*Afterthoughts & addenda* *'German style' supermarkets* - I should have thought a bit harder about how to phrase that. I did not mean to imply that there's only one style of supermarket in Germany - apologies if that's how it sounded. Merely that Aldi and Lidl have a distinct and different feel to the shopping experience, and they are from the same origin. *Erratum* at 15:25 I said there was nearly a 4 pounds difference between Tesco and Sainsburys - this is an error - the difference was about 3 pounds. *Can I have the spreadsheet?* - sorry, no. I can't figure out how to strip my personal info from the author metadata with absolute certainty. Anyway, why? *Tesco clubcard* - none of the items on the list had special clubcard pricing, and although I did use my clubcard, the monetary points value is not considered in the pricing analysis. Tesco would be a few pence cheaper still if I had done that, but since other supermarkets also have loyalty schemes, some of which I am not enrolled in, I ignored all loyalty scheme savings. *Cheerios* are not a Kelloggs product. Who knew? Not me apparently.
Answered my question about the clubcard. Do the 'smaller' stores use loyalty schemes? I haven't been to Asda for years but don't remember them having one either.
Coop has a loyalty card as do Morrisons Waitrose Iceland Lidl Coop M&S Tesco Sainsbury's. Aldi Home Bargains Poundland and B&M do not. Can I ask Vs 2 years ago have we checked pack sizes as I imagine there is some which have shunk there so you get less for your money, although price may be the same.
Exactly. I'm in Canada so this information has zero pratical application for me (none of these supermarkets here), but the methodology and narration make it 100 % worth watching anyway.
I would never have thought that, in the same sitting, I could watch the same person scambait a crook from Nigeria, forage for White Deadnettle, test the wobbliness of a range of supermarket frankfurters, and teach soldering techniques. This is wholesome stuff.
The dedication you show in your videos, regardless of the subject, is truly astonishing. From silly to surreal and everything in between. You, Sir, are a legend.
As someone who used to work in food factories, I will say you were spot on about saying the same types of food tends to get produced in the same factories- given how many varieties of, say, baked beans there are in the UK, it would be madness to have a factory for each brand- but what tends to change is the WEIGHTING of the individual ingredients and the "perceived quality" (and by "quality," I mean "looks nicer." A haricot bean in a tin of Tesco own-brand baked beans might not look as nice as the haricot bean in a tin of Heinz beans, but it's still a haricot bean and therefore has near-identical nutritional value). So the ones perceived to be of higher quality might contain more fruit, veg or meat. and less cheaper filler ingredients like water, pectin or whatever, than the cheapest budget brands However, they don't contain THAT much more than, say, the middle ground products. Also, one of the many tricks that big-name brands do, to maximise both the perception of quality and their profit margin, is add more fat, sugar and/or salt to their products to make them taste "richer." This is particularly true of things like canned goods and ready meals, so they actually contain more things which aren't as healthy in high quantities and are still cheap filler products. As such, you're actually paying for "perceived quality" over "nutritional quality." So if, like me, you're someone who likes to add things like herbs, spices and chili sauces to things like canned soup or beans, you're often better off getting the cheaper middle-ground products that contain less basic fillers but also less flavour-enhancing fillers like sugar, fat and salt. You save money, get pretty much the same food, and get to smother it in Szechuan sauce (which, let's face it, we were going to do ANYWAY) without overloading yourself with sodium or other empty calories.
As a long time commercial cook I agree with everything you said, also you can cook from raw ingredients in the same amount of time with a little effort.
"Also, one of the many tricks that big-name brands do, to maximise both the perception of quality and their profit margin, is add more fat, sugar and/or salt to their products to make them taste "richer."" This sounds like a good thing to me! Over the last 10-15 years (probably since the at-a-glance nutrition scoring started appearing on the front of food packaging) it seems like nearly every recipe for something in a tin or a ready meal has had its salt content reduced so it meets the "green light" level for salt per serving. Now everything tastes just a little more bland, and I probably end up adding more salt myself than was removed from the recipe. It's all the more annoying considering the fact that "healthy" salt intake has been chosen fairly arbitrarily and that the extent to which "too much" salt is unhealthy is very much in question. Same with fat. Everyone's terrified of fat, but with the exception of trans fat, it doesn't deserve the reputation it has at all.
Considering what we, as humans, not that I'm a sociologist historian, can infer from scraps of writings and artefacts , I'd be really interested to see historical reflection on the last 30 years or so onwards given how much TV and social media is archived.
I've been trying to tell my mum for at least a couple of years that Iceland is really expensive for just a regular basic shop. It's only really cheap if you're going for specific things that you already know are cheaper there.
Its not even all that cheaper on Frozen these days either. I used to work at Iceland so knew most of the prices. When I swapped to Morrisons, I noticed Morrisons where matching/beating Iceland on most SKUs across Frozen. The only thing Iceland has going for it, is variety. I won't argue their Frozen range is second to none. But if it's worth the money is up for debate.
Very true. When I lived near an iceland I would go there specifically for cheese because it was cheaper there than anywhere else. (This was years ago so no idea if that's still the case)
What you are telling your Mum is absolutely true .I live in an area with an Iceland, a Lidl, a Polish supermarket and 2 One Stop type supermarkets . All are within 10 minutes walk of each other. I am amazed at the amount of food that people buy in Iceland. Because it's very near the post office and Boots, I only shop there for maybe bananas or some reduced items. Unlike some of the bigger super markets, Iceland's reduced price is always 50% less.The staff in there and the Polish supermarket are extremely friendly which I think is important. If your mother lives alone, as I do, food shopping can be quite a pleasant social occasion. A bit like the old corner shop days. If you were shopping for a family ,and I see a lot of that, Iceland is very expensive.
Opening a dozen jars of jam, a dozen packets of biscuits and a dozen tins of beans will result in a lot of waist. I'm sure this is what you meant as you waste nothing, Mike!
It would be such a fun challenge, if viewers from different parts of the world would do the exact same grocery shopping challenge (or as close to the same as possible) and compare results. People always make such wild claims about the price differences in different countries, it would be cool to have this confirmed in an actual experiment. Especially with a store like Aldi, that's pretty international apparently. One shop, a standardized shopping list and video or photo proof.
