The budget line of Waitrose has been branded as 'out of touch' and 'insulting' by a woman who tried the supermarket's Essential products for a week.
Soaring energy bills and inflation are leading more households to comparison shop between retailers as the cost of living crisis bites. Premium supermarket Waitrose is on the pricier end of the spectrum, but the grocer does offer an 'Essential' range for cheaper buys.
Intrigued, Rebecca Astill of BirminghamLive, who usually shops at Tesco, tested out the range for a weekly shop. The journalist set out to see if the premium supermarket could produce an affordable budget option with mixed results. Read on for her findings...
Rebecca's Waitrose shop
Fridge
Apple juice, 1L: £1
Beef Mince 10%, 500g: £2.50
Cheese and smoked ham tortellini, 300g: £1.80
Roast ham slices (seven): £1.40
Mature grated cheddar, 250g: £2.65
Smoked streaky bacon, 250g: £2.75
Yoghurts (two): 80p each - £1.60
Cheese and tomato pizza: £2.60
Eggs, one dozen: £1
I would always expect the fresh food to be the most expensive chunk of the shop, but for nothing to be less than £1 in a budget shop surprised me. Even the yoghurts, which I obviously wanted more than one of making a total of £1.60, cost 80p each.
I thought £2.60 for a cheese and tomato pizza was also quite steep, bearing in mind the Pizza Express pizzas are pretty much permanently discounted to £2.50 in Tesco. Waitrose also didn't have any ready meals included in the budget section, hence the tortellini.
I couldn't fault the taste, the yoghurts were fruity and fresh, the cheddar tasted premium rather than the powdery cheap cheese in other supermarkets, and the sandwich ham was thicker than usual sandwich ham. Plus, the beef mince was only 10 per cent fat, when most supermarkets only include 20 per cent mince in budget ranges.
However, I do think taste is secondary to price in a budget range. Of course it still has to taste good, but shoppers do not buy budget ranges for luxury.
Freezer
Frozen French fries, 900g: £1.30
Frozen 10 fish fingers: £2.20
I'd echo the same sentiment for the freezer food. Both the fries and the fish fingers tasted great and crisped up well, cooked in my air fryer, but I'd have sacrificed a small amount of taste for a cheaper product in a heartbeat.
I especially thought £2.20 for 10 fish fingers expensive, that won't go very far.
Cupboard
White medium sliced bread: 59p (reduced from 75p)
Tomato and basil pasta sauce, 340g: £1.15
Baked beans in tomato sauce, 220g: 35p
Strawberry jam, 454g: £1.20
Penne, 500g: 85p
Potatoes, 1kg: £1.40
Bourbons, 400g: 75p
Teabags, 160: £2.20
Malted wheat cereal, 750g: £1.35
Multipack of crisps, six: £1.10
Though the cupboard food was a little better priced for a budget range, I still was not overly impressed. Namely, the pasta sauce, pasta, potatoes and tea bags are the most obvious to reduce in price and perhaps a touch of quality.
I will say though, the teabags made a delicious cuppa - one to rival my usual Yorkshire Tea. But I digress.
Altogether my shop cost £31.84 . My regular shop at Tesco costs me low £20s, and if I got to Aldi it is nearer £15.
While I completely understand that Waitrose is a premium brand, and this IS a budget range compared to their usual stock, I think it's insulting to actually be advertised as so. It all just feels a little out of touch.
I know I for one could not afford to shop Essential Waitrose every week.
A Waitrose spokesperson said: “We're disappointed to hear this and will continue working with our suppliers to keep prices as competitive as possible. At the same time, we're proud of the exceptional taste and quality of our range, noted throughout this review, and our industry-leading animal welfare standards.
"We're also giving customers further ways to save, like our myWaitrose loyalty scheme, which gives customers weekly savings on the products they buy most.”
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