Asda and Sainsbury’s hike hundreds of own-label items including fish fingers, cereal and biscuits
ASDA and Sainsbury's have hiked hundreds of own-label food prices, with the cost of cereal, biscuits and fish fingers all rising.
Data compiled by trade magazine reveals that Asda upped hundreds of own-label prices last month.
This follows closely in the footsteps of Sainsbury's which did the same earlier this year.
In total, over 500 prices have gone up at both supermarkets, although Asda has cut the price of 200 items since the start of the year and Sainsbury's has cut 80 prices.
Popular items hit by the hikes include biscuits, cakes, soft drinks, cereal, bacon, sausages and ready meals.
At Asda, for example, a 2L bottle of Cola has gone up by 14 per cent from 44p to 50p meaning it's no longer the joint cheapest own-brand Cola on the market.
Sainsbury's now takes this crown with its 45p Cola.
Asda has also upped the price of its Choco Snaps cereal by 6 per cent from £1.45 to £1.54, while a 30-pack of fish fingers now costs £3.98 - up 14 per cent from £3.50.
Both of these items can now be brought for less with Tesco charging £1.20 for Choco Snaps and Sainsbury's charging £2.80 for a 30-box of fish fingers.
Asda's Extra Special 6 Thick Cut Dry Cured Smoked Back Bacon Rashers has also risen by 35p (16 per cent) from £2.15 to £2.50.
If you buy all these items on a weekly basis you'd have previously spend £7.54 but that's now rocketed by nearly £1 to £8.52.
Meanwhile Sainsbury's has upped the price of digestives by 10 per cent taking costs to 55p - although it's the only one of the four major supermarkets to sell 500g packs.
The supermarket has also increased the price of rich tea biscuits by 13 per cent to 45p and the price of its olive oil spread by 5 per cent to £1.15.
Rich tea biscuits (200g) are now cheapest at Asda which charges 45, while you can pick up the same size olive oil spread from Tesco for just 95p.
Its 250g salted organic butter block has also gone up in price by 3 per cent from £1.80 to £1.85.
If you bought these four items on a weekly basis your shopping will jump up by 20p from £3.80 to £4.
A merger between Asda and Sainsbury's was recently blocked amid fears it would push up prices for drivers and shoppers.
An Asda spokesperson said: “Keeping prices low for customers is in our DNA and market data clearly shows we’ve been holding back inflation on commodity items.
"Our customers can be assured that we’ll continue to invest in keeping prices low across both own brand and branded items, as evidenced by the Grocer for the past 21 years."
A Sainsbury’s spokesperson added: “The cost of individual products is determined by a number of factors and prices can fluctuate, both up and down, as a consequence.
"We remain committed to providing our customers with great quality and value every time they shop with us.”
How to get a discount on your food shopping
IF you're wondering how to get a discount on your shopping everyday, we explain.
- Prepare - Research the items you want to buy and find out the cheapest price. Websites such as PriceSpy, PriceHistory and CamelCamelCamel will give you historical data on prices so you can see how much you should pay.
- Get following - Follow your favourite shops on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and sign up to its deals newsletter to get the latest on any offers. We post the best deals in our too.
- Look - Search for discount codes on websites such as MyVoucherCodes.co.uk and VoucherCodes.co.uk to see if you can get money off at the till.
- Earn cashback - Check websites including Quidco and TopCashback BEFORE you place your order. Cashback websites PAY you to shop. All you have to do is click through their links and the money is added to your online account, usually within 14 days.
More on food
But in a bid to help save the planet, Sainsbury’s will now pay you 5p for every plastic bottle or drinks can you recycle.
Iceland launched a trial in May last year and pays customers with vouchers worth 10p for every item recycled.
Meanwhile Morrisons, which also began trialling the scheme in 2018, gives shoppers 100 "More" loyalty points worth £1 for every 20 bottles recycled - but you need to earn 5,000 points before you get a Morrisons voucher.
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