Which is the best place to get your fresh veggies: Woolworths, Coles, Aldi, or an independent retailer?
- Replies 10
Dramatic increases in grocery prices are affecting all of us right now, but those who follow a diet that is primarily plant-based are particularly impacted.
Because of this, more and more consumers—especially our vegetarian and vegan friends—are searching for strategies to reduce their grocery bills by understanding where to find the best deals on fresh produce.
As a writer for news.com.au and someone who follows a vegetarian diet in her daily life, Brooke Rolfe has recently made it her mission to inform others about the grocery stores that, on average, have the lowest prices for fresh produce.
"While I love a good iceberg as much as the next person, there is absolutely zero chance you’ll ever catch me splashing more than a couple of dollars on one," she said.
Because of this, she decided to do some "good journalism" and research how she would continue to eat mostly vegetables as inflation keeps going up.
An unexpected retailer has cheaper fresh vegetable prices than its competitors. Credit: OverSixty.
Because it is the store that is most convenient for her, Brooke typically does her weekly grocery shopping at Coles.
Both the store's location and the fact that she can add points to her FlyBuys card are handy for her, despite the fact that she has admitted that she is unsure of what the points are good for.
But as the trip to the supermarket grew more and more stressful in recent weeks, she made the decision to "take a chance" on a company that sends seasonal vegetables in a box right at your doorstep – Box Fresh delivery.
"For $56, plus a $1 delivery fee, I was immediately thrilled at the quantity and quality of what the box contained, and thought it was an exceptional deal given all I had to do was push a few buttons on my phone," she said.
There were plenty of vegetables inside the box, including mushrooms, capsicum, avocado, tomato, bok choy, cucumber, and snap peas. "All items I’ve definitely walked away from in the supermarket (at some point) because of price," said Brooke.
She was initially overjoyed to finally be able to enjoy many of her favourite vegetables at discount prices, all of which were delivered to her doorstep. She even put in a second order for the week after!
However, curiosity got the best of her and she wondered how much she really "saved" if she bought the vegetables at her local supermarkets instead.
Brooke didn't expect Aldi to have such a variety of fresh produce in the store. Credit: News.com.au.
So, she listed all of the things that came in the Box Fresh delivery and made her way to Aldi to buy the same set of fresh produce. Brooke admitted that she had not expected to find every vegetable because of either supply constraints or a lack of stock at the store.
But her low expectations turned out to be misplaced.
"As my arm grew redder and more strained on each bend to collect a listed item, I soon realised that Aldi was in contention to not only have all the items, but also to come out cheaper," she said.
"The quantities weren’t all exact, however, and I had to go with items that were most similar. Box Fresh had delivered uncooked beetroot, but all Aldi had was cooked, for example. Similarly, Aldi didn’t have loose mushrooms, so I grabbed a 200g packet, as opposed to the 180g bag packet by Box Fresh," she added.
And when it was time to check out the items, she was taken aback to discover that everything (with the exception of the sugar snap peas, which were not available at the time) could be purchased for a total of only $39.57, which is a savings of $17.43 in comparison to the price of Box Fresh.
"Frankly, I’m embarrassed," said Brooke. "I truly thought I was getting an amazing deal!"
Brooke's Fresh Box delivery and her fresh produce bought from Aldi. Credit: News.com.au.
Of course, it should go without saying that including the two other major supermarkets would be necessary for this comparison to be considered informative. So how do Woolworths and Coles compare?
The two supermarkets were pretty far from where Brooke is located so she "shopped" on their websites instead.
"I was surprised I had more trouble locating items with both Coles and Woolies than Aldi," she said, adding, "For whatever reason, I had always thought of Aldi as being great for value but not necessarily variety. Once again, everything I’ve ever known has been challenged."
After putting the listed items on her online trolley, her Coles expenses totalled $48.33, which, even with a few items missing, was $8.76 more expensive than Aldi.
With the exception of a few cents here and there, prices were largely the same on the Woolworths website.
The total purchase, including a few items that were missing, came to $49.76, making it $10.19 more expensive than Aldi and $1.43 more expensive than Coles.
Overall, Brooke discovered that ordering her vegetables through the Box Fresh delivery service was the most expensive option.
However, when you factor in Coles' delivery fee, which starts at $14, and Woolworths' delivery fee, which starts at $17, both major retailers end up being more expensive overall.
But still, Aldi still wins the prize for having the most affordable fresh veggies among the major supermarkets!