That would be interesting just to come up with the shopping list! I live in UK but spend summer holidays in Poland. Tins are not popular there. F eg, tomato soup in a can would be probably way more expensive there as it is a rarity, and forget about baked beans 😄
This was, weirdly interesting. I shop mostly at Aldi simply out of convenience. It's the closest supermarket to me and easy to pass on the way home from work. But I do like to mix it up so once a month or so, I go to Morrisons or Tesco and I have to say, I find on a normal week's shop for me, there is very little difference. The biggest area I notice a price step is in Aldi, cooked meats and cheese are cheaper. They tend to offer a more reasonable pack size as well if your single, often the bigger supermarkets are 2 for £3 or something. I don't need 20 slices of ham. There are always so many factors at play, there is no 'cheapest supermarket' you've just got to feel it out for yourself.
Now I'm getting old, I find the size of the shop makes a big difference. Aldi is quick and easy to get round, whereas the size of Tesco or Asda makes shopping tiring and frustrating.
@@DadgeCity I find the size of Aldi easier too. I don’t want to choose from 15 kinds of kitchen roll. Also, the staff at my local Aldi are friendly, kind and helpful. As an unemployed disabled person I must watch my budget and sometimes I need help to reach an item. It’s ironic that discount stores rarely cater for disabled and aged customers who probably need the lower prices.
don't need twenty slices of ham. stick them in the freezer in increments that you will use. Four slices of cooked chicken sorts my cat out for a few days as a treat. I freeze them in tiny bags then put them in one zip lock. 💖 The same can be done with all dairy and cooked meats. you could freeze milk in icecube trays if you only use 1 or 2 cubes for a cup of tea. hope this helps. 💖 not coleslaw though it separates and looks nasty after a defrost.
Being from the US, none of these chains were familiar, but Tesco stood out because of what happened when my wife and I completed hiking the Hadrian's Wall Path. At Bowness-on-Solway, the western terminus, a Tesco driver was finishing his delivery and asked if we'd walked all the way from Newcastle. We said yes and he popped back into his truck, rummaged about a bit and produced a split of champagne which he handed us with a smile. And they're the cheapest! Ever since I've thought of Tesco as the most generous store in the world.
What a great story. You should write to Tesco and tell that driver's story. I once called UPS when I lived in the US to give feedback on a driver that had helped me when I was lost. He said "It is complicated, follow me" and left his route to take me through a series of intersections to get to the business I urgently needed. When I called their 1-800 number, the lady said this is the first call I have had that isn't a complaint about our drivers. I will send a note to his manager. Do this for him.
This is very interesting. We did a full shop in aldi this week and it came to a smidgeon over £100. As a data geek I actually entered the exact same items into tesco and it was £120 - which is quite a big difference if you think about it over a year!!
@albert fish my mum used to shop in m&s occasionally, it typically came out to 150-200 per week for a family of 4. Still ludicrous, but not as ludicrous as people assume. Waitrose would typically come out to 130-150 per week. She shopped there for convenience because we lived Inbetween a big m&s and a waitrose, but also because she found the atmosphere of the shop nicer than Tesco or Aldi.
The main change I've noticed over the last two years is a modest reduction in variety, particularly amongst own-brand ranges. My local Tesco no longer stocks cheap and cheerful own-brand breakfast cereals or chocolate bars and my local Morrisons no longer stocks own-brand household cleaning products. In both instances the own-brand products have been replaced with more expensive, branded products.
Have you checked the small print on the back of the packets? Alot of shops are rebranding their own name items into other brands, still owned by the store. Same thing, they've just made up some brands to make it look better. If you look on the small print on the back they'll say they are owned by that supermarket or similar wording
Tesco have spent the last 2 or 3 years hiding their Tesco Value brand on food items. Things like 'Eastmans' for deli meat, 'Stockwell & Co' for tinned goods, 'Miss Molly' for sweets. Also, as a result of 'zazzing' up their Tesco Value branding have pumped up some of the prices.
@@colincruickshank7679 Interestingly TE Stockwell is the TES in tesco. Mr Cohen who started tesco had market stalls and went into business with his wholesaler friend Mr stockwell to sell tea. In an era with much antisemitism Mr C asked his friend if he could use his initials for the branding used on the tea and later stores ie. TES plus CO for Cohen. Mind you most people will have no idea about this and just see a strange brand on the shelf. I do think the prices have crept up as well on value products at all the stores. For me taste wise I always felt the value brands of tinned tomatos, beans and the like weren't as good as aldi/lidl and branded ones and the newer versions seem a bit better? But its a personal choice tbh
I've noticed the chap 15-25p 2l bottles of water (still or sparkling) have been discontinued in Tesco, now only having a 'stockwell' value lemonade at 20p or so, with 'own brand' water being 60-80p
A crossover with Mike and James May would shatter the universe, the two most interesting men who can make mundane and boring (to some) things utterly fascinating. Outstanding research and attention to detail, awesome stuff!
I'm never going to be grocery shopping in England, but I still find this fascinating. I liked the quick look at the supermarkets! The video reminds me of how poorly day-to-day, domestic life has been recorded in history. Often we only know what regular people were eating because one upper-class diarist was details-focused and spent an entry writing out what they fed the servants this month (and how much they paid to do it).
Videos like this actually help people out significantly, it makes people realise which shops they can save money in and which shops offer better quality and such. Great video
This is honestly so interesting! I generally prefer shopping in Morrisons or Aldi because they support British farmers. Which might make things a bit more expensive too
All the supermarkets "support British farmers". And it depends what "supports" means. There's a difference between buying and buying at a reasonable price.
Morrisons still has some very good counters. They do proper fresh cream cakes, and pizzas, and their salad bar. A lot of other supermarkets have eschewed these features in the last decade or so which is a shame. I hope they continue to be just a bit nicer than everywhere else.
