The 'cheaper' supermarket option that 50% of the country can't access

Tuesday, 24 October 2023

Bluff's Galley Takeaways owner Diane Williamson says rising business costs are resulting in more expensive fish and chips.

Tucking in to your favourite Friday night takeaway may be a little tougher these days, as the price of ready-to-eat meals has increased 8.6% in the past year.

But as Consumer NZ has found, making your own “fakeaway” at home can often save you money. It said online grocery competitor Supie often provided some of the cheapest ingredients.

For six weeks, the consumer watchdog has chosen a popular takeaway each week and worked out how much it would cost to cook that meal for four people.

Supie was the cheapest place to make butter chicken ($57.71), pizza ($55.47) and pad Thai ($56.66) when compared to all supermarkets.

For pad Thai week, Supie was 23% cheaper than the most expensive supermarket, Countdown, which was $73.54.

When it came to burgers, it was 16c more than the cheapest option, Pak’nSave, and 19c more for lasagne. But when it came to vegetarian nachos, it was the second most expensive option, at $53.35.

But the small retailer, which plans to open high-tech physical stores in the coming year, is currently only available in Auckland, Waikato and Tauranga.

Founder Sarah Balle said despite being in only three regions, it was 50% of the country’s population.

Consumer NZ has found making your own takeaways at home is often cheaper.

“Which is significant. We’re looking to expand that to the rest of the North Island early next year, which will increase access to 77% of the population.”

Senior investigative writer at Consumer Chris Schulz said a stand-out from the survey so far was that Countdown and New World were the most expensive supermarkets, often taking turns swapping places at number one.

“Countdown, I think, has always had an image of being somewhere in the middle, between New World and Pak’nSave, in terms of its prices. But I think the survey shows that’s no longer the case.

Supie looks to expand throughout the North Island next year.

“In Supie’s case, it can afford to offer lower prices because it doesn’t have retail stores and associated rent,” he said.

But he cautioned that with Supie, customers would need to pay an annual membership fee of $99 to get free shipping, which was usually $15, to make using it regularly worthwhile.

The $99 yearly membership was $8.25 per month and customers received unlimited free delivery and a minimum of 2% cashback on everything they purchased.

The monthly membership was $14 per month, which provided unlimited free deliveries and minimum 2% cashback on all purchases.

“That may offset some of the savings you think you’re making shopping there rather than at a retail supermarket,” he said.

Schulz said what stood out was how much consumers could save by comparing prices and shopping around.

“There were often big differences in the prices of cheese, avocados, mince and chicken between the four supermarkets. Sometimes you can save $2 to $3 on an individual item by going somewhere else.

“It really doesn’t pay to do all your shopping at one supermarket any more. The savvy shoppers are grabbing bits and pieces from different supermarkets, depending on specials and changes in prices week-to-week.”

A Countdown spokesperson said the supermarket operated in a market where competitors offered different prices on the same products at any point in time.

“However, we work closely with our supply partners to keep food as affordable as possible for New Zealanders. As we head into Christmas and 2024, our focus continues to be on delivering value for our customers and keeping food and groceries as affordable as possible.”