With supermarkets raising their prices week in week out, shoppers are looking for ways to keep their costs down.
One tried and tested way to cut back is to buy in bulk and our comparison of bulk buys from Costco and Tesco earlier this month proved there are big savings to be made on the likes of laundry products, toilet rolls and tea bags.
But how does the wholesaler fare for a typical food weekly food shop? I decided to put it to the test against Asda to find out.
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Sited just metres from one another at Trafford Park, I visited them both on the same day with the aim of buying some of the products most commonly found on a family shopping list.
Having whizzed round the place last time, I hadn't had much time to see exactly what Costco offers in terms of food.
And after a friend warned me that 'Costco is like Home Bargains on steroids, you go in for a chicken and come out with a TV', I knew I'd have to have tunnel vision to avoid all the others goodies in store.
Having also been told about its large catering packs of sandwiches and the like, I wasn't sure I'd be able to get much in the way of my usual shop, but I was surprised by the wide selection in store.
There's not just cheese for instance, there's shelves and shelves of the stuff. Every cheese you can imagine.
There are fridges packed full with all kinds of meat - from large joints to giant packs of burgers, steaks and chicken breasts.
Most things are supersize, so you will be spending more initially, but by doing so, if you've got the freezer and cupboard space to allow for it, you'll generally be spending less overall.
A pack of 12 6oz Aberdeen Angus burgers for instance cost £12.99 at Costco, whereas a pack of two cost £3.90 from Asda's Extra Special range - meaning 12 from Asda would be almost double the price at £23.40.
And some of that cheese we mentioned - well that works out much cheaper too. £5.65 for a huge 1.215kg block from Costco, where the same amount (of a similar quality) in Asda would cost £9.11.
While halloumi is one of those things I'll only tend to buy if we're feeling flush, which let's be honest isn't often these days, you can get a four pack of 250g blocks in Costco for £7.59. In Asda it's £2.30 for one smaller 225g block, so the equivalent amount would set you back £10.22.
One thing that has been on the rise over recent months is butter and margarine - and you can pick those up a lot cheaper at Costco too.
It had a 1kg tub of Flora Buttery for £2.49, while Asda was selling the same size for £3.60. And its 500g block of Anchor butter was £3.39, compared with two of Asda's 250g blocks for £4.60.
Bread was the cheapest I've seen in a long time - 95p for a thick white Hovis at Costco, compared with £1.20 at Asda.
Not everything was cheaper though - I picked up 21 products in all and six of those were cheaper at Asda.
Maris Piper potatoes for instance cost £4.79 for a whopping 7.5kg bag at Costco, which seemed like a bargain. But when I visited Asda and bought a 2.5kg bag for just £1.49, I realised that its spuds are actually cheaper overall. And I generally wouldn't have space for such a big bag anyway.
Asda's mince worked out cheaper too, its two for £8 offer on 650g packs meaning you could buy the equivalent of Costco's giant 2.73kg pack costing £21.81 for £16.80.
What I did find with some of the products that cost a bit more from Costco was that those added pennies seemed to equate to added quality.
Its three-pack of cheese-topped cottage pies for example, priced at £11.99, were far superior to Asda's pies costing £3.50 each. The latter does sell an Extra Special version but those are a hefty £5 a pop.
And Asda's blueberry muffins might be a fair bit cheaper, at £1.70 for four, but they're not a patch on Costco's big bouncy ones that are at least twice the size.
I was a little underwhelmed by the fruit and veg section in Costco - they only had pre-peeled and organic carrots for a start and neither of those would save me any cash. Some of it would be great for bigger families as, like the other stuff, it's generally bigger packs.
Now that's OK with things like beans for example - and you can get 415g tins of Heinz Beanz for 55p each if you're able to buy a pack of 24 - but when you're talking about a 1.3kg pack of grapes for £4.99, they'd probably end up going off before we had time to eat them. And the last thing any of us can afford right now is to be chucking our food in the bin.
My overall bill came to £130.94 at Costco and £153.21 at Asda - a difference of £22.27 or 17%. Of course you have to factor in a membership fee for Costco at £33.60 a year, but that's less than £3 a month so it wouldn't take too long to claw it back and it's accessible to a lot more people than it used to be.
A list of professions from which current or retired employees can apply is listed here and members can add on a spouse for free, or get an extra card for £14 plus vat, so it shouldn't be too difficult to get your hands on one.
A spokesperson for Asda said: “Asda is consistently recognised as the UK’s lowest-priced supermarket by the Grocer 33 and Which? basket comparisons. A price comparison with Costco is misleading as they are a wholesaler, not a supermarket, and sell products in bulk sizes. Shoppers also need to qualify for a membership and pay an annual fee before they can shop there.”
Full shopping list with prices Costco / Asda
- Burgers 12x6oz £12.99 / 2x6oz £3.90 (equates to £23.40 for 12)
- Chicken breasts 2.254kg £12.60 / 1.6kg £9.70 (equates to £13.66)
Steak mince 2.73kg £21.81 / £4.40 per 650g pack, or two for £8 (equates to £16.80)
Unsmoked bacon 6x250g £6.99 / 600g £4.25 (equates to £10.62)
- Maris Piper potatoes 7.5kg £4.79 / 2.5kg £1.49 (equates to £4.47)
- Cottage pie pack of 3 £11.99 / £3.50 per meal (equates to £10.50)
- Shreddies 2x720g £4.19 / 630g £2.50 (equates to £5.71 for 2x720g)
- Mild cheddar 1.215kg £5.65 / 400g £3 (equates to £9.11)
- Halloumi 4x250g £7.59 / 225g £2.30 (equates to £10.22)
- Sliced ham 2x450g £7.49 / 425g £4.75 (equates to £10.05)
- Free range eggs medium 24-pack £3.29 / 12-pack £2.10 (equates to £4.20 for 24)
- Semi-skimmed milk 2x2L £2.49 / 4-pints £1.55 (equates to £2.71 for 4L)
- Flora Buttery 1kg £2.49 / £3.60
- Anchor butter 500g £3.39 / 2x250g £4.60
- Tomato and mascarpone sauce 700g £3.79 / 350g £1.60 (equates to £3.20)
- Hovis thick white loaf 95p / £1.20
- White barms 12-pack £1.99 / 6-pack £1.50 (equates to £3 for 12)
- Muffins £7.49 for 12 / four-pack £1.70 (equates to £5.10)
- Cadbury pots pack of six £2.99 / 75p each or 3 for £2 (equates to £4 for 6)
- Bananas 1.36kg £1.49 / 1.085kg 85p (equates to £1.06 for 1.36kg)
- HP Brown sauce 2x600g £4.49 / 600g £3 (equates to £6)
Totals - Costco £130.94 / Asda £153.21
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