with us. Asda is consistently recognised as the best-value traditional supermarket in independent price comparison surveys including the Which? Big Shop’ price survey, which compares the cost of 165 branded and own-label lines across the major supermarkets.
“This week we were also recognised as being the cheapest supermarket in The Grocer 33 basket comparison, despite this survey now including loyalty pricing.
“In addition to offering the lowest prices of any traditional supermarket, our customers can make further savings by using the Asda Rewards app. The app gives them money back into their Cashpot each 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 spokesperson said: “Our promise to customers is that they will make significant savings every time they shop with Aldi, which is why we’ve been named Which? Cheapest Supermarket of the Year for three years running. Which? has also named Aldi the UK’s Cheapest Supermarket every month this year, even in its latest analysis including loyalty prices.”
The full list is as follows:
Aldi
Loaf of white bread 800g – 47p
Milk 2 pints – £1.20
Coffee 200g – £1.79
Teabags 160 – £1.85
Salted butter 250g – £1.89
Beans 420g tin – 28p
Chicken 300g – £2.25
Mince 500g 25% fat – £2.29
Total £12.02
Morrisons
Loaf of white bread 800g – 47p
Milk 2 pints – £1.20
Coffee (2 x 100g) – £1.98
Teabags 160 (2 x 80-pack Savers) – £1.60
Savers Salted butter 250g – £1.89
Beans 410g tin – 27p
Chicken 300g – £2.65 for 330g, equates to £2.41 for 300g
Mince 500g 25% fat – £2.29
Total £12.11
Lidl
Loaf of white bread 800g – 47p
Milk 2 pints – £1.20
Coffee 200g – £1.99
Teabags 240 – £2.79 / equates to £1.86 for 160
Salted butter 250g – £2 (up from £1.89)
Beans 420g tin – 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
Milk 2 pints – £1.20
Coffee 200g – £1.98
Teabags 160 – £1.85
Salted butter 250g – £1.89
Beans 400g tin – 27p
Chicken 300g – £2.40 for 320g / equates to £2.25 for 300g
Mince 500g 20% fat – £2.49
Total £12.40
Tesco
Loaf of white bread 800g – 47p
Milk 2 pints – £1.20
Coffee 200g (2 x 100g) – £2
Teabags 160 (2 x 80-pack) – £1.84
Salted butter 250g – £1.89
Beans 420g tin – 29p
Chicken 300g – £2.25
Mince 500g 20% fat – £2.49
Total £12.43
Asda
Loaf of white bread 800g – 47p
Milk 2 pints – £1.20
Coffee 200g (2 x 100g) – £2
Teabags 160 (4 x 40-pack) – £1.80
Salted butter 250g – £2 (up from £1.89)
Beans 410g tin – 28p
Chicken 300g – £2.65
Mince 500g 20% fat – £2.49
Total £12.89 (up from £12.78)
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