Second thoughts: I would love to see a similar comparison, with other content creators, to compare how different countries set up their stores, how the prices vary, the marketing and labeling. I'm always gobsmacked by how CHEAP your groceries are compared to what I can get in the States. 39P for a can of [boston] baked beans? Even with the exchange rate, that is 65 cents in USD. In my favorite grocery chain in Texas, a can of boston baked beans [beans with a sauce added] is $1.83 or 1.35 GBP; almost four times the price! I totally agree with you using a Food Bank suggested shopping list; it provides an objective third party list of food. The 4 Food Challege: an average weekly shopping list of 4 varieties in each category: 4 cans of fruit and veges, 4 cans of meat and/or soup, 4 small bags of pasta, rice, or dried beans, 4 dairy products [anything made from an animal milk. The point is to focus on NATURAL foods. The vege varieties of these have too many chemicals.], 4 items of fresh produce, 4 types of meat: processed, dried/cured, fresh- OR 4 natural sources of non meat protein [tofu and eggs count, but not a protein powder or anything chemically altered to extract the protein]; 4 items to flavor water: coffee, tea, matcha, etc, AND 2 gallons/litres of juice or soda, 4 bread items [bread, crackers, or cereals] or the ingredient to make 4 bread items [leavening, flour, fats, etc up to 4 items], 4 items from the baking aisle: spices, herbs, salt, pepper, oils, and sugar or a natural sweetener, 4 small Snack items [popcorn, candy, chips, cookies, jams or jellies] and finally, up to 4 regional discretionary items [these are extras- in any of the categories- but the focus is on Regional Specialties]. The rules aren't too strict: If an item will fit into two categories, you can leave room in the second category. Eggs are in the Dairy section in the US, but they are also a protien. You can move the eggs to the protein category, if you have 5 dairy items you want. If you have several items from the baking aisle, you can substitute Lard, as one of your 'meats.' The Regional Specialties section is there to add to your grocery list, and not exceed 4 items in other categories. If you are a raw foods/scratch cook, and you buy most of your food raw- buy your fruit and veges that would fit into individual cans. I large carrot = one can. I ear of corn =equals one can. 3 small peaches = one can. However, that takes soup out of this challenge for you. Weekly Shopping List- In my childhood home, that list is barely 4 days of food. My single siblings would now eat on that for two weeks. This is a General List to create an easy way to compare foods around the globe. The point of the challege is to show the world what your grocery store looks like, the prices you pay, the varieties of all the categories you have [or don't have, right now] . Show the world how your local cuisines will shop differently. The Second Video of the series would be actually cooking meals with this food, and nope, you cannot use any food from your pantry, so shop smart on the baking aisle. You can add your personal twist- of budget hunting, or best value, or best quality, or specific menu planning for the week, or how many meals can you get from this one shopping trip. The Challenge is Perspective on how we shop and what we eat around the world. Requirements: tag/shout out to Atomic Shrimp who started the challenge, AND the Content Creator where you saw the challenge first. This will allow more of us to skip around the globe vicariously enjoying food. In my part of Texas, TexMex +Cowboy Cuisine, Southern Comfort foods [Food cooked by the Slaves, this includes Bar Be Que], and Cajun/Creole [from neighboring Louisianna] are predominate. Most of these don't eat pasta, and minimal rice. All of these cuisines eat beans and lots of them. TexMex and Cajun spices have lots of hot chilis, but Southern comfort would use more garlic and onion. TexMex uses tortillas exclusively [flat bread- with quick bread leavening]. Cajuns would use baguettes. Southern Comfort loves their biscuits and white gravy [UK savory scones]. All pasta dishes in this region are generally a similar dish from the cuisine, slightly altered to 'pay homage' to the Italian original; they are not truly Italian dishes. To be succinct- we do eat Italian pasta dishes, but we have to step out of our comfort zone, search for a recipe to cook them. We have the Italian foods, but they are NOT staples in our cuisine/diet... which is why Italian Restaurants are so popular in Texas; as well as, Oriential Restaurants. Curry, on the other hand, has not taken hold in my part of Texas. The Cajun and TexMex are the Spicy cuisines. Curry uses spices that are wildly different and they don't meld well- with what our pallates are accustomed to. The one time my spouse and I ate curry, we did enjoy the food, but within an hour, the GI tract rebelled in fury and force; taking the elevator up with agonizing belching, and then later out the sewage port, with speed- which has its own agony. I have a terminal disorder with a compromised immune system. I haven't left my home much in 8 years. You Tube allows me to go and see all the places I wanted to, but now will never get to. I enjoy the content that takes me places all over the globe.
You have that wrong about the beans. UK style baked beans aren't comparable to boston baked beans at all, but are rather more like what americans would call pork and beans which are significantly cheaper (great value pork and beans are 50 cents a can at walmart and brand name van camps would be around $1 a can). As someone that has lived in both countries, the cost of food in the UK and USA is roughly the same.
@@robertmarder126 You are ignoring what I did write and cherry picking to be contrary. Boston Baked Beans have international recognition. Pork and Beans, and Beanie Weenies don't. My father didn't know what those were until we moved to our mother's home town in Texas. The Addition of Pork to the beans, makes them NOT similar to the British variety. I specifically said Beans in a Sauce. Sam Walton was the epitome of what capitalism can achieve: buy local products in large lots to secure a smaller wholseale price; then cut the profit margin from average retail stores, so American workers can afford to buy the goods they produce. Create a market, to provide job security for the manufacturing workers; then take a smaller profit margin, so they can afford the goods. Sell more products with a smaller profit margin, and make more money than the traditional high profit per item retail stores. The Walton Children have destroyed that legacy and now, are the epitome of how bad capitalism can sink to. The Walton children are the modern day Robber Barons. I am a dyed in the wool capitalist, and only shop in Walmart in extreme emergencies. Well, since MOST of Walmarts' products are produced in China, that's another reason I won't shop from them. Especially, since China pushed the US Government to remove the requirement of Country of Origin from food labeling. So, tell us where that can of GV pork and beans was produced?
12:20 I did not know that "dear" can be used to mean expensive in British English, but it totally makes sense! Dear shares its etymological roots with "dyr", the Swedish word for expensive. (For "beloved" we use "kär" which shares its roots with French "cher".)
