Is the Countdown price freeze delivering value where customers need it?

Friday, 6 May 2022

ANALYSIS: On Thursday, Countdown announced it would lock in the prices of hundreds of “essentials” over the winter months.

It said the move would give customers more price certainty as inflationary pressure grew.

But some shoppers had questions. Among the 630-odd items to be included in the price freeze were five kinds of smoked salmon, 19 alcoholic drinks and 117 herbs and spices.

Left out were fresh milk, dried pasta, frozen vegetables, toilet paper and toothpaste.

* Consumer NZ: More than 100 complaints made over supermarket food prices

* If Kiwis pay too much at the supermarket, what's the price of cheese overseas?

Countdown is freezing hundreds of prices over winter.

I think mine is a pretty average Kiwi family, better off than some, less well-off than others. My partner is a tradie and I’ve been a journalist for the better part of 15 years so our combined income is reasonable.

But we are by no means rolling in it – the four kids we have between us make sure of that – and we’ve noticed the recent increase in living costs.

As well as 10 and 12-year-old boys who are growing like weeds and eat at least as much as their father, we’ve got a 10-year-old girl and a seven-year-old boy to keep fed and watered.

Even when I think I’m being careful and conservative at Pak ‘n Save, our weekly grocery bill never comes in at less than $350 and is often closer to $400.

Meat to feed the six of us accounts for about a third of that, and we’re not buying the fancy stuff. Most weeks it’s a couple of kilos of mince, a kilo or so of chicken breast, a lump of pork or a chicken to roast and whatever else might be less than $25 a kilo – sometimes corned silverside, sometimes blade or chuck steak for the slow cooker.

Our bread bill is ridiculous, thanks largely to the 10-year-old boy who can polish off most of a loaf in an afternoon.

Again, we’re not buying the posh stuff. The kids inhale Freya’s or Molenberg just as quickly as cheaper brands and when you’re buying about 12 loaves a week, that’s a big chunk of the food budget.

Prices for several smoked salmon products will be locked in at $9 per 100g pack or $90 a kilo.

Instead, I go for the cheapest loaves with a consistency softer than cardboard and they’re usually around $3 each – more than $35 a week just for toast and sandwiches.

We stick to in-season fruit and vegetables and steer clear of pre-packaged salads. For the most part, we’re not fussy about brands, although there are a few items (like decent tea) I can’t bring myself to compromise on, and a bottle of wine or a box of beers is a rare addition to the trolley.

And yet our bill continues to climb.

I’m not complaining – I know we’re lucky to be able to eat as well as we do compared to some families and we could still pull our belt a little tighter – just sharing our reality.

When I look at Countdown’s essentials list, I see very few items we’d consider essential in our house.

Where’s the meat? I know there’s salmon and shaved ham but where’s the chicken, the fresh fish, the beef mince?

I’m not asking for cut-price racks of lamb or scotch fillet, just something I can realistically feed my family on a Tuesday night. Between February and March this year, meat, poultry and fish prices rose 0.9% according to Stats NZ, and they were up almost 9% year-on-year.

Yes, there are plenty of tinned tomatoes to choose from but even charities have acknowledged there are only so many of those a person can stomach.

And the cheese. Cheese has increased in price on an annual basis by almost 14%.

Why, by the supermarket’s own admission, has the price of the Countdown blocks about to be frozen jumped twice since February?

When I asked about those price increases on Thursday, Countdown’s spokesperson included dairy in a list of items which were “very susceptible” to seasonal conditions or global export prices. As a result, prices changed often.

OK, fine. But why are Countdown’s 1kg blocks $2.50 more than the same sized chunk of cheese at Pak ‘n Save on Friday?

Where’s the milk on your list of essentials? The bananas? The dried pasta? The toilet paper?

I also asked Countdown about milk and pasta, and their spokesperson pointed out the fresh pasta and long-life milk options included in their price freeze.

However, a 400g pack (four 100g servings) of Countdown fresh fettucine was $4 on Friday, while a 500g pack (four 125g servings or an extra 100g serving) of San Remo dried fettucine was $2.50.

As for milk, my family ploughs through gallons of the stuff each week (I know we use the metric system in New Zealand but “litres” just doesn’t convey the sheer volume those kids can chug).

Countdown has included eight long-life and plant milks in its price freeze but, while I’m happy for the plant milk drinkers and those who prefer the slightly heavier “mouthfeel” (I apologise) of ultra heat treated (UHT) milk, that’s not what my family and others like it want or need.

UHT is handy to have in the pantry for emergencies, sure. But at $2 a litre, few shoppers are likely to make Countdown’s long-life offering their go-to dairy drink. Not when a three-litre bottle of the fresh variety is $5.84 at Countdown or $5.80 at Pak ‘n Save.

The price freeze might be helpful to some people – particularly if you’re planning a spicy salmon dish. But for the pressure to ease on most Kiwi families, it’s obvious that the supermarkets will need to do more than this – and particularly for the items that make up the bulk of our weekly grocery shops.