Asda hikes price of ANOTHER yellow Just Essentials…

Asda hikes price of ANOTHER yellow Just Essentials range product just weeks after launch

Asda has increased the price of another yellow Just Essentials range product - just weeks after its launch.

A 500g packet of mince has gone up by 10p - from £1.69 to £1.79, and comes after rival supermarkets lowered their price to match Asda's. Earlier this month Asda was accused of 'embarrassing poorer families' with their new yellow budget range, which replaced its Smart Price range.

Some shoppers felt the bright yellow packaging stands out too much and gives 'poverty markers' to struggling customers. Our weekly comparison of basics like milk and bread - the cost of which we have been monitoring at supermarkets since March - showed that last week Asda put the price of its Just Essentials teabags up from 25p for a pack of 40 to 28p and its coffee up from 75p for 100g to 83p.

The latest price increase - 10p on a pack of mince - has not gone down well with shoppers, many of whom have been sampling the new range for the first time.

One customer told the Manchester Evening News: "I know some people haven't been that keen on the new packaging, but I love the new range. I don't think it's fair for them to be putting the prices up already."

Asda shop from the Just Essentials range (Asda)

The full shopping list is made up of an 800g loaf of bread, two pints of milk, 200g of coffee, 160 teabags, a 250g block of butter, a tin of beans, 300g of chicken and 500g of mince.

There was good news at Lidl who last week increased mince by 20p to £1.89 but have now reduced it again to £1.69, it's previous price. As a result Lidl is now cheapest at £9.97, followed by Aldi at £10.30, followed by Tesco at £10.40, and Asda at £10.54 - up from £10.44 last week and £10.16 the previous week. Sainsbury's and Morrisons are the most expensive at £11.04 and £12.02 respectively.

The M.E.N has approached Asda for a comment.