Supermarket own-brand products can cost more than the premium items they are meant to undercut, research by The Sunday Times has found.
At Sainsbury’s “basics” bananas cost £1.15 for eight but, bought loose, Fairtrade bananas cost just 52p per kilogram, compared with £1 for a kilo of the basics range, The Sunday Times showed.
The supermarket also sells pre-packed Basics broccoli florets at £2.67 a kilo when it costs £2 per kilo to buy broccoli loose and Basic aubergines sell for £3.60 a kilo when loose aubergines can be bought for £1 each at £3.22 a kilo.
Few people realise the difference in price because there is no comparison on weight.
A similar trend takes place in Tesco where a block of Value mature cheddar costs £2.93 for 430g, which works out at £6.81 per kilo when Creamfields mature cheddar would be cheaper at £6.22 per kilo.
Also at Tesco, a three pack of “market value” garlic costs 75p. This is equivalent to 78p per 100g, which is more expensive than larger standard garlic that costs 44p per 100g, the newspaper found.
The Sunday Times reported: “A Sainsbury’s spokesman said its basics bananas were its “cheapest pre-packed bananas”.
“He said there had been heavy price cuts on all bananas and that the basics range included 200 items that cost 50p or less. A Tesco spokesman said Creamfields cheese was intended to be a discounted product and all of its cheeses offered “great value” for customers.”
No comments yet