Even standard own-brand versions of staples such as spaghetti, baked beans and teabags can cost three-and-a-half times as much as their budget-range equivalents – while one branded item we checked cost 10 times the price of its budget alternative.
This makes it even more imperative that supermarkets stock budget ranges in their convenience stores, which are already pricier than bigger branches.
Which groceries have the biggest price differences?
The food we found with the biggest difference between the supermarket budget-range price and a standard own-label alternative was rice at Asda. Shoppers would have to pay 246% more if the 52p 'Just Essentials by Asda' Long Grain Rice (1kg) was not available and they bought the standard own-brand Asda Easy Cook Long Grain White Rice (1kg) at £1.80.
However, if no own-brand options were available, Ben's Original Long Grain Rice (1kg) would set you back a huge £4.85 – that's 833% more than the budget version.
Which? found a similar scenario at both Sainsbury's and Tesco, where if their 52p budget-range 1kg packs weren't available, the standard own-brand item was 140% more at £1.25. But at both supermarkets, the 1kg Ben's rice was even pricier than Asda, at £5.25 – that's 10 times the price of the budget packs.
Find out more:The branded beans that cost five times the price
When a big pack is unavailable, the price difference can be even more stark. At Sainsbury's, its budget-range Hubbard's Foodstore Spaghetti (1kg) was 56p, while you'd pay 75p for a standard own-brand alternative half the size. That works out as 168% more per 100g.
At Morrisons, budget Savers Baked Beans (410g) were 27p, while standard own-brand Morrisons Baked Beans (410g) were 48p – 78% more. There, the Heinz Baked Beans (415g) were £1.39, more than five times the price.
Tea lovers also pay a hefty price for branded bags. At Tesco, 80 budget-range Stockwell & Co teabags were 78p. Tesco's standard own-brand version cost £1.10 – 41% more for the same number of (admittedly slightly larger) teabags, while 80 Yorkshire teabags were £3.30, more than four times the price of the supermarket’s budget version.
Our research – which looked at supermarkets' average prices from 22 July to 22 August – included budget-range essentials that support a healthy diet and their standard own-brand and top-selling branded equivalents. We included discounts that were available to all shoppers, but not multibuy offers or loyalty prices.
Find out more:Limited choice in convenience stores
While there are likely to be differences in quality and ingredients between product ranges – budget items won’t be identical to standard own-label or branded equivalents – our findings show just how significant the price differences can be between tiers at the supermarket.
But although shoppers who buy their food online or in a big store can choose which items best fit their needs and their budgets, those who rely on supermarket convenience stores often don't have that luxury.
Previous Which? research shows essential budget-line items are hardly ever sold in supermarket convenience stores such as Tesco Express or Sainsbury's Local. To make matters worse, we've also found that supermarkets charge higher prices for the same products at convenience stores, compared with larger stores.
This means that people who rely on convenience stores are likely to pay even higher prices for branded items than we've shown in this article – and they can't simply choose the budget-range alternatives instead because they're not on the shelf.
Sue Davies, Which? head of food policy, said: 'As millions struggle with increased food prices and other high household bills, it's staggering that shoppers face paying over three times more for items if they can’t get to a larger supermarket.
'Which? is calling on all major supermarkets to ensure expensive convenience stores are stocked with a range of essential budget ranges so that hard-pressed customers can afford important staple foods to feed themselves and their loved ones healthily.'
Find out more:Grocery inflation dips but prices still rising
Separate research by Which? has shown that food prices are continuing to rise across the board, with the annual rate of grocery inflation at 12.5% last month.
We analysed almost 26,000 food and drink prices at Aldi, Asda, Lidl, Morrisons, Ocado, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose for our monthly food inflation tracker. August's was the lowest inflation figure recorded since September 2022 and considerably down on the high of 17.2% recorded earlier this year.
A pack of Just Essentials by Asda Pears (500g) was the single item with the highest annual inflation last month, having doubled in price from 45p a year ago to 90p in August.
Find out more:Are supermarkets doing anything to help?
Some supermarkets have taken steps to help customers.
Morrisons is now stocking 10 budget-range items in 500 of its Daily stores and has said 30 more items will follow.
Tesco has said it will swap some branded goods with cheaper branded or own-brand alternatives in its Express stores, but Which? believes it should go further by stocking its cheapest budget ranges.
Asda and Sainsbury’s have so far failed to commit to stocking more affordable foods in their convenience stores, despite the huge difference this could make to their customers.
Do you want to see your supermarket take action to support you through the cost of living crisis?What the supermarkets say
We put the specific products and their price rises to the supermarkets for comment.
Morrisons said: 'This is an unprecedented period of inflation and we are working hard to keep prices down and competitive for our customers while maintaining high standards and availability in all our stores.
'This year we have announced a number of price cuts which have seen the prices of thousands of products lowered.'
Sainsbury’s said its priority was keeping prices low. It said: 'We’re leading the industry on passing through lower costs on the products our customers buy most often and as a result, prices on our top 100 selling products are lower than they were in March.
'Our rate of inflation has been consistently behind the wider market for some time now – passing on less inflation than our major competitors, month after month for the past year and a half. In the last two years we have invested over £560m to keep our prices low and we are focused on saving customers money through key initiatives like our Stamford Street own-brand value range, our biggest ever Aldi Price Match and through Nectar Prices.'
Sainsbury's added that it had tens of thousands of products in its supermarkets to offer shoppers choice and value and said its prices were based on a variety of factors, including production and ingredients.
Find out more:source https://www.which.co.uk/news/article/food-shoppers-could-pay-ten-times-the-price-if-budget-option-is-unavailable-al2mb4s58d7g-aL2mB4S58D7g