Tesco and Asda charging 10% more than Lidl and Aldi for ‘identical’ Christmas food ‘under different labels’
TESCO and Asda have been accused of charging customers 10 per cent more than Lidl and Aldi for nearly identical Christmas food under different labels.
Many of the items from the different supermarkets come from the same supplier - but have been marked up during the run-up to Christmas.
When looking at the small print, eagle-eyed shoppers can see that the product codes on items from Tesco and Asda are the same as Lidl and Aldi - meaning they are nearly identical.
While Tesco is charging £2.65 (£3.40 per 100g) for its Finest Parma Ham, Lidl has priced its Deluxe Prosciutto at £1.99 (£2.21 per 100g), a saving of more than a third, according to a Channel 4 investigation.
And Asda charges £1.67 (£0.76 per 100g) for its Extra Special Blue Stilton, Aldi has priced its Mature Blue Stilton at £1.49 (£0.67 per 100g), a difference of about 12 per cent.
But the supplier for both supermarkets is the same.
KP's Hula Hoops cost £1.70 at Sainsbury's, Tesco and Asda.
But Aldi's 99p Snackrite hoops - which are nearly half the price- are made in the same factory.
Michelin-starred chef Kevin Love previously helped develop some of Lidl's own-label products and has spilt secrets on the industry so that shoppers can be savvier.
He told Luxury Christmas For Less: "The biggest secret is that a lot of those own-brand products are made in the same factories as the branded products."
The programme, hosted by Helen Skelton and Sabrina Grant, airs tomorrow night on Channel 4 and is set to reveal how shoppers are being charged more at different supermarkets.
Included in the scandal is the revelation that shoppers are charged more for fresh turkeys than frozen ones – even if they seem to be of similar quality.
For example, Tesco's Finest Frozen Free Range Bronze Turkey is 27 per cent cheaper than its fresh equivalent.
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And customers are being charged nearly twice as much for a turkey crown than a whole turkey in the run-up to Christmas.
Morrisons The Best Large Whole Turkey costs £6.75 a kilo, compared with £12.75 a kilo for its The Best Large Turkey Crown.
Meanwhile, Tesco's Whole Frozen Turkey costs £4.35 a kilo compared to £8.34 a kilo for a frozen crown.
Paul Kelly, a turkey farmer and breeder said: "Fifty-five per cent of people in the UK buy a crown.
"Why? You've bought the whole bird it came off… So you are paying twice as much for a crown as the whole bird. It's a no-brainer."
Pre-slicing is also expensive in supermarkets and acts as a ploy to get shoppers to spend more - which Helen Skelton says is a "mind game."
The British Retail Consortium said: "There has been a greater focus on savvy shopping… Retailers are responding accordingly.
"This is why we continue to see a wide range of products which are competitively priced, providing the customer with both excellent choice and value."
An Asda spokesperson said :“We have a long heritage in keeping prices low and providing customers with a range of quality products to suit all budgets.
"This is supported by the fact that we have been named Britain’s lowest priced supermarket by the Grocer magazine for more than 20 years in a row.
"The producers of this programme have not shared their findings with us and it is not possible to establish where these products were produced by comparing the packaging alone.”
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A Tesco Spokesperson said: “We know that our customers want competitive prices for the products and brands they buy regularly.
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"That’s why we’re matching Aldi on hundreds of branded and own-brand items through our Aldi Price Match, as well as offering great savings through our Clubcard Prices.
"Our Finest Parma Ham is expertly salted and traditionally dry cured in Italy by a family-run business, with eight generations of expertise dating back to 1812.”
