Asda fruit & veg

Asda proved the cheapest retailer for our special organic shopping list as it continued its strong start to the Grocer 33 year.

The Leeds-based retailer claimed its third consecutive victory and fourth in the first five weeks of the year. At £81.62 Asda came in £1.37 cheaper than this week’s runner-up Sainsbury’s.

It offered the lowest price for 19 products with 11 exclusively cheapest. These included the apples, bananas and onions as well as the whole chicken, Batiste dry shampoo and James White Beet It beetroot.

Sainsbury’s offered the lowest price for nine lines and was exclusively cheapest on five: the mature cheddar, Garnier gel wash, Oatly milk, Pukka teabags and Taylor & Colledge vanilla pods.

Third-placed Tesco came in just under a fiver more expensive than Asda at £86.54. However, the UK’s biggest retailer would have been significantly closer after factoring in its Clubcard Prices initiative. Tesco loyalty card holders would have received an automatic discount of £3.49, leaving Tesco. This would have reduced Tesco’s total bill to £83.05m leaving it £1.43 more expensive than Asda and 6p more expensive than Sainsbury’s.

Tesco was exclusively cheapest for the semi-skimmed milk, peppers, Rowse honey and tomatoes.

Morrisons came in £7.14 more expensive than Asda at £88.76. It offered the lowest price for seven products and was exclusively cheapest for the Cauldron tofu and Whole Earth peanut butter.

Interestingly Waitrose, which has always pointed to its sourcing standards as a reason for higher prices, was indeed more competitive than usual when it came to this organic basket.

At £90.67 it was £9.05 more expensive than Asda. However, it was less than £2 more expensive than Morrisons and £4.13 more expensive than Tesco.

Waitrose offered the lowest price for three products and was exclusively cheapest for the Green & Black’s chocolate bar and Nature’s Path cereal.