Thank you Mike, for making this huge effort. Being in the Netherlands, the situation is slightly different but I think the Aldi and Lidl have had a big influence on the mayor supermarkets. The larger ones have made sure they have expanded their offererings at the lower price ranges so they can match Lidl and Aldi, at least on price. Looking at the quality however, which I know you didn't do, I think the quality of Lidl and Aldi products is generally higher than the low end products of the "regular" supermarkets. So, that's my 2 cents 😁
Have to agree with you, Frank. It's rare to find something in either store that you wouldn't buy again. The same can't be said for own brands in all the "big" supermarkets. However, that strays into subjective opinions, and we're not allowed down that particular rabbit hole.
I agree, I have always made a habit, due to allergies, of reading the labels of items. I go for nutritional value per £ and where possible without the sort of ingredients that I don't use at home. I'm not saying that preservatives, stabilisers or anti-oxidants, artificial colours or flavours are bad for you, but I find I manage quite well without them. I've said for years, a baked bean is a baked bean, honestly, what could they do to it? And I find Aldi washing up liquid much more effective than Fairy Liquid.
This is fascinating. I feel like I need to make a similar experiment with the US stores I have available to me locally. I always shop at one because I "assume" it's cheapest, but this made me realize it might not be the case for the entire food bill.
The food at B&M, Home Bargains, Poundland etc. has always bothered me because you'd see people (often with lower incomes) loading-up on food thinking they were getting a bargain over Tesco etc. I noticed early on how the Walkers multipacks at Poundland were £1 but would have only 5 packs so weren't actually a bargain.
In my city, in one of the poorer areas (lots of council houses etc), all their nearest shops are Co-op, one of the most expensive supermarkets! That seems unfair to me. Tesco should open a location nearby :P
I don't live in the UK but this is an incredible video. Every part is full of valuable information that can shift someone's entire grocery purchasing if they shop at these places for the better. I am always looking forward to your next video and I appreciate your content every time I watch a new video, they always put me in a good mood apart from their practicality. Thank you!
I live in Germany and lately I would say for basic items every store has a price match or a in store brand to match Aldi or Lidl. But the quality of Aldi and Lidl products has been improving to the point that some of their in house brands taste better and have better Nutritional value than the Brand products while being cheaper. For example a lot of frozen food or ready made frozen food has no fillers but taste great and are cheaper (sometimes even cheaper than preparing and cooking it yourself).
The production of this video must have been so time costing. From the planning phase, to the shopping in various stores (maybe most of them not too familiar with) and then finally typing it all in spread sheets, analyzing and interpreting the numbers and giving it foundation with graphs. Thank you.
Obligatory “The product is weird to me because I live somewhere different” comment. But seriously, thanks for the update. Price comparison shopping is not something at the top of my list when it comes to entertainment, but you have a fantastic way of presenting the information that remains engaging. I also liked how you compared the look of different supermarkets. This is not something I had thought of before, but here in the US we have some of those same distinctions. The bargain discount store looked eerily similar to some “Dollar General” stores I’ve been to, specifically how they overcompensate to point out how “cheap” their products are.
Extremely happy to see this comparison again, it's always fascinating to me! I would love to see any other price comparison. Maybe at some point you could formulate a more "standard" list in response to what you mentioned about this shopping list being more specific/non-standard. Also it's actually quite soothing that inflation doesn't seem to have hit these types of "basic" foods (yet?). I have noticed a lot of shrinkflation in my stores (NL) over the last few years, specifically this month AH changed their 400g tofu packaging into 325g, I don't remember the price before but it seems about the same. Same for 1L bottles having become the more standard size over 1,5L bottles.
@@AtomicShrimp In my country we have so called open fridges and open bookshelves. They are often near some sort of building that attracts a lot of people, like a university or a church. The concept is that someone puts up a shelf (often the owner of the property) or converts an old phone box and people can take and leave items as they please. If there is nothing like this near you, maybe it might be an interesting project to set it up yourself, it is great if you can't use items yourself, but don't want them to go bad and even better, if you are a couple bucks short for your dinner.
@@creativedesignation7880 In the US they are called "little free pantries" modeled after the little free libraries that have been around longer. Sometimes people put in school supplies, pet food, and household cleaners in, too. And garden surplus in the summer.
Would you also consider adding other essentials, such as the mentioned beach and paper towels? Even if just noting the price, it might be something interesting to consider.
@@AtomicShrimp Alot of the supermarkets have boxes or stands near the checkouts or doors to donate items to local food banks, our Tesco extra has one and tesco will donate an extra 20% on top. Obviously this is only for tins and non fresh stuff. There will be local charities and food banks in your area I am sure who can take the stuff direct as well if you are looking to give the items away?
I wonder if Tesco would have remained competitive without the advent of Lidl and Aldi. They have concentrated supermarket minds in a very positive way!
Fascinating! I love how clearly you set the parameters of your experiment and how thoroughly you justify them. My husband loves comparing prices, so we ended up shopping in three stores: Tesco, Lidl and Morissons, combination of price, sales and taste preferences decides what we get where... funnily, although asda is just next to tesco we never shop there for food as I cannot stand their ambience.
When I got the privilege to study abroad, I always enjoyed how fresh the food was at the market (things expire quicker = less preservatives and unhealthy things) and it felt like it was cheaper. I am from the US and I have to say Europe has better grocery shopping in my opinion. I usually shopped at Aldi for the basics and appreciated how few options there were as it saved me time (I don’t like to have to choose between things). But I understand if you want more options. Regardless, this is one of my favorite videos you make! As an accountant I am aware of the currency differences and really enjoyed your excel work. Thoughts from a young American.
I found meat was significantly cheaper in the states but anything green was more than double the relative cost than it is in European (read British/French/German) supermarkets. Also, eating out across the pond is weirdly cheap considering how expensive fresh greens are
I've tried to explain this to my dad, he keeps telling me how cheap Lidl and Aldi are, when he shops at Tesco he buys all branded stuff, then at lidl he buys all own brand and then goes on about how cheap it is. If he'd just bought the Tesco own brand in the first place it would be just as cheap if not cheaper. Lol
The return! My shopping at Tesco has been validated at last. Plus if you don't mind giving away your data to them for the club card (some people do mind, don't blame them, but I'm not too concerned) the points can be exchanged basically threefold for days out, meals etc. The amount of free restaurant meals I've had, trips to safari park etc just from doing my normal shopping is actually quite impressive. If you're reading this, have a clubcard and have never used points like this, it's worth looking on the website to get more out of them than the discount you can use directly on shopping.
