It's getting increasingly difficult out there to find the best price on basics thanks to the cost of living increases. While it can be tempting to pop into the big chains like Tesco or Sainsburys - is there a better bargain to be had at smaller shops?
As an Irish person, I take butter seriously which might sound like a joke. I will walk the extra mile, pay the extra bit to pick up real Irish butter - if you've ever had Kerrygold then you'll know what I'm talking about. However, it's getting harder to justify picking up a little bit of home thanks to price increases.
The increases are across the board when it comes to butter prices with reports that a tub of Lurpak hitting £9 in some places. Does it pay to hit the streets in search of a buttery bargain?
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With that in mind, I decided to take a walk around the city centre to see what I could find. The first thing I had to do is determine how much the chains were selling a tub of 250g for which ranged from £3 for Lurpak at Coop, £1,75 for British salted butter own brand at Tesco and Kerrygold for £2 at Asda.
I started my search in Sneinton at Murat's Supermarket which can be found just off the square. Murats is a bit of a treasure trove of goodies but I don't normally come here for butter so I'm not sure what I'll find. I find Anchor butter in stock for £2.69 on the shelves. The store is absolutely sold out of Lurpak which given how popular it is, I am not shocked. It is one of the most expensive prices for it that I find though at £3.59 for 250g.
I head down Sneinton Dale to see what I can find walking into almost every newsagent on the way to see who stocks butter. This is how I discover one of the shops, Premier One Stop has a delightfully cheap Kerrygold at £1.89 for 250g. I make a mental note to start stopping in here instead of Tesco which sells it for £2.50.
I do note that the store also sells Lurpak but there is no price on it and a lengthy queue at the tills so I admit defeat. It's the only newsagents with butter in Sneinton it seems as a lot of the other places have either empty shelves or nothing at all.
I decide to head to Pak Foods as its always seen me right in the past. No matter what you need, Pak Foods will have it including an impressively varied selection of hot sauces which is one of my main reasons for heading there.
Pak Foods had a number of different options including Lurpak. The 250g tubs of Lurpak were on sale for £2.99 which was only a tiny but less than Coop at £3. However, if you were willing to go for a different brand, then Country Life could be bought for £1.89.
A smarter person than me would have planned a route through the city to avoid losing the plot or wandering but here we are. I go from Sneinton to the top of Mansfield Road which in the current weather is no easy task.
Mansfield Road has quite a few different independent mini markets or shops to try. However, quite a few are sold out of or just don't stock butter. I refuse to engage with margarine but I do note there are few shops that only stock that and not butter.
So I stop at Cagla supermarket on my way down the road after getting distracted by the giant watermelon slices on offer. I lucked out that this is one of the cheaper spots to buy Lurpak in. I find a 250g tub for £2.49 which beats Coop and Asda. Cagla is listed as an off-license and does stock booze but there is a lot more to it than that. I'm impressed by the selection I find there.
I decided that my next stop should be the NTU student Shop since I am close by. After all, students need cheap food, right? There is bound to be something on offer in here among the notepads and university sweaters.
I strike out as the shop has a lot of empty shelves which may have something to do with the graduation ceremony I walk through accidentally to get here. There isn't a lot of stock because the students are about to leave for the summer. The shop assistant tells me that they don't stock butter anyway so it's no help to me.
It's not easy or convenient shopping like this as a quick glance at my step counter reveals I've walked just under 10,000 steps searching for cheap butter. It does pay to shop around but in your local area in comparison to making a massive walk out of it, especially in the seriously hot weather we have been having lately.
There are other options worth noting such as Food Print in Sneinton or Affordable on Derby Road which often sell brand-name food items at low prices. However, you will need to be quick when they open for the best bargains and also, stock changes daily so you may find that you can't be guaranteed exactly what you need.
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