MSE News: Surge in supermarket bargain hunting

chelms38

Whenever I am standing in line at the till I sometimes do that thing of checking baskets and I am amazed that a lot of people in their 60's/70's seem to go for brand names.Sometimes I get asked to get some of the smaller heinz tins and even when I tell them that the supermarket own ones are just as good but cheaper they still want Heinz.I know if I do live into my 60's/70's I will go for the supermarket brands everytime.

rickbonar

Is it not true that there are only 2 companies in the UK producing baked beans? Crosse and Blackwell and Heinz? I don't know about Branstons though could be a newcomer and Aldi Lidl buy in from Germany.

But the supermarkets Tesco, Morrison, M&S, ASDA, Harrods all commision either Crosse and Blackwell or Heinz to produce beans on their behalf. Same sort of situation with washing up liquid .... the list goes on..

That's right ...Tesco and Harrods etc don't own the factories making their products.

That may go to explain the packaging tins and bottles look virtually the same but with the shops brand label on top.

And the quality does I admit does vary from product to product.. corn flakes often aren't very good compared with the big names but the washing up liquid is the same and other products sometimes actually the cheaper versions may be better.

KTF

Just because it comes out the same factory doesnt mean each retailer uses the same recipe.

rickbonar

KTF wrote: »

Just because it comes out the same factory doesnt mean each retailer uses the same recipe.

It doesn't that's right but I wonder whether you can tell the difference taste wise between say Aldi, Harrods and Tesco's beans?


And if so to be able to identify which sellers are which at a later date blind test and in fact the same test with the economy product versus the supermarket own and branded product?

And we are talking often quite large price differences between these different packaged items.

iris

chelms38 wrote: »

Whenever I am standing in line at the till I sometimes do that thing of checking baskets and I am amazed that a lot of people in their 60's/70's seem to go for brand names.Sometimes I get asked to get some of the smaller heinz tins and even when I tell them that the supermarket own ones are just as good but cheaper they still want Heinz.I know if I do live into my 60's/70's I will go for the supermarket brands everytime.

My husband and I are in our 60's/70's and we buy whatever is on offer that we like and stock up. Buying small tins is normally a waste of money, especially beans. If I only use half a tin, I freeze the remainder to use later;)

I also use coupons for branded goods and have a cupboard full of Fairy liquid, heinz beans, toothpaste, dishwasher tablets, wipes, etc - you should try this, it's better than 'buying' supermarket brands!!

Sparkle_66

I abandoned Morrisons a couple of years ago & started shopping at Aldi saving around £30 a week on my grocery bill. The fruit & veg are excellent quality and value for money so I tend to buy more which means we eat more healthy. Tomorrow I will be buying the Daily Mirror for the £5 voucher off £35 spend & may even buy 2 papers. I often say to myself "why would I want to pay full price for anything?" Every penny counts!

terra_ferma

It looks like some supermarkets have wised up to the fact that reduced yellow/red stickered food is now much in demand.
For a couple of months now I've not been able to get the same bargains I've seen before at my nearest Waitrose.
It used to be quite good, and not that many people fighting over it...

Now they reduce about 20%, and no longer have a separate section for food that is reduced further (it was up to 80% off.... I still remember the good times...)
Meat is particularly bad, it used to have the best bargains, but not any longer.

Anyone else found the same? more people looking for fewer and smaller reductions?

cherrypies

terra_ferma wrote: »

Anyone else found the same? more people looking for fewer and smaller reductions?

Reductions are generally done on section managers / store managers say so. If the reductions, times, discounts have recently changed in your store, you might want to try shopping around in other branches as it could just be a particularly stingy manager. For example, some store managers just send all of the fresh bread going out of date to waste at the end of the day as they think it's more cost effective than taking up staff time reducing it all to pennies... one store near me very rarely reduces anything at all past 20% off, yet another branch of the same chain, about a mile away, regularly reduces items to 90% at around 8pm.

matty17r

Our waitrose also does not have a special reduced counter anymore. Everything reduced is just on the normal shelves and you have to go on a hunt. I suppose this way 'normal' shoppers can see them! However, I have still picked up a few bargains recently sunday got 4 pints of semi organic to 45p and often on the deli counter there are a few good reductions. Tesco is very hit and miss and I have yet to discover the perfect time in my locals and will keep experimenting at different times - sad!