Shoppers hunting for the best deals often head to Aldi to pay as little as possible for their weekly shop – but the supermarket is now making groceries even more affordable.
All of Aldi’s 912 UK stores will soon mark down perishable products such as bread, meat and fruit and vegetables by 75% before stores close on their last day of life.
Aldi currently reduces the price of some products on their best-before or use-by dates, but is now offering bigger discounts, which are marked with a red sticker.
The move will give savvy customers a bargain while cutting waste, as Aldi works towards a target of halving food waste by 2030.
The time that items are reduced will vary by store, and all products will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis.
Julie Ashfield, Managing Director of Buying at Aldi, said: “Aldi is already known for its low prices, but these discounts will help some shoppers to cut their grocery bills even further – all while helping us reduce food waste.
“Customers should look out for the red stickers when shopping at Aldi, but shoppers need to be quick as I’m sure the products will prove popular.”
Lidl has narrowly beaten Aldi to be named the cheapest supermarket of 2020, according to Which? analysis.
The consumer champion tracked the price of 45 popular branded and own-label products such as Hovis bread, Knorr stock cubes and free-range eggs in eight major supermarkets for at least 100 days between January and December 2020.
In a year when saving money became more important than ever for many households, Which? calculated the average price of each item over the year and the total average cost of all 45 items in the trolley. Lidl was the cheapest, with the basket costing £42.67 on average.
Aldi, where the same basket of items cost £43.01 on average, was the second cheapest – with just 34p separating the German rivals
In recent years, Aldi and Lidl have significantly grown their market share in the UK, but this is the first time they have been included in Which?’s annual study, which now includes own-label items as well as branded ones.
Asda was the third-cheapest supermarket with the same basket of items costing £48.71 on average, however this is still over £5 more than Aldi and Lidl.
Waitrose was the most expensive supermarket in 2020. The average cost of the 45 items on Which?’s shopping list was £68.69, around 60 per cent (£26.02) more than a similar shop at Lidl.
Which? found there were stark price differences between popular own-label products at Waitrose and Lidl. For example, Waitrose’s own-label cooked and peeled cold water prawns would set customers back £4.60 on average, however the equivalent at Lidl only cost £1.99.
Waitrose’s own-label six pack of very large free-range eggs would cost customers £2.47 on average, whereas a similar product is almost half the price – £1.27 – at Lidl.
Ocado was the second most expensive supermarket of 2020 (£66.83), while Sainsbury’s was the third-priciest retailer (£56.38). Asda (£48.71), Morrisons (£53.61) and Tesco (£53.30), as well as the discounters, all came in cheaper.
The pandemic caused a huge upheaval for supermarkets in 2020, as they had to adapt quickly to supply issues caused by panic buying, staff absences in stores and further up the supply chain, and expanding online delivery services.
Neither Aldi nor Lidl offer a full delivery service and would have struggled to compete with supermarkets who ramped up their delivery service at the start of the pandemic, however Aldi offered food parcels for home delivery to help vulnerable people get essential goods.
Natalie Hitchins, Head of Home Products and Services at Which?, said: ““Many households have been under financial pressure due to the pandemic, so getting value for money on their weekly shop has become more important than ever.
“Our analysis shows that customers do not have pay over the odds for their groceries.
“Customers looking to save money this new year and cut down on the cost of their weekly shop should consider shopping around for the best prices.”
Supermarket
Average cost of trolley (45 items)
Lidl
£42.67
Aldi
£43.01
Asda
£48.71
Tesco
£53.30
Morrisons
£53.61
Sainsbury’s
£56.38
Ocado
£66.83
Waitrose
£68.69
Which? also conducts a monthly price analysis for all the major supermarkets. In 2020 Aldi was the cheapest supermarket for six out of the eight months it was included in the price analysis, whereas Lidl was the cheapest supermarket twice.
However, Lidl narrowly beat Aldi to be crowned cheapest supermarket of the year as the methodologies differed. For the monthly price analysis, Which? tracks the price of a range of products, which vary each month, and uses an average to find the cheapest supermarket for the month.
To determine the cheapest supermarket of the year, Which? tracked a selection of 45 items available for at least 100 days in 2020 and added the individual averages.
– All supermarket colleagues to receive at least £10 an hour from April –
– First major UK supermarket to reach key pay milestone –
Morrisons is today announcing a new pay deal for its store colleagues, becoming the first UK supermarket group to guarantee pay of at least £10 an hour.