I also have a club card - the data they gather is less sensitive than the government census so it doesn't bother me either. Not sure what the logic of these people is - if we're going to get rounded up into a GULAG system, it won't be Tesco doing it!
@@juliantheapostate8295 It's so called 'surveillance capitalism' if they notice you haven't bought a particular kind of wine etc for a while they'll send you vouchers to lure you back. They can tell a lot about you from your shopping, whether you have chidren, pets, if you drive or even how much toilet paper you use.
Ik I'm 11 months late but the fact that you have to explain you can't buy a product if it's not there is so frustrating I can not believe how silly people are
Some people just get out of bed intending to pick fault with something today, I suppose. I got so many people saying that I was biased because of some tiny detail that was beyond my control
Really enjoyed this video. Moving away from pricing, I would be interested to know which shop you find the most satisfying to shop in based on the overall layout, location of items, aesthetic of the shop, staff friendliness, overall feel etc. Personally, I find it a much more relaxing experience shopping in Waitrose and M&S. They feel much more calm and somewhat relaxing as apposed to Tesco which I've never enjoyed shopping in. My mind seems to enjoy the colours of Waitrose and M&S, the blacks and greens, items are generally located where I would expect and the shelves are generally very tidy and pleasing to the eye. Sainsburys often feels overwhelming to me, the brightness, the layout, the noises, it'd all a bit too much.
This is actually a very valid point, there are shops that I like to avoid because of their atmosphere. If we had Waitrose near me I would prefer to shop there but my local stores are Lidl, Coop, Asda, Tesco, Aldi and Morrisons, I really don't like shopping in Tesco or Asda, something about them stores make me feel agitated. I went to Aldi once but was confused with their range and layout, Coop is stupidly expensive so I use Morrisons a lot and as Lidl is within walking distance so use them for most everyday items.
Morrisons, I think. The produce is good, and displayed well. The in store bakery has good pies and savouries. Theres a proper butcher, so I can buy soup bones if I want.
I like Aldi, the tills are very efficient where I am as everyone seems to understand that they do their packing at the window. Aldi and Lidl both have a huge edge on continental-style goods such as preserved meats and cheeses. So, if you are buying ingredients for sandwiches to eat at the office, your shopping basket would be cheaper there than elsewhere
Interesting that I am not the only person influenced by the way a shop makes me feel. I avoid Tesco and Asda because they are big, brash and noisy. I used to love my local Co-op because it was familiar and the young managers actually delivered my whole Christmas one year as I had no transport. Now I have moved house, Lidl and Iceland are my locals but I find Iceland expensive for basic groceries and Lidl fruit and vegetables are not good quality and mostly in plastic. The 'feel good' shopping for me is the covered market in town. It's worth sometimes paying more for vegetables and meat because it's all UK produced ( apart from bananas ) and has a wonderful atmosphere.
I dislike huge supermarkets generally as I want to get it over and done with ASAP ... my local Sainsbury's is too much tech/too much walking to get what you want... I've smaller ones and have no loyalty between them. I stop off after work at Aldi and they have nice staff, good quality and reasonable prices. I haven't been to Lidl for ages. Morrisons is expensive, but caters for singletons on a big budget. None of them are a pleasure... there's a ginormous Asda though that does hot jam doughnuts that can't be avoided! My friend's Home Bargains has chilled cabinets and fresh food so he gets me any bargains he finds there and we swap with my bargain finds in ones I've been in. Pre-Covid M+S was full of well-heeled elderly and very expensive, though a few things good quality and value. Nothing to do with colours/ambience... I want quick checkouts with cashiers, not DIY and waiting for someone to clear a bottle of wine.
I'm a viewer from the USA, the prices in these comparison videos always blow me away. Our Aldi & Lidl are significantly higher priced. It's quite eye opening. Thanks for great content Shrimp!
In Germany we also have the kinds of supermarkets you referred to as "UK-Style", they're usually the more expensive ones, while Lidl and Aldi are "discounters".
Very enjoyable! An interesting future video would be looking at half a dozen 'luxury' items, e.g. jelly babies, brie, or doughnuts, across the 'winners' in this video. I suspect aldi and lidl get their reputation for cheapness for this sort of item. I know from my own experience, even if my tesco and aldi shops cost the same, I often feel like I'm walking out with more little treats after an aldi shop.
14:31 all supermarkets in NZ now want you to pack you own now plastic bags are not available. In the cheaper supermarkets bags were not packed for you and people would use these side benches to pack their bags even when plastic bags were available. . However after the the Plastic bag was ban from being given away or sale people realised no point in packing it at these shelf's just take your goods in the trolly to your car and as you unload the trolly put it in the bag and then bag into car. Much more efficient. I think this has been magnified for the lack of a better word due to covid as nobody wants to stand in the shop any longer than they need to. Also very surprised in your video how close people are standing to each other. Here in NZ you would get a minimum of a stink eye if you stood this close to somebody at the check out. Hell I even stand infront of my trolly and stand as far back from the next person as i can. Most people stand behind trolley so it gives me a minimum of two trolly lengths between people. in saying that you said those were long convener belts those are minimum standards here in New Zealand.
Here with us (Germany) the purchases have never been packed by the cashiers (or other staff). Since some cashiers, especially at Aldi, scan the goods at the speed of light, this is sometimes a real challenge. I used to get really stressed about it sometimes, but now I don't really care if I stop traffic at the checkout - if the goods are really flying at me, I don't just shovel them into the shopping cart. I also noticed the distance at checkout and I was like 🧐. I used to hate it when people were sticking to my back.B We should actually be encouraged to keep a distance of at least 1.5 meters. Since that doesn't work more and more often, I use the same trick as you. I think I'll continue to do that in the future because while I'm not shy, I definitely don't like to cuddle with strangers.
