asda vegan pizza

Source: Asda

Across Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Morrisons and Waitrose, the cost of chilled and frozen pizza & garlic bread is up 1% year on year

Asda shoppers are facing a more expensive big night in, after the supermarket ramped up the price of dozens of pizza SKUs.

Across Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Morrisons and Waitrose, the cost of chilled and frozen pizza & garlic bread is up 1% year on year, with the average SKU having risen by 3p to £2.48 from £2.45 [Edge by Ascential 52 w/e 15 January 2020].

This increase has largely been driven by Asda’s average price rises, by an average of 15p per item. The grocer has upped the cost of around 40 own-label pizzas, as well as a small selection of Goodfella’s pizzas and own-label garlic bread SKUs.

Across chilled own-label pizza, Asda most recently added 27p to the price of its 14-inch Stonebake Hawaiian (687g), now £4.38, and 26p to its 14-inch Deep Pan American Hot (909g), now £4.26.

At £3.99, Asda’s own-label 14-inch Thin & Crispy Cheese Melt (550g) is 25p costlier. It has also made its Cheese & Ham Mini Pizzas (4x89g) 20p dearer at £2.20, while its 10-inch Deep Pan Mighty Meat Feast (552g) is up 17p from £3.42 to £3.55.

It comes after The Grocer reported in December that an assortment of Asda’s frozen range of own-label deep pan pizzas had been made smaller without any corresponding reduction in price [Edge by Ascential 52 w/e 18 December 2019]. Asda’s frozen Deep Pan BBQ Chicken Pizza shrank from 390g to 352g while the price remained 95p – and its Deep Pan Meat Feast actually became 2p more expensive at 95p after shrinking from 390g to 349g.

“We offer a large selection of pizzas – including our new vegan pizza [pictured], which launched this week – and have something to suit all tastes and budgets,” says an Asda spokesman. “We are passionate about keeping prices low for customers and with pizzas starting from just 70p, our range, quality and value is market-leading.”

Elsewhere, Waitrose recently added 5p to the price of Pizza Express Classic Vegan Giardiniera (272g) – now £5.55 – while Tesco Finest Basil Pesto & Tomato Flatbread (245g) went up 25p to £2.45.

In several retailers, Goodfella’s frozen pizzas have seen price rises following an overhaul by the Nomad Foods brand. “Last year, we invested significantly in renovating and innovating across our core ranges, including Deep, Thin and Takeaway with the aim of improving product quality,” says a Goodfella’s spokesman.

“The updates we made included the addition of more cheese, improved sauce and topping weights and a more rustic and natural dough finish.

“The enhanced product quality is reflected in the price of our products, which have been updated to help drive value into the frozen pizza category.”

That means Goodfella’s Takeaway Slice N’ Share Fully Loaded Pepperoni pizza (553g) is now £3.50 in Tesco, Asda and Morrisons, having gone up as much as 50p.