The new deal will start in April and will mean a significant pay increase for nearly 96,000 Morrisons colleagues. For the majority of colleagues the pay increase is approximately 9%.
Morrisons minimum hourly pay currently stands at £9.20 an hour***. Today’s announcement means that since 2015, Morrisons pay has increased by over 46%.
Three quarters of the costs of the increase will be met by direct payroll investment and a quarter by changing the discretionary annual colleague bonus scheme. Having listened hard to colleagues, they said they would prefer to have a guaranteed amount in their hourly rate and receive it more regularly. So, the annual budget for the discretionary bonus scheme is being rolled into colleagues’ hourly rate, which is paid every four weeks.
David Potts, Morrisons CEO, said: “It’s great to be able to say that in the UK from April this year, if you work at Morrisons supermarkets, you will earn at least £10 an hour. It’s a symbolic and important milestone that represents another step in rewarding the incredibly important work that our colleagues do up and down the country.
“Over the last year we have seen renewed and widespread appreciation in the UK for our colleagues who have had an incredibly tough 2020, working tirelessly so Britain could eat well and shop safely throughout the pandemic. Morrisons colleagues have earned their status as key workers, and this pay increase, many times over.”
Joanne McGuinness, Usdaw National Officer, said: “The new consolidated hourly rate is now the leading rate of the major supermarkets, which is paid every hour and removes the uncertainty of a bonus payment.
“It is a big step forward, shows that Morrisons is prepared to invest in the staff to help grow the business and I hope that the deal is supported by our members in the ballot.
“It’s been a tough time for food retail staff who have worked throughout the pandemic in difficult circumstances. They provide the essential service of keeping the nation fed and deserve our support, respect and appreciation. Most of all they deserve decent pay and this offer is a welcome boost.”
The pay deal announced today is subject to a ballot opening on 27 January 2021.
– Click & Collect slots now available from 447 Morrisons stores across the UK –
– Up to 37,000 slots available every day
– Slots available to book now nationwide for collection tomorrow
Morrisons is expanding its Click & Collect service to 447 stores across the UK to help feed the nation during the third national lockdown.
At the start of March 2020, there were just 14 Morrisons stores offering the Click & Collect service, growing to 280 in the second lockdown in November. Now, Morrisons has extended the service even further to help customers during the latest January lockdown, with 447 stores now fulfilling Click & Collect orders across the country.
Morrisons’ Click & Collect service allows customers to complete a Morrisons.com order online and then collect from a store, without an additional delivery charge and contact-free, at a time that suits them best.
Since the first lockdown, Morrisons has introduced lots of new ways to help customers shop, including:
Its Doorstep Delivery service for elderly and vulnerable customers wishing to place a next day delivery order. Anyone wishing to use the service should call 0345 611 6111 and select option 5
Same-day deliveries with Amazon and Deliveroo for quick and convenient shopping
A selection of Food Boxes available online, which will be delivered next day if ordered before 3pm
Morrisons is also offering 10% discounts on shopping to key workers, which include NHS, Teachers and Blue Light Card holders. There is also an NHS shopping hour which takes place at 6am – 7am, Monday to Saturday to make it easier for the nation’s key workers to do their shopping.
Miles Foster, Morrisons Online Operations Director said: “We are doing everything we can to increase the amount of home delivery slots available but we recognise that the slots get snapped up quickly in lockdown. Click & Collect is an excellent alternative and is proving really popular with customers.
“Since the first lockdown we have expanded our Click & Collect service significantly and it is now available from 447 of our stores across the country. We have slots available now nationwide so our customers can get the groceries they need in a contact-free and convenient way.”
Due to the pandemic restrictions the main North Edinburgh Arts venue will remain closed, but the NEA Pantry (in the old Co-op building on Pennywell Road) is open today from 10-2pm for new members, resuming usual hours from next Wednesday 13 January.
FRESH START PANTRY
New opening hours for Fresh Start Pantry on Ferry Road Drive
If you need help or advice, please call our North Edinburgh phoneline on 0131 356 0220 and we will help or signpost to who can!
GRANTON:HUB PANTRY
The first pantry of the New Year took place yesterday (Wednesday 6th January) from 11 – 12pm.
The pantry will continue to run on Wednesday’s on a fortnightly basis – next one will be Wednesday 20 January.
