With food prices still on the rise, it comes as no surprise that supermarket budget ranges have soared in popularity. When households are struggling with bills, it stands to reason they will cut back wherever they can.
But it's actually those value ranges that have taken the biggest hit during the cost of living crisis, with bigger rises than premium and branded foods.
And it means that those who rely on them to get by - with a larger proportion of their lower incomes taken up by groceries - have taken the hit too.
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Asda's Just Essentials range is a go-to for many families and has increased in popularity since expanding from the former Smart Price.
But with demand has come price hikes - and shoppers say the rises have been relentless over recent months.
They're part of the reason why, with the exception of just one week, the supermarket has been the most expensive in our weekly comparison of basics since January.
Only last week its Just Essentials loaf was increased, while the week before saw a hike in the price of the budget range coffee.
With that in mind, I decided to repeat my Asda shop from six months ago to see exactly how much the yellow labelled items have risen.
What I found was quite astonishing. Not only had 29 out of the 33 items gone up, but 13 had risen by 30% or more.
One of the products, a pack of pears, had doubled in price over that time, from 45p to 90p, while a chilli and rice ready meal had risen from £1.20 to £2.20.
Other big hikes included a pack of sausages, up by 63% from 86p to £1.40; curry sauce, up 61% from 28p to 45p; and a pack of 15 eggs, up 51% from £1.32 to £1.99.
And, even though the whole chicken I bought was smaller, costing £4.53 for 1.48kg, it was still a lot more expensive than in November, when a 1.6kg bird cost me £3.34.
Just one item stayed the same price, a cheese and tomato pizza for 99p, and just three, including two ready meals, cost less. However since buying them at the beginning of May, they have already increased from 90p each to £1, along with the 500g pack of beef mince, which has risen from £2.49 to £2.99 since we shopped.
Admittedly many of the items are cheaper than you'll find elsewhere, but that's no consolation to those on lower incomes who have seen their budget buys skyrocket.
An Asda spokesperson said: "The recent decreases in the price of Asda branded milk, bread, and butter show that we continue to work hard to bring value to our customers despite global inflationary pressures. This is also reflected in our regular Which? supermarket price comparison wins as well as the weekly Grocer 33 basket.”
A couple of the items are not from Just Essentials, including milk, which isn't sold within that range, and bread, which wasn't available so we chose Asda's own medium loaf instead.
My full Just Essentials shop - Nov 2022 / May 2023 (% increase)
Pears 500g 45p / 90p (100%)
Chilli and rice ready meal £1.20 / £2.20 (83%)
Pork sausages (8-pack) 86p / £1.40 (63%)
Curry sauce 440g 28p / 45p (61%)
Eggs 15 pack £1.32 / £1.99 (51%)
Peppers (3-pack) £1 / now 700g £1.50 (50%)
Beef mince 500g £1.69 / £2.49 (47%) (has risen to £2.99 since we shopped)
Plums 400g 62p / 89p (44%)
Orange juice 1 litre 69p / 95p (38%)
Easy peel satsumas 600g 72p / 99p (37.5%)
Whole chicken 1.6kg £3.34 / 1.48kg £4.53 (£3.05 per kg) (36%)
Bread 70p (not Just Essentials) / 95p (36%)
Cherry tomatoes 250g 50p / 65p (30%)
Lettuce 45p / 58p (29%)
- Pasta 500g 32p / 41p (28%)
Potatoes 2.5kg 99p / £1.25 (26%)
Trifle 600g £1.40 / £1.75 (25%)
Kiwis (6-pack) 82p / £1 (22%)
- Bolognaise sauce 440g 39p / 47p (21%)
Skimmed milk 4 pt £1.29 (not Just Essentials) / £1.55 (20%)
Salmon 370g £3.88 (£10.49 per kg) / 366g £4.60 (£11.49 per kg) (19%)
Pork mince 500g £2.25 / £2.65 (18%)
Wafer thin cooked ham 400g £1.69 / £1.99 (18%)
Garlic bread 32p / 37p (16%)
Beef steak 170g £2 / £2.25 (13%)
Green beans 240g 84p / 93p (11%)
- Strawberries 227g £1.19 / £1.29 (8%)
Braising steak 400g £3.29 / £3.50 (6%)
Pizza pepperoni £1.20 / £1.25 (4%)
- Pizza cheese and tomato 99p / 99p (0%)
- Sweet and sour chicken ready meal £1.20 / 90p (-25%) (has risen to £1 since we shopped)
- Chicken curry and rice ready meal £1.33 / 90p (-32%) (has risen to £1 since we shopped)
- Red onions 1kg £1 / 65p (-35%)
Total - was £40.21 / now £49.17 (22%)
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