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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Entertainment
Emma Gill

Supermarket's little known loyalty card helped slash a fifth off my shopping bill

Most supermarkets have been around for decades, but there's a relatively new kid on the block and it's pulling in more customers every week.

One of the fastest growing British supermarkets, The Food Warehouse was formed in 2014 and is part of Iceland Foods.

Many of its products are the same, but it sells itself on being 'a simpler way to shop', with bigger pack options offering better value on well known brands.

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As well as having many items on offer - with individual products reduced and multibuys - shoppers can also get a Bonus Card, allowing them to save even more.

Anyone can get a card and once it's scanned at the till, or used online, you get the Bonus Card price on selected products, rather than the usual price. And we're not talking small change here either.

The Food Warehouse now has more than 150 stores across Britain (Manchester Family / MEN)

With a big shop this week I saved more than 20% on my shopping bill with deals and Bonus Card prices. Among my biggest savings was a whopping 640g stuffed crust Chicago Town pizza, reduced from £4 to £2.75, and two large packs of cereal for £4, saving £2.20.

With the Bonus prices, as well as savings on other offer items, it brought my total bill down from £123.17 to £101.12, a saving of £22.05, almost 22%. Anyone who's been following our supermarket buys over recent weeks may be familiar with my fondness (bordering on obsession) for finding Heinz Beanz for 50p a tin - a four-pack was always £2 before the cost of living crisis set in and it's a bugbear of mine that they've risen so high.

Shoppers can make big savings with bulk buys (Manchester Family / MEN)

On this occasion I had success, but it meant bulk buying four six-packs for £12 to get the cheaper price. It's not as if they'll go off before we have the chance to eat them, they're dated 2023, but where to store them is another matter.

The promotion makes the packs cheaper than at any other supermarket though - Tesco and Asda are selling six tins for £3.50, while the cost at Sainsbury's and Morrisons is £4.

There were plenty of other stand-out reductions too - like the current offer on John West Tuna Chunks, with four 145g tins reduced to £2.50 - that's even cheaper than Asda's £3 price in the retailer's 'Dropped and Locked' promotion, which has seen prices fixed until the end of the year.

Meat worked out cheaper than other places, at three packs for £9 on everything from chicken and gammon to burgers and mince - and it's the lean stuff rather than 20% fat.

And there were savings to be had on household products and toiletries too, like two bottles of Cif on multibuy for £2, an 85-wash bottle of Comfort fabric softener reduced to £3.75 and large packs of cleaning and floor wipes for £1 each.

There are savings to be had on toiletries and household products too (Manchester Family / MEN)

It's not just the products that's making this place appealing to shoppers either - delivery is free if you spend £40 online and if you buy from the store but can't get it all home, perhaps you're on foot, then they'll also deliver it free providing you spend over £20.

The Bonus Card also doubles up as a savings card and for every £20 you put on it to spend there, it gives you £1 on top. This frozen retailer might be relatively new to the world of supermarkets, but it sure isn't small fry and it's easy to see why The Food Warehouse is giving other supermarkets the shivers.

You can save with Bonus Card prices (Manchester Family / MEN)

Here's my full food shop from The Food Warehouse (showing promotions and Bonus Card prices)

  • Typhoo tea bags 240-pack - £3
  • Chicago Town meat feast pizza 640g - £4 / Bonus Card £2.75
  • Goodfella's cheesy pizza 421g - £2.50 / Bonus Card £1.50
  • Skimmed milk 4 pint - £1.29
  • McCain French Fries 750g - £3 / Bonus Card £1.50
  • The Laughing Cow light cheese triangles 267g - £2.40
  • Comfort Pure fabric conditioner 85-wash - £3.75
  • Multigrain Cheerios and Cookie Crisp cereal - £3.20 and £3 / multibuy two for £4
  • Orange juice drink - £1 each / multibuy three for £2.50
  • Cornetto strawberry six-pack - £2.50 / reduced to £2
  • Lean burgers / meatballs and chicken - £4/ £3.85 and £3.85 - multibuy three for £9
  • Fajita kit - £3.25 / reduced to £2
  • Clover 1kg - £3.50 / reduced to £2.50
  • Doggy bags - £1 each / multibuy two for £1.50
  • Mature cheese - £2.50 each / two for £4
  • Heinz Light Mayonnaise - £1
  • Snack a Jacks £1.70 a five-pack - two for £2.70
  • Naan breads 2-pack 85p - two for £1
  • Sweetener tablets - £1
  • Cadbury Shortcake Snack six-pack - £1
  • Fat free yoghurt 1kg - £1.20
  • Gala apples 1.5kg - £2.79
  • Cif lemon £1.25 each - two for £2
  • Right Guard deodorant - £1
  • Aero Mousse four-pack - £1
  • Surface wipes - £1
  • Floor wipes - £1
  • John West tuna four-pack - £3.50 / reduced to £2.50
  • Robinson's orange 1.75l - £2
  • Bird's Eye quarter pounders - £3.25 / Bonus Card £2.50
  • Wildlife Choobs - £1
  • Warburtons potato cakes - £1
  • Simply fresh eggs 30-pack - £2.79
  • Heinz Beanz - £4 per six-pack / multibuy four six-packs for £12
  • Cadbury Dairy Milk bars - £1
  • Colgate toothpaste three-pack - £3
  • Pledge multi surface cleaner - £1
  • Cooked ham 400g - £2
  • Twix 16-pack - £2
  • Seabrook variety 18-pack and French Fries 22-pack crisps - £3.50 each / multibuy two for £6
  • Warburtons sliced rolls - £1
  • Wholemeal loaf - 95p

Total £123.17 / with Bonus Card and offers 101.12

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