Waitrose Essentials branded 'insulting' as woman reviews budget range
28.08.2022 - 17:37
/ dailyrecord.co.uk
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...
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