As the cost of living crisis continues to bite grocery prices are getting more and more expensive. Almost half of us have been forced to change our shopping habits as a result. A survey by the Office for National Statistics, carried out between June 22 and July 3, found that about half (49%) of adults in the UK reported they were buying less food when food shopping while 48% reported they had to spend more than usual to get what they normally buy.
Many of us are on now on the hunt for low-cost alternatives. When it comes to supermarkets their cheaper own-brand items can be just as good as the leading brands. As a lifelong Asda shopper I know the store's own brand is pretty good across the board and I often choose it from the shelves.
But even more economical than Asda's own brand is its budget-friendly and super-cheap Smart Price range, which has been rebranded as 'Just Essentials'. Launched in 2021 Just Essentials is the largest value range in the market and, with 300 products, it has 50% more to offer than the Smart Price line it is replacing.
Over the years I've shopped in Asda I've admittedly given its Smart Price products a wide berth because I assume they will be of poor quality – the undesirable scraps left over from the factories, which I would probably end up throwing in the bin myself. After all how else can they be so inexpensive – even cheaper than the store's own brand? Can so much produce really cost just pennies?
But now, as my own wallet acutely feels the cost-of-living squeeze, I'm intrigued to see if I can make some worthwhile – and hopefully permanent – swaps to Smart Price/Just Essentials products. So, instead of buying the brands I know and love, I decided to switch my whole weekly shop exclusively to the cheapest-of-the-cheap value range.
I bought what I typically would at the end of the week. That is enough to feed my family – 38 items in total – from a range of products across the store: fruits and vegetables, meat, fish, froze food, store cupboard staples, sweet and savoury snacks, drinks, and dairy products. I also put in some household items – dishwasher tablets, toilet roll, and sponges – that I was running low on.
A shop this size would usually cost me more than £60 – even around £70 or £80 nowadays. So when everything was scanned through at the till the total price didn't seem right – just £33.63. I've since calculated what the price would be if I'd got my usual items and it would have been more than £45 dearer at £79.53.
The difference felt criminal. I could get more than another batch of the Smart Price/Just Essential products from my savings. Many of the products seemed unbelievably cheap. I somehow got a huge 2.5kg bag of white potatoes for 99p and a punnet of cherries – a notoriously expensive fruit – for just £1.19. Four small avocados – another typically expensive option – also came to £1.19. I also got a whole pizza for 66p, a big loaf of bread for 39p, a 1.5kg bag of chips for 93p, and a bag of pasta for 32p.
I figured the catch had to be what I suspected all along – that the quality of value range, when tested, would fall terribly short of its competitors and would ultimately be a waste of money. The only way to find out was to try everything for myself – and it's safe to say I was pleasantly surprised by my findings.
I'll start with the fruit and vegetables. I would normally get Asda's own brand of these, which is more expensive than the value brand and for the most part the only other option on offer. To put in plainly there was virtually no difference between them when it came to taste and quality.
The most I can complain about is that some of the fruit and veg seemed to be slightly smaller in size that the own-brand ones. And though the generic apples they did have were perfectly fine – crisp and juicy – in my opinion nothing beats a Pink Lady so that would be the only swap I might not stick to in future.
Onto the meat and fish. I would usually get boneless chicken breast fillets but the only similar Just Essentials option on offer in my local Asda was chicken thigh portions with the bone. Though the price difference is tempting (£1.94 vs £5.95), this is a swap I will definitely not be sticking to.
Aside from the fact I always prefer boneless chicken the thigh portions had loads of skin and fat virtually hanging off them that needed to be removed and inside they had what appeared to be bits of offal or innards. There was still a decent amount of chicken afterwards but it did feel like I had got the scraps from the chicken factory that hadn't been prepared properly.
I was sceptical about the Just Essentials salmon portions too as they looked a bit dark and rough round the edges – not as pristine as the vacuum-packed salmon fillets I would usually go for. But I needn't have worried – appearance aside there was no difference in taste or texture and I would stick to this swap.
The frozen food was a winner. The super-cheap pizza was a little smaller than the Pizza Express one I'd usually go for though still big enough to feed two people. I expected it to be bland but it was perfectly tasty. My only qualm was that the base was a little more bready than my usual pizza but this hardly made a difference. The chips and fish fingers made for a decent lunch and I genuinely didn't notice any difference between them and the leading brands I'd usually go for.
