While many shoppers are fans of Home Bargains, for everything from their cleaning products to their seasonal furniture and decorations, it is not the first place that comes to mind when considering where to do your weekly food shop. But with the cost of living rising and budgets getting tighter, many shoppers are looking to make savings wherever they are available.
Reporter Emma Gill decided to give Home Bargains a go for her weekly shop and when she compared the prices to supermarket chain Asda she was very surprised as the Manchester Evening News reports.
Some of the bigger Home Bargains stores now have large fridge and freezer sections and shelves full of fresh fruit and vegetables. Attempting to do a big shop, Emma got everything she went in for - and more. And some of the prices were ridiculous, ridiculously cheap that is. For more What's On news you can sign up to our newsletter here.
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These bargains included a massive 1.2kg bag of apples for just £1, a 250g punnet of strawberries for just £1, and a 2kg bag of white potatoes for 69p. Asda has now launched a price match with Home Bargains, indicating the big supermarket sees Home Bargains as some competition.
Two dozen of the products Emma bought from Home Bargains were actually cheaper than Asda's prices - some of them massively so. A 900g pack of McCain crispy French fries, for instance, cost £1.69 at Home Bargains, compared with £2.50 at Asda. Home Bargains' 1kg bag of Laila Basmati rice cost £1.49, compared with £2; and a Mr Kipling Battenberg cake was almost half the price at 99p, compared with £1.95. Even Asda's two for £3.50 offer wouldn't make them any cheaper than the Home Bargains price.
And it wasn't the only time where Asda's multibuys and 'roll back' promotions still proved more expensive. Home Bargains has deals and bulk buys of its own - like a two-pack of 888ml Fairy non-bio laundry gel for £7.49. Individually they're on offer at Asda for £4.50 each, an increase of £1.51 for the pair.
Among the other products that proved cheaper at Home Bargains were a three-pack of 200g Heinz Beanz, £1.39 compared with Asda's £1.50; HP Classic BBQ sauce 465g, £1.49 compared with £2.29; Soreen lunchbox loaves, 99p compared with £1.50 and an eight-pack of 500ml Highland sparkling waters for £2.19 compared with £2.70.
Home Bargains did not always come out on top and for some products Asda was cheaper. The Asda Smart Price range, which is changing to the Just Essentials range, helps keep the cost of many basics down - like its 500g pack of spaghetti for just 23p, compared with our 65p Home Bargains pack, and its 1.5kg bags of flour for just 55p, compared with £1.
Another Asda initiative proving to help make products cheaper is the Dropped & Locked promotion, where Asda has reduced the price of over 100 products and keeping them at this low price until the end of the year.
A spokesperson for Home Bargains said: "We know that many people, our loyal customers included, are struggling with the current cost of living. We are doing everything we can to keep prices as low as possible, including absorbing price increases where we can. We will continue to work to help our customers through these challenging times."
A spokesperson for Asda said: "As the lowest priced major supermarket, we always provide our customers with low prices and great choice. Alongside 30,000 branded and own-brand products, we recently announced that we would be matching the price of 100 health, beauty, and household items with Home Bargains to ensure our customers don't need to shop around to find the best value."