With tighter restrictions and national lockdowns back in place, I want to reassure you that we are doing everything we can to keep you and our colleagues safe when you shop with us (writes Sainsbury’s Chief Executive SIMON ROBERTS).
Everyone must wear a mask in our stores
Keeping you and our colleagues safe is our absolute priority and we are looking again at all of our safety measures in stores.
We continue to limit the number of people in our shops at any one time and we have greeters outside every supermarket to help with this.
We are also asking all customers to please wear a mask and to shop alone. This will help us limit the number of people shopping at any one time and help everyone shop and work safely.
We’ll also have posters and tannoy messages making it really clear that everyone must wear a mask, unless you have an exemption.
Convenience stores will also have colleagues at the store entrances to help customers and manage numbers. All our stores have hand sanitising stations available for you to use at the entrance and please be assured our colleagues continue to regularly clean trolleys and baskets.
Ramping up online capacity
As people are being asked to stay at home, more people want to shop online and we’re doing everything we can to support you with this. We have increased slots from 340,000 last March to over 800,000 per week now and we’re doing everything we can to increase that number, across both home delivery and click and collect. We continue to give elderly, disabled and vulnerable customers priority access to these slots.
Please shop for others and only buy what you need
We have good availability of products in our stores and online and we have new stock arriving from our suppliers every day. You can still feel confident that you can find what you need at Sainsbury’s and if we all continue to buy just what we need, there will be enough food for everyone.
It’s been really heartening to see so many of you and our colleagues doing what you can to help elderly and vulnerable people in your communities. With clinically extremely vulnerable people required to shield once again in many areas, I would like to encourage everyone to please shop for others if you can. Our Volunteer Shopping Card can help you do this without needing to use cash.
Supporting our communities
With your help, our ‘Help Brighten a Million Christmases’ campaign raised nearly £6 million for over 800 local charitable partners as well as Comic Relief and FareShare. Thank you for all of your support and donations.
To continue to support our communities as we head into this third lockdown, I’m pleased to let you know that we’re creating another £1 million local community fund for all our stores to donate to charities and other good causes in their local area over the coming months.
We are also continuing to support the government’s free school meal vouchers scheme, helping children who qualify for free school meals have access to these meals while schools are closed.
I want to thank all of our colleagues who continue to deal with these challenges that affect their everyday lives while also carrying out a vital role in helping to feed the nation. Thank you too for helping us to keep you and our colleagues safe.
As always, if there is anything you think we could be doing better please let me know.
Morrisons is slashing the price of selected premium scotch whiskies in its Scotland stores to help customers celebrate Hogmanay at home.
From Boxing Day, selected bottles of Glenmorangie, Highland Park, Glenlivet and Laphroaig will be just £20 each in Morrisons, saving customers up to £16 a bottle.
Charles de Villers champagne is also half price and Sorso prosecco has a third off.
The deals are available in Morrisons 60 stores across Scotland until New Year’s Eve.
New research review highlights the health benefits of thearubigins – a polyphenol found only in black tea
Whether it’s clean eating, superfood diets or rapid ways to lose weight, green tea is lauded for its health credentials; with regular black tea – enjoyed by millions of Brits every day – often forgotten.
“New research review highlights the health benefits of thearubigins – a polyphenol found only in black tea”
All this could change with the publication of a new scientific review, in the journal, Nutrition & Food Technology[1], which argues that the little-known polyphenols found in black tea – called thearubigins – have equally powerful health benefits.
Not only this, Brits have the highest thearubigin intake, in Europe with the average tea drinker taking in 327 mg daily – more than double the European average of 156 mg and 50 times higher than the intakes in Spain.
The new review, undertaken by the Tea Advisory Panel – www.teaadvisorypanel.com, examined the results from five human studies and 17 laboratory studies looking specifically at thearubigins, one of the flavonoid group of polyphenols.
The main areas of health which could be influenced by thearubigins were gut health, blood pressure, and anti-cancer effects, in part due to their powerful antioxidant potential and anti-inflammatory effects.
Lead author and tea expert, Dr Tim Bond, comments: “Research on thearubigins is at an early stage in comparison with the wealth of data we have on the benefits of drinking green and black teas.
“However, it’s clear from laboratory studies that thearubigins are important antioxidants and appear to have anticancer and anti-inflammatory properties, as well as regulating gut function.
“Thearubigins could be key to understanding the mechanisms behind the well-known health benefits of black tea and the identification of actives that are responsible for these. We now need to build on this work with clinical trials in human populations”.