Of course with the fish and chips I had to have ketchup and that takes me onto the store cupboard staples. Again almost all of these were swaps I'll be sticking to. I see no reason to return to the more expensive eggs, tea bags, porridge oats, tinned tomatoes, and pasta – the Just Essentials/Smart Price versions tasted exactly the same.
Other surprising matches were the tomato ketchup and baked beans. Heinz reigns supreme in my household when it comes to these and for years we haven't considered deviating from the (rather expensive) norm. I now realise we probably should have because the value range tasted exactly the same. This was definitely one of the most exciting finds of the week.
There were some store cupboard staples where I could tell the difference – sweetcorn and bread. The former was a bit bland and that's probably because it's just sweetcorn and water whereas Green Giant adds salt for flavour – though I could always add salt myself. Similarly the wholemeal bread slices were a little on the thin side – fine for toast but probably not what I'd choose for a sandwich.
For the snacks the Smart Price chocolate chip cookies were a little less chocolatey than Maryland's but virtually just as satisfying with a cup of tea. The caramel wafer bars were also a surprisingly nice treat, considering they are a mere 10p each, with a rich taste and chewy texture. The chocolate and nut muesli bars were okay but quite bland and not very sweet or nutty so probably not a swap I'd stick to.
The ready salted crisps, however, were just as good as Walkers. I'd usually go for Walkers' baked variety but unfortunately that's not an option in the value range. If you choose Walkers fried crisps, however, I'd urge you to try the Smart Price version as they taste exactly same.
Onto the drinks and dairy. Though a little less sweet than Tropicana the Just Essentials orange juice was a great cheaper alternative that I'd stick to. The salad cheese and yoghurt were exactly the same so it's safe to say I'd stick to them too. The only Smart Price milk on offer was UHT skimmed. I probably wouldn't stick to this, as I prefer fresh semi-skimmed, especially on its own and with cereal, but it did just as good as a job in cup of tea at half the price.
Finally the household items. The dishwasher sponges were smaller than my usual choice though more robust than I expected so I could see myself buying them again. The toilet roll was great – thicker than I expected and not too rough – though definitely not as soft as the Shades range I'd normally go for. Considering I'd normally fork out a small fortune (£7) for 29 dishwasher tablets the Smart Price option (£1.24) seems like no-brainer as it did the job just as well. My dishwasher definitely didn't have any complaints.
It's safe to say I've been converted by most of the products from my Smart Price/Just Essentials weekly shop and I look forward to sticking to the money-saving swaps in the current climate. My biggest gripe with the range, however, is that it's (understandably) pretty limited. The only Smart Price cereals on offer in my local Asda, for example, were wheat bisks and porridge. Similarly tomato ketchup seemed to be the only Smart Price condiment on offer in my store. It would be great to see the range expanded.
Here is a full breakdown of my receipt, with the price of each Smart Price/Just Essentials item compared to what I would usually buy:
Fruit and vegetables
Potatoes
Just Essentials bag of potatoes (2.5kg) - 99p
What I would usually get: Asda Fluffy and Golden Baking Potatoes (2.5kg) - £1.25
Pears
Just Essentials pears (500g) - 45p
What I would usually get: Asda Grower's Selection Pears (1.2kg) - £2
Lemons
Just Essentials lemons (four pack) - 50p
What I would usually get: Asda Tangy and Zesty Lemons - 90p
Apples
Just Essentials apples (500g) - 65p
What I would usually get: Pink Lady apples (six pack) - £2
Avocado
Just Essentials avocados (four pack) - £1.19
What I would usually get: 2 x Asda large avocados - £1.48
Salad leaves
Just Essentials round lettuce - 45p
What I would usually get: Asda Mild Baby Leaf Salad - £1
Cherries
Just Essentials cherries (200g) - £1.19
What I would usually get: Asda Extra Special Cherries (300g) - £3
Peppers
Just Essentials mixed peppers (three pack) - £1