We hope this information has been helpful for you, members!
For more tips and tricks on how to save money on groceries, check out one of our previous articles here.
Because of this, more and more consumers—especially our vegetarian and vegan friends—are searching for strategies to reduce their grocery bills by understanding where to find the best deals on fresh produce.
As a writer for news.com.au and someone who follows a vegetarian diet in her daily life, Brooke Rolfe has recently made it her mission to inform others about the grocery stores that, on average, have the lowest prices for fresh produce.
"While I love a good iceberg as much as the next person, there is absolutely zero chance you’ll ever catch me splashing more than a couple of dollars on one," she said.
Because of this, she decided to do some "good journalism" and research how she would continue to eat mostly vegetables as inflation keeps going up.
An unexpected retailer has cheaper fresh vegetable prices than its competitors. Credit: OverSixty.
Because it is the store that is most convenient for her, Brooke typically does her weekly grocery shopping at Coles.
Both the store's location and the fact that she can add points to her FlyBuys card are handy for her, despite the fact that she has admitted that she is unsure of what the points are good for.
But as the trip to the supermarket grew more and more stressful in recent weeks, she made the decision to "take a chance" on a company that sends seasonal vegetables in a box right at your doorstep – Box Fresh delivery.
"For $56, plus a $1 delivery fee, I was immediately thrilled at the quantity and quality of what the box contained, and thought it was an exceptional deal given all I had to do was push a few buttons on my phone," she said.
There were plenty of vegetables inside the box, including mushrooms, capsicum, avocado, tomato, bok choy, cucumber, and snap peas. "All items I’ve definitely walked away from in the supermarket (at some point) because of price," said Brooke.
She was initially overjoyed to finally be able to enjoy many of her favourite vegetables at discount prices, all of which were delivered to her doorstep. She even put in a second order for the week after!
However, curiosity got the best of her and she wondered how much she really "saved" if she bought the vegetables at her local supermarkets instead.
Brooke didn't expect Aldi to have such a variety of fresh produce in the store. Credit: News.com.au.
So, she listed all of the things that came in the Box Fresh delivery and made her way to Aldi to buy the same set of fresh produce. Brooke admitted that she had not expected to find every vegetable because of either supply constraints or a lack of stock at the store.
But her low expectations turned out to be misplaced.
"As my arm grew redder and more strained on each bend to collect a listed item, I soon realised that Aldi was in contention to not only have all the items, but also to come out cheaper," she said.
"The quantities weren’t all exact, however, and I had to go with items that were most similar. Box Fresh had delivered uncooked beetroot, but all Aldi had was cooked, for example. Similarly, Aldi didn’t have loose mushrooms, so I grabbed a 200g packet, as opposed to the 180g bag packet by Box Fresh," she added.
And when it was time to check out the items, she was taken aback to discover that everything (with the exception of the sugar snap peas, which were not available at the time) could be purchased for a total of only $39.57, which is a savings of $17.43 in comparison to the price of Box Fresh.
"Frankly, I’m embarrassed," said Brooke. "I truly thought I was getting an amazing deal!"
Brooke's Fresh Box delivery and her fresh produce bought from Aldi. Credit: News.com.au.
Of course, it should go without saying that including the two other major supermarkets would be necessary for this comparison to be considered informative. So how do Woolworths and Coles compare?
The two supermarkets were pretty far from where Brooke is located so she "shopped" on their websites instead.
"I was surprised I had more trouble locating items with both Coles and Woolies than Aldi," she said, adding, "For whatever reason, I had always thought of Aldi as being great for value but not necessarily variety. Once again, everything I’ve ever known has been challenged."
After putting the listed items on her online trolley, her Coles expenses totalled $48.33, which, even with a few items missing, was $8.76 more expensive than Aldi.
With the exception of a few cents here and there, prices were largely the same on the Woolworths website.
The total purchase, including a few items that were missing, came to $49.76, making it $10.19 more expensive than Aldi and $1.43 more expensive than Coles.
Overall, Brooke discovered that ordering her vegetables through the Box Fresh delivery service was the most expensive option.
However, when you factor in Coles' delivery fee, which starts at $14, and Woolworths' delivery fee, which starts at $17, both major retailers end up being more expensive overall.
But still, Aldi still wins the prize for having the most affordable fresh veggies among the major supermarkets!
We hope this information has been helpful for you, members!
For more tips and tricks on how to save money on groceries, check out one of our previous articles here.
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