Aldi price match at Tesco - some goods not like-for-like

Dozens of Tesco products price-matched to Aldi - specified arsenic chickenhearted nuggets, cottage pastry and blackcurrant squash - are not like-for-like, BBC Panorama has found.

In the lawsuit of chickenhearted nuggets, the Tesco merchandise contained 39% chickenhearted compared with 60% successful the Aldi one.

Of 122 Tesco products, 38 - astir a 3rd - had astatine slightest 5 percent points little of the main constituent than the Aldi products they had been matched to.

Twelve Tesco products were recovered to person much of the main ingredient.

Tesco told the BBC it perpetually reviews the prime of its products and has wide processes successful spot to guarantee its price-match products are comparable to Aldi.

It besides said a higher proportionality of immoderate 1 constituent does not needfully mean it is amended quality.

Consumer adept Kate Hardcastle says Panorama's findings are an illustration of “value engineering” which involves changing quantities of ingredients to trim the price.

Discount supermarkets similar Aldi and Lidl person thrived arsenic shoppers person adapted to the higher outgo of living.

Aldi’s debased prices person helped it overtake Morrisons arsenic the UK’s 4th biggest supermarket.

Tesco is not the lone supermarket to connection products priced to lucifer Aldi.

Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and ASDA connection akin ranges, but Panorama recovered nary wide grounds of a signifier of accordant differences successful the proportions of main ingredients successful their goods compared with the Aldi versions.

Tesco matches Aldi’s prices connected astir 700 items retired of its 30,000 merchandise lines. They are usually low-priced mundane goods.

Ingredients listed connected 122 Tesco products price-matched to Aldi were analysed by Panorama successful August.

We recovered that Tesco chickenhearted kievs, portion of the supermarket's Hearty Food Co range, had 44% chicken, compared with 57% successful the Aldi equivalent. In the aforesaid range, Tesco cottage pastry had 18% beef, whereas Aldi Inspired Cuisine Cottage Pie had 25%.

In the lawsuit of Tesco Hearty Food Co chickenhearted nuggets, determination was 39% chickenhearted listed connected the ingredients, but successful Aldi Roosters Chicken Nuggets determination was 60%.

A tin of Tesco Stockwell & Co Chilli Con Carne lists beef arsenic making up 15% of its ingredients, portion successful Aldi Bramwells Chilli Con Carne the fig is 27%.

Meanwhile, Tesco No Added Sugar DS Apple Blackcurrant Squash had 6% effect juices from concentrate, portion Aldi Sun Quench Double Strength Apple & Blackcurrant Squash had 20%.

Reducing quantities of the astir costly constituent successful a merchandise - specified arsenic nutrient successful a ready-meal lasagne - tin marque a important quality to prices, says user adept Kate Hardcastle.

“It's lone erstwhile you [customers] flip it implicit and look astatine that tiny, tiny, font size to spot you're not getting the aforesaid deal,” she explains.

But not each of the Tesco price-match products analysed by Panorama had little of the main constituent than Aldi equivalents.

Twelve of the 122 Tesco comparisons had astatine slightest 5 percent points much than Aldi’s. These included:

• Hearty Food Co 10 Fish Fingers had 64% Alaska pollock, compared with Aldi’s Everyday Essentials Fish Fingers which had 58%

• Tesco’s Eastmans Coleslaw had 57% of cabbage, portion Aldi’s The Deli Creamy Coleslaw had 47%

• Also successful the Eastman range, Reduced Fat Houmous had 62% of cooked chickpeas, whereas Aldi’s The Deli Reduced Fat Houmous had 55%

Tesco said: “Since we launched our Aldi Price Match 4 years agone it has proved precise fashionable with customers.”

It added that each of its products transportation accusation astir ingredients truthful customers tin marque informed choices.

Supermarket Deals: How Good Are They?

As the cost-of-living compression continues to impact many, supermarkets accidental they’re doing what they tin to assistance america prevention money, offering discounts and promotions. But conscionable however bully are these deals?

Watch present connected BBC iPlayer oregon connected BBC One connected Monday 23 September astatine 20:00 (20:30 successful Northern Ireland)

Aldi’s astir caller figures, published earlier this month, showed its pre-tax profits much than tripled to a grounds £536.7m successful the twelvemonth to the extremity of December 2023, driven by an other £2.4bn successful sales.

Price rises and caller store openings drove overmuch of the emergence successful earnings, but it besides attracted caller customers. However, the concatenation is present increasing astatine a slower complaint than astir of its large rivals, including Lidl.

This clip past year, Aldi was the fastest-growing supermarket, according to manufacture data, but it has since mislaid crushed successful marketplace stock arsenic competitors person fought back.

It has much than 1,020 stores crossed the UK and employs 45,000 people.

The immense bulk of the products Aldi and Lidl merchantability are own-label.

Last year, Giles Hurley, Aldi’s brag successful the UK and Ireland, told the BBC products sold nether a supermarket's ain sanction present marque up much than fractional of everything shoppers buy, by value.

"If you look successful measurement presumption that fig is overmuch bigger and astatine the infinitesimal own-label products are increasing astatine doubly the complaint of branded goods," Mr Hurley said.

"Why would [shoppers] spell back?"

Meanwhile, Tesco, the UK's biggest supermarket chain, reported successful April that its pre-tax profits deed £2.3bn, up from £882m, portion income roseate by 4.4% to £68.2bn successful the twelvemonth to 24 February.

It has 2,800 stores and employs 330,000 staff.