New supermarket data has revealed for the first time the price gap between more expensive branded groceries and cheaper own-label alternatives. According to an analysis of Kantar data, Brits could be spending a premium of £15.1billion a year for branded items in Big 4 supermarkets instead of Aldi’s exclusive own-label products.
That’s £45 a month, or £542 a year, that could be saved by switching to own-label brands at the cheapest supermarket. New data has also revealed a big gap in the price of Big 4 own-label items compared to discounter own label brands. A recent analysis of 33 grocery items by The Grocer magazine showed that swapping Big 4 own-label products to Aldi own-brands can save shoppers around £324 a year.
The findings come as households face the biggest decline in spending power for a generation. Kantar recently reported that the impact of food price inflation means that the average household grocery bill will be £380 higher this year.
Giles Hurley, CEO of Aldi UK and Ireland, said: “People are facing difficult choices about how they spend their money and are changing the way they shop to stretch budgets as far as possible. Shoppers are switching from brands to own-label products because they know they are often the same or better in terms of quality and taste.
“It costs a lot of money to market a mainstream brand, but you don’t have to pay for this when you buy a better value own-label alternative.”
Exclusive Aldi branded products regularly beat branded equivalents in comparison taste tests by consumer group Which?, including Aldi’s Corale Baked Beans which beat Heinz Baked Beans, Aldi’s Mamia Ultra-Dry Nappies which beat Pampers Active Fit and Aldi’s Harvest Morn Honey Nut Crunchy Cornflakes also scored ahead of branded alternative Kellogg’s Crunchy Nut.
Consumer group Which? has today confirmed Aldi as the UK’s cheapest supermarket in June on a basket of 52 grocery items. The Big 4 average price was £11.92 – or 15% - more expensive than Aldi.
Which? conducted its monthly Cheapest Supermarket price comparison and looked at the cost of a basket of 52 items, including groceries and household essentials, with Aldi coming in cheapest at just £75.61. The same shopping cost £11.63 more at Sainsbury’s and £15.42 more at Morrisons.
The independent consumer group's research also found Aldi to be £25.53 cheaper than the most expensive supermarket, Waitrose, for an equivalent basket of items.
Julie Ashfield, Managing Director of Buying at Aldi, said: “At Aldi, we’re dedicated to ensuring our customers have access to the highest quality products at unbeatable prices and we’re thrilled to be recognised as the UK’s Cheapest Supermarket.”