What I would usually get: Asda Crisp and Fragrant Sweet Peppers (three pack) - £1.45
Raspberries
Just Essentials raspberries (150g) - £1.49
What I would usually get: Asda sweet and plump raspberries (150g) - £1.69
Strawberries
Just Essentials strawberries (227g) - £1.19
What I would usually get: Asda ripe and sweet strawberries (227g) - £1.39
Tomatoes
Just Essentials salad tomatoes (six pack) - 70p
What I would usually get: Asda sweet and balanced salad tomatoes (750g) - £1.45
Grapes
Just Essentials seedless grapes (500g) - £1.27
What I would usually get: Asda refreshing and sweet seedless red grapes (400g) - £1.20
Meat and fish
Chicken
Just Essentials chicken thigh portions (1.1kg) - £1.94
What I would usually get: Asda tender chicken breast fillets (1kg) - £5.95
Salmon
Just Essentials boneless salmon portions (315g) - £3.30
What I would usually get: Asda flavoursome two salmon fillets (240g) - £3.55
Frozen food
Chips
Just Essentials chips (1.5kg) - 93p
What I would usually get: McCain home chips straight (1kg) - £3
Fish Fingers
Just Essentials 10 fish fingers - 69p
What I would usually get: Birds Eye 10 cod fish fingers - £3.60
Pizza
Just Essentials cheese and tomato pizza - 66p
What I would usually get: Pizza Express Classic Margherita Pizza - £4
Store cupboard staples
Bread
Just Essentials wholemeal bread (800g) - 39p
What I would usually get: Hovis Seed Sensations (800g) - £1.85
Eggs
Just Essentials 15 eggs - £1.32
What I would usually get: Big & Fresh 10 mixed weight eggs - £1.90
Pasta
Just Essentials pasta shapes (500g) - 32p
What I would usually get: Asda penne (500g) - 80p
Tea bags
Smart Price 40 tea bags - 28p
What I would usually get: Tetley Original 40 tea bags - £1.30
Porridge oats
Smart price porridge oats (1kg) - 70p
What I would usually get: Quaker 100% wholegrain rolled porridge oats (1kg) - £1.98
Tomato ketchup
Smart Price tomato ketchup (530g) - 42p
What I would usually get: Heinz tomato ketchup (460g) - £2.29
Tinned tomatoes
Smart Price chopped tomatoes - 32p
What I would usually get: Napolina chopped tomatoes - 80p
Tinned tuna
Smart Price tinned tuna chunks in brine (x4) - £2.20
What I would usually get: John West tuna chunks in sunflower oil (four pack) - £3
Tinned sweetcorn
Smart Price sweetcorn in water (326g) - 38p
What I would usually get: Green Giant original sweetcorn (198g) - 80p
Baked beans
Just Essentials baked beans (410g) - 25p
What I would usually get: Heinz Beanz in tomato sauce (415g) - 90p
Snacks
Wafer bars
Smart Price caramel wafer bars (five pack) - 53p
What I would usually get: Tunnock's milk chocolate caramel wafer biscuits (eight pack) - £1.60
Cookies
Smart Price chocolate chip cookies (250g) - 39p
What I would usually get: Maryland chocolate chip cookies (200g) - 65p
Cereal bars
Smart Price chocolate & nut muesli bars (six pack) - 61p
What I would usually get: Nature Valley protein peanut and chocolate cereal bars (four pack) - £2.90
Crisps
Smart Price ready salted multipack crisps (12 pack) - 93p
What I would usually get: Walkers baked ready salted multipack crisps (six pack) - £1.65
Drinks
Just Essentials orange juice from concentrate (1L) - 69p
What I would usually get: Tropicana smooth orange juice (1.35L) - £2.50
Dairy
Milk
Smart Price long life skimmed milk (1L) - 59p
What I would usually get: Asda semi skimmed milk (2 pints) - £1.05
Salad cheese
Smart Price Greek style salad cheese (200g) - 70p
What I would usually get: Apetina classic light salad cheese (200g) - £1
Natural yoghurt
Just Essentials low fat natural yoghurt (500g) - 45p
What I would usually get: Asda Greek Style fat free yoghurt (500g) - 90p
Household items
Dishwasher tablets
Smart Price 30 dishwasher tablets - £1.24
What I would usually get: Fairy all-in-one dishwasher tablets original scent (29 pack) - £7
Toilet Roll
Smart Price toilet rolls (six double rolls, equivalent to 12) - £1.90
What I would usually get: Asda Shades so soft toilet roll (12 pack) - £4.50
Washing up sponges
Smart price sponge scourers (eight pack) - 43p
What I would usually get: Asda general purpose cleaning sponge scourers (10 pack) - £1.25
Just Essentials/Smart Price total price: £33.63
Usual items total price: £79.53
Difference: £45.90
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