A shopper has compared essential budget supermarket ranges from Asda and Waitrose. It comes after Asda recently launched its new 'Essentials' food range, which carries everyday household foods for a cheaper price.
The range has received a warm welcome from customers and reviewers, all of which have praised the quality and price point of the foods. Armed with £10 for each grocer, My London writer Anna Highfield went to see how much she could buy from range.
We probably all agree everyone deserves quality food - but whether everyone can afford quality food is a different matter. So I set out to Waitrose today (Thursday, August 17) to see how far my £10 would get me, buying only products from the supermarket's budget range 'Essential Waitrose'.
The first thing I noticed about Essential Waitrose is that, unlike ASDA's Just Essentials, the budget range at Waitrose is not designed to stand out. While ASDA's new range dominates the shelves with its attention-grabbing yellow-pages bright yellow colour, Essential Waitrose has to be hunted down to spot its highly miss-able white packaging.
The second thing I noticed was the quantities. While both ranges included everyday products such as rice and cheese, the Waitrose versions were tiny in comparison. While ASDA shoppers can get a kilogram bag of long grain rice for 45p, Waitrose shoppers pay £1 for half the quantity, 500g. The same was true of grated cheddar, which was £2.40 for a 500g bag at ASDA, but £2.65 for a 250g bag at Waitrose.
But my third and favourite observation was the hilarious selection of items which Waitrose considers 'essential'. While I had been impressed with the scope of ASDA's 276-item-strong essentials range (which included relative luxuries like hot chocolate, granola, and quiche), it paled in comparison to that of Waitrose.
You might not consider food products like Tiramisu, Greek Feta, and bake-at-home Petit Pains to be essential store cupboard staples - but apparently Waitrose customers do. Semolina flour, mini marshmallows, Edam and Brie were also staples of the Waitrose budget range, which appears to have been designed with European arts collectors hosting an impromptu lunch party in mind.
My favourite "essential" product from Waitrose was the supermarket's Sustainably Sourced, Responsibly Fished, Wild Pink Salmon. Tinned tuna eat your heart out. To keep the comparison fair, though, I decided to dodge any of the supermarket's more extravagant "essential" items, and just bought genuine everyday essentials which I could compare to those at ASDA.
For £9.95 in Waitrose, I managed to get a small bag of long grain rice (£1), a tin of tomato soup (60p), a tin of baked beans (45), a soft spread (£1.15), fresh tomatoes (£1.50), a small bag of grated cheddar (£2.65) and an oven pizza (£2.60). The collection looked a little lacking when set next to the huge haul I managed to get for 14p less at ASDA.
Meanwhile, in ASDA I was able to fill my basket with soft spread (83p), long grain rice (45p), cheddar (£2.40 for a big bag), and baked beans (25p), as well as some luxuries like hot chocolate (£1.02), granola (£1) and - the most expensive item - a cheese and onion quiche for £1.42. I also got fresh tomatoes (50p), six yoghurts (79p), and a tin of tomato soup (30p).
Full list of what I got for £9.81 in ASDA
- Granola - £1
- Soft Spread - 83p
- Tomato Soup - 30p
- Baked Beans - 25p
- Peanut Butter - 85p
- 1kg Long Grain Rice - 45p
- 6 Low Fat Fruit Yoghurts - 79p
- Instant Hot Chocolate - £1.02
- Cheese & Onion Quiche - £1.42
- 500g Grated Cheddar - £2.40
- Tomatoes - 50p
Full list of what I got for £9.95 in Waitrose
- 500g Long Grain Rice - £1
- Tomato Soup - 60p
- Baked Beans - 45p
- Soft Spread - £1.15
- Tomatoes - £1.50
- 250g Grated Cheddar - £2.65
- Oven pizza - £2.60
