Cheapest supermarket in March named as food prices continue to soar

By Isabella Boneham
Published 17th Mar 2022, 12:23 BST
Updated 17th Mar 2022, 12:24 BST

Lidl has been named the cheapest supermarket in March, beating rivals Asda and Sainsbury’s.

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A basket of 33 common items cost £53.06 at Lidl last week, compared to £60.19 at Asda, The Grocer reports.

Meanwhile the same goods were priced at £63.26 at Sainsbury’s, £64.55 at Tesco, £72.73 at Morrisons and £85.40 at Waitrose.

As the cost of living crisis bites, food prices are increasing to record levels with a basket of items at Lidl costing 4.5% more than a year ago (an extra £2.31), despite being crowned the cheapest supermarket.

Is Lidl really the cheapest supermarket?

The Grocer revealed that Lidl was the cheapest supermarket in their latest price test.

It was also voted the cheapest supermarket by consumer group Which? in its own rankings in February.

The monthly price test by Which? compares the cost of 23 essential goods including own-brands and items such as Hovis bread over the course of the month to reveal the cheapest grocer.

It found that, on average, shoppers would have paid £24.21 at Lidl, beating rival Aldi by 62p.

Groceries with some of the biggest price differences included PG Tips tea bags, which had a difference of £1.52 between Lidl and Waitrose - and own-label seedless grapes which had a difference of £1.41.

What items were included in the average basket?

The full list of the 33 items used to work out the cheapest supermarket is:

Pink lady apples (six-pack)

Dried apricots own-label

Aquafresh little teeth toothpaste (age 3-5)

Baby potatoes own-label

Sliced beetroot own-label

Black Sheep ale 500ml bottle

Carrots own-label organic

Chocolate cake own-label premium

Coca-Cola Original 1.25l bottle

Domestos original thick bleach 750g

Double Gloucester cheese own-label 250g

Egg noodles own-label medium 250g

Eggs own-label free-range large 12-pack

Fillet steak own-label, premium, 170g

Greek-style yoghurt own-label with honey

Ham and mushroom tagliatelle ready-meal own-label chilled 400g

Hartley’s jelly orange 135g

Instant coffee own-label, gold, 200g

McVities Club biscuits orange

Milk semi-skimmed own-label 1,136ml

Mr Kipling Apple Pies bramley six-pack

Nurofen tablets 16-pack 200mg

Orange own-label smooth from concentrate one litre

Parsnips own-label 500g

Peanuts chilli own-label 200g

Peas own-label frozen 1kg

PG tips pyramid 240 bags 696g

Pulled pork own-label, with smokey BBQ sauce