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Manchester Evening News

Entertainment

Emma Gill

"I did my big shop at 'most expensive' supermarket and can't get over its nonsense pricing"

Morrisons Heinz Tesco Aldi Kraft Heinz Which

We all know how much the cost of groceries has risen but some supermarkets appear to have hiked prices more than others.

One retailer that has been under fire more than others is Morrisons.

In our weekly comparison of shopping basics like bread, butter and milk, it's been the most expensive place since March 2022, with just one exception, when Tesco took the unfortunate title earlier this month.

Last week it was the only one to go up in price, increasing its 300g pack of chicken from £2.49 to £2.59, the highest price of all six supermarkets and shoppers themselves have criticised the retailer, accusing it of 'taking the mick'.

Morrisons' chicken breasts are now £2.59 for two (Manchester Family/MEN)

Research from Which? published this week shows that the cost of basic groceries has soared across all supermarkets by up 30% since last December.

The items to take the biggest hit include butters and spreads, up 29.4 per cent, milk 26.3%, cheese 22.3%, bakery items 19.5%, water 18.6% and savoury pies, pastries and quiches 18.5%.

Despite Morrisons being in the firing line, the figures from Which? suggest that other supermarkets have had bigger price hikes over the last year - with budget retailers Lidl and Aldi both up by more than 20% compared with Morrisons' 12.9%.

I decided to head along to Morrisons to do a big shop and see exactly what prices are like in store.

At £1.49, a 2.5kg bag of maris piper potatoes is cheaper than Aldi (Manchester Family/MEN)

Given the negative headlines it's received, I was actually quite surprised by some of the prices. A 2.5kg bag of maris piper potatoes for £1.49 was the first bargain I spotted, that's even less than Aldi's £1.59. And a 750g pack of 5% fat mince is the same price as the budget retailer's £4.29.

Both products are among a number of items that Morrisons has frozen in price. Meanwhile other fruit and veg was generally the same, or slightly higher than you'd pay elsewhere - 49p for a kilogram of carrots, 69p for a broccoli just two examples - it was the prices of some of the other products that staggered me most, and I can see why this place has been getting people's backs up.

Shoppers have criticised some of the prices, including Ambrosia custard, costing £1.99 a tin (Manchester Family/MEN)

A 400g tin of Ambrosia custard for £1.99, a large chicken for £5.29, and a whopping £7.49 for a gammon joint were just a few of the prices that left me stunned. The cost of the gammon working out at £5.34 per kg compared with Tesco and Aldi's £3.79.

And, at £4.99 for a 500g tub of Lurpak, it's hardly surprising that they still have the Christmas-branded tubs left in the fridge.

What struck me most was how nonsensical the prices are. A tiny 250g tub of Flora Lighter is £1.65, yet a 450g tub is on offer for £1.75.

Everyone knows it works out cheaper to bulk buy, but when you're looking at a single product, like the Bisto Gravy for instance, why would anyone buy the 190g tub for £2.99, when the 350g tub is £2.50. Not to mention the £5.49 price tag on the 550g tub, which has raised eyebrows on its own.

Some of the pricing simply doesn't make sense - a box of Yorkshire Tea is £5 for 240, or £5.99 for 160 (Manchester Family/MEN)

Likewise with the Yorkshire Tea, costing £5.99 for a 160 pack, yet a fiver for the 240 pack, and the Heinz ketchup, costing £3.39 for a 460g bottle, compared with £3.50 for 700g. It really is a no brainer.

Heinz products in particular have shot up across the board and Morrisons' £4 price tag on its four-pack of beans, for instance, has become pretty much the norm, with both Aldi and Tesco selling them at £3.99.

The latter actually removed some Heinz products from its shelves altogether last summer, saying it would not pass on 'unjustifiable price increases' to customers.

Months earlier Kraft Heinz boss Miguel Patricio had warned that consumers will have to get used to higher food prices and said his company - the world’s fifth-largest food and drink firm – was 'raising prices, where necessary, around the world'.

The cost of Heinz products has drastically increased (Manchester Family/MEN)

An agreement was soon reached, which saw Heinz products return to Tesco, but prices for many, from there and elsewhere, are far from affordable.

With a single tin of Heinz beans £1.39 at Morrisons and a tin of Heinz tomato soup £1.69, the only way of bringing the cost down is to buy in bulk. But at two packs of six tins for £10 it's still 83p a tin and more than customers were used to paying before the cost of living crisis really took hold.

Many of the Morrisons' products that aren't on some sort of promotion, like the Heinz Classic Barbecue Sauce costing £3.39 for 480g, are actually pretty extortionate. In comparison, Tesco has the same size bottle for £2.80, a difference of 21%.

Likewise its 350g of reduced fat cheddar is £2.99, whereas you can get a 400g block at Aldi for £2.69.

Some of its offers are quite impressive - 3 for £3 on some of the frozen range for example, where you can get three packs of Birds Eye 2 Crispy Chicken Grills for £3, instead of paying £5.63 for the six-pack.

Gammon joint, £7.49 (Manchester Family/MEN)

And I used the same offer for the McCain Potato Smiles, Richmond Sausages and Birds Eye Fish Fingers, which would otherwise have come to £5.89.

Cooking sauces like Sharwood's tikka masala sauce are £2.19 each, but just £2.50 for two, whereas at Tesco, one jar alone will set you back £2.80. Same with the Lloyd Grossman pasta sauces, £2.15 each or 2 for £2.50 at Morrisons, but £3 a pop at Tesco.

The bread is more expensive at Morrisons unless you multibuy. A loaf of soft white thick Hovis costs £1.45 - £1.40 elsewhere - but you can pick up two for £2.50.

Shoppers can save with Morrisons' promotional deals (Manchester Family/MEN)

Unless you're making use of Morrisons' promotions and offers - or buying one of its fresh pizzas which came top in our taste test of supermarket pizza counters - then, in my view, it's simply not worth it to shop there. My advice would be buy big, buy in bulk or don't buy at all.

A Morrisons spokesperson said: "We continue to work hard to keep prices down for our customers while maintaining high standards and availability in all our stores.

"We have recently introduced three significant price cutting initiatives to help our customers through this unprecedented period of inflation.

"We are also investing in our My Morrisons app offering shoppers exclusive deals and have introduced an online shopping hub called 'More Ways To Save', which helps customers identify savings across a number of categories."

The full Morrisons shop (Manchester Family/MEN)

A spokesperson for Kraft Heinz said: "Like the rest of the food industry, we continue to face significantly increased production costs – whether it’s ingredients, energy, or packaging – and rising inflation. We’re absorbing costs wherever we can, however we've unfortunately had to increase our prices to retailers – a measure that continues to remain a last resort.

"To offset some of the pressures consumers are facing, we’re working collaboratively with retailers to offer great value through regular promotions and promotional cycles across a range of our products. We’ve adapted our offer to consumers with different pack sizes, value ranges and lower price points. We are also continuing to look for efficiencies in our operations.

"We remain committed to giving our consumers great tasting and nutritious products without compromising on the quality they know and trust."