asda-tesco price war

Asda and Tesco are going head to head in a groceries price war to kick off the new year.

Asda today launched a new phase of its That’s Better price cuts campaign, slashing the cost of a string of household grocery products to 50p each, including tinned and packet items such as Heinz Beanz, Unilever’s Pot Noodle and Napolina tomatoes.

The move, backed by TV advertising for its ‘50p cupboard favourites’, is the latest phase of the campaign, which started in September last year with reductions of an average of 15% across its fresh range.

However, Tesco, which already offers its Brand Guarantee scheme to shoppers to compete on branded sales, has reacted to the cuts by also announcing price cuts to similar products.

Tesco will from tomorrow reduce the cost of Heinz soup from 95p to 50p, Heinz Beanz and spaghetti from 75p to 50p, and it has also reduced Unilever’s Pot Noodle from £1 to 60p.

An Asda spokesperson said: “At Asda we keep our prices famously low year round. In January we’ve lowered the prices of household essentials so our customers can re-stock their cupboards with great value food, drink and household staples like baked beans and biscuits.”

Other brands involved in the price war include Ainsley Harriott packet products.

Despite widespread predictions of soaring supermarket prices this year, amid fierce negotiation between supermarkets and suppliers over risings costs and exchange rates, 2017 has started with signs that there will be brutal competition among the leading supermarkets, following on from the skirmishes over Christmas.

Over the festive season supermarkets were selling vegetables for as little as 19p per packet.

This week Morrisons kicked off the new year by launching the latest salvo in the supermarket price war.

Yesterday, it cut the price of 800 lines, including many healthy eating lines and ‘superfoods’ such as avocado and kale, which it said would help families eat wholesome food in January.