Yeah, I don't recall packing service being standard any time in the UK. Most people pack into bags at the checkout. Aldi and Lidl want customers to just dump it all loose back into the trolley and sort out their packing after paying, away from the checkout (presumably to maximise throughput) . I prefer to group the items on the conveyor (heavy first, frozen together, chilled together, produce, lightweight/fragile) then pack into different bags as it is scanned: heavy stuff ends up in the bottom of the trolley again, and when I get home, I only have to open the freezer once to put away that bag
If you have a Pak n Save, the trick is to sign on for one of the hand scanners. That way you can scan and pack everything into your bags as you go. They'll occasionally check it, but there's usually no wait at all. Just download, pay and leave
M&S will pack for you - at least we did when I worked there. Either I did it as we went along or someone helped when it was very busy. I know Tesco metro also pack here because it's a smaller supermarket and so impractical for you to do it esp with COVID screens up and Coop will definitely pack if you ask.
In my part of Canada, it was COVID and not the elimination of free plastic bags that reduced or eliminated the cashiers packing the bags. When the COVID level is a bit low, some stores will have their staff pack your bags (now, of course, ones you've brought yourself) but others haven't reinstated the practice, and of course when the COVID level is high, packing stops again in all stores. And those stores that are converting, in part or in whole, to self-checkouts don't and never did offer packing services. I've never seen a store with the packing areas mentioned in the video, and I can't pack at my car because I don't have one. I really, really miss having my groceries packed by a clerk. They were always so efficient and fast, and there I am fumbling with my bags and my items which are coming at me all mixed up. I felt guilty about holding up the people in line until I decided it wasn't my fault I was slower at packing bags than a clerk, and the other customers would just have to wait until I arranged my shopping with the heavy items distributed among the bags, the eggs on top and so on.
The most frightening thing is that a shopping list such as this one will cost about 50% more here in Russia where 500 pounds is an average monthly salary.
I know baguettes have got expensive. My God have you seen how tiny those so called "half size" baguettes are in asda? It's embarrassing. I know its cold but that doesn't account for that much shrinkage lol speaking of the water/Brine/oil issue in tuna. When I'm making a cheese sauce that I'll add tuna to for a pasta dish (it's quite tasty and cheap) Ill add the whole contents of the can even if it's brine or water as that carries a lot of the tuna flavour. Ill just adjust the sauce beforehand so it's end consistency is as thick as I originally wanted
I recently did a "big shop" in Aldi and Sainsbury's. I bought tinned tomatoes and tinned chickpeas in large quantity from Aldi, assuming they would be cheaper - but in fact the Sainsbury's had KTC brand of both, which was cheaper (35p and 45p respectively I think), whereas the Aldi had Napolitana and own brand, which were actually about 10p more each! Since I bought 12 tins of both that was actually a fair difference
Thank you for your content Mike! I also wanted to thank you for introducing and funding Babatunde, he's such a wholesome man. I'd love to know what in the world you do with the products? Do you donate them to shelters? (Sorry if this was already answered, I am only half way through the video) Much love, Yorkshire.
Ex Holland and Barratt manager here....no comparison with your supermarkets I know..but they operate a system (in my opinion is ludicrous but hey ho)... availability of products depends on a couple of things.....foot fall and obviously sales.....but what customers don't realise is some stores are rated on zones.....and in one zone you have a hundred products say......if a decision to remove a product because of lack of sales you don't just loose that one product you loose 100 products..which has a baring on availability and choice....most of the popular items are allocated to big stores.,the smaller ones are just regarded as tax losses and aren't bothered with as much as the big money making stores.....on my time off I found myself hopping on a train going to Birmingham and buying a product for a customer desperate in need to ease their pain because I wasn't allowed to stock it....it always amazes me that the majority of big stores always have their fruit and veg at the entrance to the store....in effect as you go round it ends up under the heavier goods.....enjoyed your commentary..thank you.x👍
Upvoted for outstanding customer service! In my opinion there is nothing more annoying that asking for something in a store only to be told "We don't carry that any more, there's no call for it." Hellooo - I'm right here!
the "UK style" shops w/ fresh counters for meat, cheese and fish are also found in german chains (like Edeka, Combi and Famila) but are not found outside of germany its also true for the few Coop's i seen in the netherlands, they are closer to aldi/lidl than they are to the "UK style" as they lack their fresh counters i do suppose thats just a "homefield advantage" those chains have in each of their respective countries of origin, might be supply and labour related
Man, I am missing England so much... Used to live her 15 years ago, recently just got "home sick" - even if thats not really my home but I felt there at home... Thank you for your videos, always interesting stuff. Greetings from Mexico!
@@MissFeline Mexico isn't bad honestly. Depends on the place you live just like in UK or any other place. Lets do it 🤣 We can swap back in a year if you dont like it :D
gosh, I know exchange rates and whatnot are messing with my perception, but I live in America and all of these foods seem quite cheap. I don’t feel like doing the exchange rate math, but I’m curious about why our supposed capitalist utopia makes me pay more for even basic foods, almost across the board.
14:36 - Japanese supermarkets are excellent at this. The checkout worker neatly arranges your items into another basket as they scan them then you take it to another area to pack into your bags. It does a great job of speeding up the queueing process. It's a stupid thing to miss about living overseas, but I do. UK supermarkets are simply inferior.
This is really interesting to me. I live in Germany and while we obviously have Aldi and Lidl here, even in those stores the pricing structure and even the advertising is very different. Now I'm wondering, if the different prices are reflected in the quality and for my next shopping trip I plan on noting down the igredients of the cheapest jam and baked beans for a comparison.
The advertising for Aldi in Britain is ridiculous. There are so many union flags plastered over everything, its hard to remember they're a German brand sometimes
This video made me wanna try this with the supermarkets I have close to me, it’s really interesting. I also gotta say I really like your shirt :) Edit: I’ve been in quarantine for the last 10 days and seeing you around a supermarket is making me very jealous. I never liked shopping but boy, I sure miss it now
this is so helpful, I know a few people who've tried to be like "oh you should shop at x, it's much better value" but like tesco is the most convenient for me and I like going somewhere that has everything I need for the regular shop (and not having to go elsewhere to pick up a few things they didn't have) I go to most the stores on occasion for various things they do, but I'm glad that I can now just go to tesco/aldi/lidl/morrisons without feeling that weird guilt of being too tired to go to a better value store
Re: all made in the same factory observation. Yes, this is true, it's no longer feasible for manufacturers to alter the formulae for differing customers, although this used to be the case. I worked for a manufacturer that produced vegan cheese for numerous supermarkets from Waitrose to Lidl, with Sainsbury's Asda and ocado on the customers list. Indeed, all product was identical, other than packaging. Clearly, the end price on the shelf to the consumer would be higher in Waitrose than say Lidl, for exactly the same item. There's a reason for this that most people don't consider... The supermarkets pay different rates to the manufacturer, Lidl, for example will pay less to the manufacturer than Waitrose!