Here is Emma's full list of products from Home Bargains:
British white potatoes 2kg - 69p
Yoghurts - four for £1
Bananas - 99p
Sliced corned beef 100g - £1
Chicken breast 450g - £2.29
Beef mince 5% fat 400g - £2.49
Fajita kit - £1.59
Strawberries 250g - £1
Sweetbite peppers 150g - 99p
Typhoo 300 teabags - £2.29
Sharwood's butter chicken sauce 720g - £1.69
Tuna flakes 2x160g 49p each - 98p
Heinz Beanz 3x200g pack - £1.39
Naan bread - 49p
Spaghetti 500g - 65p
Cucumber - 49p
Plums (minimum 300g) - 69p
Bird's Eye crispy chicken (2-pack) - £1.19
McCain crispy French fries 900g - £1.69
Country Life unsalted butter - £1.59
Tex Mex trio - £1.29
Chopped tomatoes with herbs 2x400g 45p each - 90p
Mature cheddar - £1.85
Medium eggs 15-pack - £1.89
Mars ice creams 7-pack - £2.25
Vimto 3ltr - £2.99
Fairy fabric conditioner 52w - £2.99
Sugar 1kg - 62p
Carex shower gel - 99p
Lattes 10x14g sachets - 79p
Wafer thin roast ham 200g - £1.29
Plain flour 1.5kg - £1
Skimmed milk 2ltr - £1.29
Rice savoury chicken microwave pack 2 x 250g - 98p
Chocolate chip brioche rolls 8-pack - £1.05
Laila Basmati rice 1kg - £1.49
Twix 16-pack - £1.99
Malt vinegar 568ml - 39p
Pot Noodle 90g - 70p
Little gem lettuce 2-pack - 65p
Unsmoked bacon medallions 8 rashers 250g - £1.49
HP Classic BBQ sauce 465g - £1.49
Bicarbonate of soda 500g - 99p
Utterly Butterly 1kg - £1.95
Carex hand wash 500ml - £1.59
Pears - 99p
Anti-bac wipes pack of 80 - 75p
Elvive conditioner 250ml - £1.99
Elvive shampoo 250ml - £1.99
Right Guard deodorant - £1.45
Napolina pizza sauce 430g - £1.09
Distilled white vinegar 568ml - 59p
Roberts thick white bread 800g - 99p
Soft and Gentle deodorant 250ml - £1.49
Mr Kipling Battenberg 256g - 99p
Walker's Baked salt and vinegar crisps - two for £2.50
Garlic gold spread - 89p
Soreen lunchbox loaves - 99p
Sheldon's oven bottom muffins - 99p
Garlic 4x 55/60mm - 59p
Warburtons crumpets 9-pack - £1
Highland sparkling water 8x500ml - £2.19
Fairy all-in-one dishwasher tabs 16-pack - £1.99
Flash kitchen spray 450ml - 99p
Thick bleach 750ml - 49p
Fairy non-bio laundry gel 2x888ml 48w - £7.49
Colgate toothpaste 100ml - 99p
Kitchen foil 15m - 99p
Ambrosia custard pots 4x125g pots - £1.69
Apples 1.2kg - £1
Swing bin liners drawstring 15-pack - 99p
Galaxy cake bars - 99p
Sunny dried fruits 6x28g - 89p
Cookie Crisp cereal 450g - £1.99
Tunnocks Teacakes six-pack - 99p
Paracetamol - 29p
Toilet rolls 18-pack - £4.79
Total £108.41
Home Bargains v Asda (HB / Asda)
Sliced corned beef 100g - £1 / 125g £2
Strawberries 250g - £1 / 227g £1.19
Heinz Beanz 3x200g pack - £1.39 / £1.50
Bird's Eye crispy chicken (2-pack) - £1.19 / rollback £1.25
McCain crispy French fries 900g - £1.69 / £2.50
Mars ice creams 7-pack - £2.25 / offer 3 packs of four for £5
Lattes 10x14g sachets - 79p / 8x17g 85p
Chopped tomatoes with herbs 2x400g 45p each - 90p / 2x50p £1
Laila Basmati rice 1kg - £1.49 / £2
Little gem lettuce 2-pack - 65p / 75p
HP Classic BBQ sauce 465g - £1.49 / £2.29
Utterly Butterly 1kg - £1.95 / 1kg Clover (closest equivalent) £2.50
Carex hand wash 500ml - £1.59 / 250ml £1
Roberts thick white bread 800g - 99p / £1.20
Soft and Gentle deodorant 250ml - £1.49 / £1.70
Mr Kipling Battenberg 256g - 99p / £1.95
Soreen lunchbox loaves - 99p / £1.50
Sheldon's oven bottom muffins - 99p / £1.20
Warburtons crumpets 9-pack - £1 / £1.10
Highland sparkling water 8x500ml - £2.19 / £2.70
Fairy non-bio laundry gel 2x888ml 48w - £7.49 / 2x888ml £9 (roll back to £4.50 each)
Apples 1.2kg - £1 / 2 x 500g cheapest Farm Stores £1.30
Galaxy cake bars 5-pack 99p / 10-pack £2.50
Tunnocks Teacakes six-pack - 99p / £1.10
