As lots of companies revert back to office working again, many people are starting to go back to buying their lunch on the go, rather than making it while working from home. Supermarket meal deals have always been a popular option but with the cost of living crisis making money tight, shoppers want to know where is best to make their cash stretch.
To make the decision easier, we put four high street stores to the test to compare their meal deal options - Boots, Tesco, Sainsbury's and Co-op. All of their meal deals are priced at £4 or less for a lunch item, snack and a drink, but some delivered better choice and taste than others.
The first place I decided to try was my local Sainsbury’s convenience store. When walking in you notice that there is a wide variety of options you can choose from, including premade pots of salad if that’s to your liking, and you can even get a bakery item as your snack.
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The food was in an ideal location that would make sense for customers who are just coming in for their lunch and not doing their food shop - no hunting around the aisles trying to track down the to-go section. Before going out to the different shops I had decided that I would, for the sake of a fair comparison, choose a sandwich from each as my main, rather than pasta in one and a sandwich in another.
Sainsbury's
In Sainsbury's I decided I wanted to see what their chicken and sweetcorn sandwich was like. For the rest of my meal I chose a yogurt pot and a Fanta fruit twist for my drink. I found the food to be really good, my sandwich had a good amount of filling to the bread and was nice and soft. The yogurt and drink were both really nice too, although the drink was on the sweeter side.
For the £3.50 you’re paying you do get a good amount for your money, and a good variety of options - especially with the bakery being included. And you even have the option to upgrade to their Taste the Difference range for an extra £1.50.
Tesco
My next place to try was Tesco Express. The first thing I notice straight away about their meal deal section is the greater ranger they have for the mains. Their sandwich section had many more options than that of Sainsbury's and the snack section was brimming with options.
I chose a ham, cheese and coleslaw sandwich and paired it with a small pot of mango and an iced Frappuccino. I found the bread of the sandwich to be drier than that from Sainsbury’s, and although the filling was tasty I would’ve liked more when it came to the coleslaw.
I was pleasantly surprised by the fruit pot. Sometimes the fruit has passed its best, but the mango was gorgeously sweet and had a good texture to it. The coffee was also pretty good, perfect for those who want to get a quick coffee fix with their lunch but don't want to pay the high prices of coffee shops.
Prices of the meal deal vary depending on if you have a Clubcard or not. For those with a Clubcard your meal will cost you £3.40 compared to the £3.90 for those without. Despite raising their meal deal prices last year, Tesco can still say they have the cheapest meal deal out of their competitors.
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Boots
The third stop wasn’t necessarily a supermarket, but a place a lot of people get their lunch from. Boots has always had a meal deal range for customers in or working in town or city settings.
Compared to my previous two stops, the variety provided was disappointing, with more basic options provided. Their drinks section was a bit better than that of the sandwich and snacks sections but still a lot less than Sainsbury’s and Tesco. I decided that I would again try a different sandwich, so this time I went for a tuna and sweetcorn sandwich, a packet of salt and vinegar Baked Walkers and a Rubicon orange and mango drink.
To be honest I was actually quite impressed with the food I got. The sandwich was amazing, the tuna mayo base was creamy and just delicious - probably the best sandwich I ate from all four shops. And I was able to find some of my favourite crisps that I struggled to find in other meal deal offers.
One downside to the Boots meal deal is the fact it costs a little more. If you have an advantage card it's not too bad, costing £3.60 but for those without you will be paying £3.99 for your lunch.
Co-op
Finally I headed to the Co-op to see what they had to offer, and while my local store is one of the smaller Co-ops, I was a little disappointed again by the range on offer. Again, like Boots, the sandwich options were maybe more on the basic side, with little variation. However, their snack and drinks sections made up for what the sandwich section lacked.
Here I decided to go for a BLT sandwich, an orange Lucozade Sport and a Co-op’s own loaded blondie. The sandwich was very bacon heavy, which wasn’t bad, but I would’ve preferred to have more of the lettuce and tomato to balance it out. The bread also seemed a little on the drier side in places where there was very little mayonnaise.
The blondie, however, was like a small slice of heaven in my mouth. Suitable for vegetarians, the texture was smooth and it just melted in my mouth. The biggest drawback of the Co-op meal deal was the hefty price you have to pay, with three items costing you £4.
I have to say my favourite overall meal deal may have to be the one I got from Boots, despite the lack of options. Perhaps one of the supermarkets would have come out on top with a different choice, but on the day Boots just beat the rest on flavour - a surprising result.
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