This is an interesting thing to think about. Does a manufacturer make a good product for say Waitrose, then go... It would cost us more to make a different product that's cheaper, to sell to Lidl, so we might as well just sell them the same stuff but cheaper. Or do they make a product for Lidl etc, then just mark it up because "Waitrose" and make a larger profit.
@@ryanmg92 This is just one example of one side of food production- when I was doing my A-levels (almost 23 years ago) I did fruit packing part time. The machines would run and at one end people are sorting through, removing undesirable fruit, and at the other end people are packing and others are putting on lids with labels. Throughout the day the packaging and labels would get changed. In the morning you'd be packing for say Tesco, then it would change to M&S for the afternoon. Same fruit from same farm going in different packaging and being sold for different prices. I do remember hearing years ago that a lot of food items are packed and distributed in the same way. Same product, given different packaging, sold at different shops.
I temped at a cottage cheese factory about 20 years ago, the only difference between asda standard, tesco value and M&S was changing the cartridge in the labelling machine, quite shocking at the time seeing the price difference that label made...good in the long term though, made me much less of a brand-snob and probably saved thousands over the years
This is true, but it also works the other way around. I work in product development in the food industry and Aldi/Lidl outright copy our products right down to the packaging. They're not made in the same factory and there's no contracts in place, it's just straight copying. Customers assume it's all the same, but the product and quality is way off.
Working in a grocery store, I've seen plenty of instances where we'd receive a competitor's in-house brand instead of our own brand... in the exact same packaging, with the exact same ingredients and nutritional value, but a different UPC. Bear in mind that we don't actually share a warehouse with any of these competitors. The distributor would just occasionally mess up and send the wrong packs to the wrong warehouse.
I volunteered at a Trussell Trust food bank in Nottingham for several years until I moved last year. I can confirm that your shopping list is almost exactly the same as the basic food parcels we gave to every customer who came to the food bank. We would generally use tinned soup over packet and would include tinned meat (stewed steak, Spam, corned beef, Fray Bentos pies, Chicken in cream sauce etc). It's a bit of a weird list but that's the kind of stuff that people donate so that's what we had to work with.
Hardly surprising given the record inflation in the US thanks to unlimited money printing, government handouts, record breaking labor and supply shortage and a president that forgets where he is and who he is on a regular basis....
The reason why the pound is higher than the dollar is cus you guys hold a good bit of our currency in reserve and our currency is backed against yours. Unless that changes the £ can't drop below the dollar
I'm from Poland and I really miss Tesco. They had left Poland at the end of October last year, due to lost battle with Lidls and Portugal shop Biedronka (Ladybird).
Very interesting 👍 I don't understand how viewers can be angry when they would do things differently. You always explain why and how you do certain things. I simply love every single video you post! Keep them coming, I learn so much from them!
I really have to admire your dedication & effort in making this video, alot of work has gone into this & you've done a nice bit of prepping while you're at it! I normally only use Aldi, Lidl or Tesco & often make a deliberate effort to go at the right times to grab some yellow sticker items, got 2 loaves of bread for 9p each last night!
Being familiar with different supermarkets helps keeping the end price down - after a few months of small shopping trips 2-3 times per week I know what's cheapest at what shop, which individual products to look for and which to avoid. It could take a longer walk or waiting in line at another supermarket along the way, more details on the shopping list and more shelf-space in the pantry for those special items.
This is really interesting. I do wonder how the goods that you excluded from your shopping list would affect the price, it would be really interesting and useful depending where and why your shopping.
I do tend to find that Aldi is generally a fair amount cheaper than other supermarkets, but despite that personally I think I'm going to stop going. Lost count recently of the amount of times I've gone there and much of the stuff I want is either sold out, or just gone entirely - this happens a lot with Aldi, products will just disappear without warning and never come back (I'm not talking about the weekly special buys but the general stock - many of the staples I used to buy week in week out have just gone, never to be seen again). It's frustrating when you go in with a list for specific items and half of it isn't there, and due to the more limited range Aldi tends to stock, there often isn't an alternative. This means I usually end up having to go to a second store at the cost of more fuel and time.
Yup Aldi and Lidl aren’t as well priced as they’d like you to believe. When Tesco introduced the Aldi price match my mother said “great! That means Tesco will be putting their prices up!”
Aldi is currently running a counter-campaign against tesco/sainsburys regarding matched prices, saying that they are only matching a selection and if you want aldi prices, come to aldi. What they don't mention of course is that for quite a few of those non-matched prices, tesco/sainsburys are cheaper (and because they're cheaper, they can't label it as a match
As a student I swear by Iceland for my freezer and fridge foods so I'd love to see a comparison in that category. Shocked to see Morrisons do so well on the non-perishables.
I really liked this video because it confirms my intuition. I always felt that ALDI had good prices on non perishable goods, but their produce was not cheap. That being said, here in the US, I've noticed about a ¢25 increase in prices. I used to be able to get a lot of products for $0.99 that are now ~$1.24.
You have Biden to thank for that. Inflation is hurting lots of people. I shop at a Dollar Store. Then Joe Biden got into office. Now the stuff costs $1.25. There are a lot of poor people who shop there and they suffer from even a 25 cent increase in prices at the Dollar Store. Lets go Brandon.
very interesting glimpse into shopping in the UK, must have been pretty time consuming for you. thanks for sharing and giving us a perspective into daily life for our counterparts 1000s of miles away
14:35 oh my god that makes so much more sense. As you said it it all just clicked. I've been bagging as I've gotten them from the scanner and always felt rushed. Now that's why there is a counter there. No one told me this or probably even knew themselves. Thank you.