Dr Carrie Ruxton, from the Tea Advisory Panel, adds: “Health features are often full of good news about green tea and our much-loved British cuppa can be overlooked.
“This new review is great for people who prefer a regular cup of black tea and adds to the considerable evidence on tea’s role in maintaining heart health, cognitive function and gut health”.
Five ways to celebrate remotely with loved ones this year
Amid the current health crisis, Furniture And Choice shares five tips to keep up with your Christmas traditions remotely
Cooking together, craft competitions and online games among the best ways to stay connected to loved ones
While Christmas rules may allow some family members to get together, this won’t be the case for everyone and certainly not for those with large families or friendship groups.
However, there are many ways to have an amazing Christmas with friends and family even while social distancing or living on Zoom, without letting those all-important traditions fall by the wayside. Interior Style Advisor at Furniture And Choice, Rebecca Snowden, offers her top tips on how to celebrate the festive season with loved ones even if you can’t be physically together:
Take time to cook (and eat) together
The highlight of many people’s Christmas is the big festive lunch and you don’t have to miss out just because you can’t leave your home. Share recipes for what you’re planning to cook with your friends and family beforehand, to make sure you all have the same ingredients on the day. You could even assign courses to different family members if you wanted to – although you won’t be able to eat everyone’s offering!
On the day, arrange a time to video call so you can virtually make the dishes together. This is a great way to chat and feel connected to loved ones as if you’re all cooking and making something special together. There are many apps you can use to do this, including Zoom, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and FaceTime (if you all have Apple devices).
Don’t forget to arrange a time for a video call at the dinner table too, so you can sit down, have a chat and eat your meal together as a family.
Take part in a Christmas craft competition
To really get into the festivities, you could arrange a table centrepiece competition with your friends and family. There are plenty of tutorials for centrepieces online that use things you’ll have lying around the house, and it’s a welcome bit of fun for everyone to enjoy.
One person should act as the judge and taskmaster, sharing the table centrepiece tutorial beforehand and judging everybody’s attempts via a video call or picture submissions to determine who is the most successful. You could even present the winner with a virtual prize, such as a gift card.
This is a great way to have some fun with your loved ones and make something perfect for your Christmas dining table.
Create a playlist to listen to music together
To really feel like you’re sitting down to have lunch with your loved ones, why not create a playlist for everyone to listen to at the same time? You can easily create a playlist on Spotify or Apple Music, and then share this with your family and friends so you can all listen together while you’re cooking or having lunch.
To make things a little more interesting, you could create a public playlist and assign each person certain letters of the alphabet to add artists beginning with that letter. Alternatively, create a playlist theme, such as Christmas number ones, and see who can add the most songs to the playlist that fit the theme you chose.
Play online games
After you’ve eaten your lunch, what could be better than playing a game? Although you won’t be able to sit down and play a board game together as you would usually, there are lots of virtual game apps that allow you to still enjoy fun and games with your loved ones.
Try Kahoot! for a virtual quiz suitable for all the family. Each person can select a quiz category that they want everyone to play, or you can make it extra personal by creating a round specifically about your friends and family.
For something with more of a competitive edge, download Mario Kart Tour on iOs or Android to race as your favourite Mario characters with your friends and family. Fancy something more grown-up? The online version of Cards against Humanity is now available to download – just make sure there are no children present!
Watch a movie together
If you fancy something more chilled during your Christmas break, why not cosy up and watch a festive favourite with your loved ones? Thanks to apps such as Netflix Party, you can now sit and watch Netflix films together virtually – just download the extension on Google Chrome, invite your loved ones to watch a film and you’re good to go.
You can even talk via a chat box while watching the film so you can discuss and share your thoughts as you watch, so it’s a great way to stay connected to your friends and family.
Rebecca continues: “Christmas may be a huge struggle for some this year, as for many it’s a time to be around loved ones to eat, drink and be merry. While rules are allowing some people to get together, there will be many who won’t be able to see everyone they usually would, like extended family or groups of friends.
“But we shouldn’t let this spoil the Christmas spirit, we should try to adapt our plans to make sure we still feel connected with our loved ones.
“Setting up collaborative challenges, sharing recipes and engaging in a family quiz are great ways to keep spirits high and create memories you won’t forget. Why not use this time to start new traditions from the comfort of your own homes and celebrate the Christmas season in style?”