Can't speak for all Aldi shops, but the ones I have been to in the UK always have pretty big signs/banners around the checkouts saying something like 'please pack your bags at the packing shelf, it helps us keep our prices low!' Or similar 🤷♀️
Good evening from Korea. This brought flashbacks of living in Hinckley 2015-2017.. when we didn't have many pennies and as a treat used to make our own fish and chips. On a Friday afternoon I used to race down to B&M for Lockwood's tinned mushy peas, they used to be 28p....I would love to know how much they are now?
I work for tesco on the legal pricing side of things in a large extra store. The prices the last few months, in the wake of the supply issues, brexits effects, and covid have been jumping up and down in sudden movements all across the board. One of the more shocking to me was the night I saw baby products take a large leap up. For example bonjella teething gel, which doubled in price from 1.20 to 3.00 . Outside of that, overall there is a trend of prices creeping up. I just don't think it's hit the true basics yet as those would be easier to notice for shoppers and generate less favorable publicity. Better to sneak those price increases in.
I think Shrimp said he didn't do a per weight price the first time around? If so then the inflation may have dodged his analysis as much of the inflation is 'shrinkflation' i.e. smaller quantities for a similar price. Just look at the average toilet roll now, noticeably fewer sheets
Your wife must have the patience of a saint. "Just popping out for some shopping" "Sure see you in a bit" Returns with over a months shopping. Typo at 12:36:-)
Even taking the exchange rate into consideration, basic pantry items seem very inexpensive in the UK. A similar bag of shopping in the US could easily cost $20 or more.
The UK is right next to Spain which is the bread basket of Europe so you would need to compare prices in a state near California. Also minimum wage is around $6 in the UK while in the USA the a average is getting close to $8 however in California is a crazy $14 yup it's gonna cost more although fuel is much cheaper but truck driver salaries are higher so I guess that balances out for the benefit of truck drives.
@@drscopeify Minimum wage in the UK for over 23 year olds is £8.91 to £9.50 an hour, a bit less for those under 23. So, that's about $12-12.50 an hour.
I think "cheap" is subjective to the comparison. Personally I shop at LIDL's as I find the price to quality ratio is good. I used to shop at M&S, for my food and joined the Dark Side, about 3-4 years ago. If you're not trying to buy organic I find there's very little difference in price and the qualities pretty much the same. However there is a caveat. LIDL's potato salad is the saccharin polyps on Beelzebub's perineum! I have no idea what they were thinking, when formulating their recipe. It's so sweet it could be classed as dessert! I seem to recall that sugar is the third or forth main ingredient. There's absolutely no need.
It's interesting how the invasion of the german discount stores lead to a general price matching to their prices from other stores like Tesco. A very good example of healthy competition. It's always a win for the customers.
The amount of well done work put in these videos amaze me. And having English as a second language I really enjoy the way you speak, so clear, calm and with a rich vocabulary. You have a new fan!
When it comes to the 'bulk buy' stuff as well, a particular bug bear of mine is people recommending them to people on very low incomes as great value - 'you can get a whole pallet of tinned tomatoes for just £10!' - not very helpful if you only have £10 in total. Unless you want to eat nothing but tinned tomatoes. Same for big bags of spuds. With the added problem that spuds go off.
@@gander4872 hmm. I can see that working in some instances, but it's far, far from a panacea. What if one of them let's you down/is flakey? Or you work more than one job and have children and don't have the time/energy to organise that?
@@gander4872 not really. I'm not in that situation. I just find it very irritating when people offer bulk buying as a solution to people who are, or as a means to mock/imply foolishness in people who are in a bad situation. You found something that worked for you, it may not work for everyone.
I am surprised about Tesco coming out cheapest. I find Tesco terribly expensive but that's probably because I rarely buy the kinds of foods which are considered to be part of a basic British shopping basket as in this comparison - I buy a lot more perishable foods. I rarely buy tinned things like rice pudding, jam, cereal or baked beans. I also find (and which you, for obvious reasons, couldn't compare) Tesco skimps on quality and taste for their cheap stuff. Of course, if I am so poor that I need to count every penny I probably wouldn't care. But on the whole I feel that Aldi and Lidl stuff tastes much better for the price point (apart from the fact that I always seem to come out of the shop with a new gadget I didn't think I needed)
the "german style" supermarket style does apply to aldi and lidl but in germany we do also have those "classic uk style" supermarkets, they just dont exist in other countries (probably because each country has their own chains in that category) so not every german supermarket is like aldi and lidl, they are their own category even in germany. just thought I'd clarify this.
I was with some American visitors on a tour of the Euro tunnel site. Digestive biscuits were passed around. The Americans were intrigued Digestive Biscuits… is there really any other kind of biscuit?!’ That got me thinking: Are Digestive Biscuits really more digestible than Other Biscuits?!’ Does anybody know and how could this be researched?
Gotta love M&S quality though. I find with a lot of items, they strike a far better price:quality ratio than other super markets. For example they sell 1 kilo of dark chicken meat for £2.15 against £2 at Tesco. The difference is definitely noticeable.
2nd comment, someone else already posted the idea but I find it really intriguing: what about involving the Shrimpling-Community even more and ask people if they'd want to collect prices from stores in different countries? Converting the currencies and prices into usable data and comparing the numbers would be quite a large project, as would be formulating exact guidelines for participants (I've no illusions about that) but it'd certainly be interesting to many of us.
This was very interesting indeed, thank you! I live in Canada and I have been saving my grocery receipts for 2 years and haven't really noticed much of a difference in prices until just recently. "Stuff" like non food things - cleaning products, sponges, cosmetics and especially toothpastes etc. have gone WAY up. Feed for the hens and pet foods, $5.00 - $10/ bag each time we shop, (about 4 or 5 weeks). Some meats, ya sure they are crazy, but we adjust. I guess we have just come to the understanding that we have been spoiled during all of these "gravy years" and it's it's now time to "lean up" ey? Peace and love to you from N.W. Ontario. I look forward to more videos like this :-)
Jack Monroe does this on a regular to highlight food poverty in the UK her twitter is fascinating and slightly depressing as more and more people in the UK slip into food poverty
Can't believe the "hate comments" you got that you posted at the start of the video. Are people seriously that pathetic? Guess (some) are...what do they get out of being so vicious. Love it however how absolutely level-headed you dealt with them.....(including how they thought they need to school you on pronunciations)
