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For as long as I can recall, my weekly food shop has always been at Tesco or Asda. If not done in person, I usually rely on their reliable and convenient home delivery service.
However, with the cost of living remaining high and food prices skyrocketing in recent years, I found myself seeking ways to save money, particularly with two young children to cater for. A "big shop" that used to set me back around £100-120 now edges closer to £200.
Several household staples have seen significant price hikes. In fact, from July 2020 to July 2025, food prices surged by an astonishing 37%. This is in stark contrast to the 4.4% increase over the five years prior to 2020. The foods with some of the highest price rises since 2020 are:
Orange juice: up 134% in five years (a typical carton of supermarket brand orange juice has gone from 76p a litre to £1.79 a litre) Olive oil: up 118% since 2020 Eggs: up 57% Dairy products: butter up 53%, yoghurt 50%, milk 46% and cheese 33% Potatoes: up 33% Coffee: up 33% Chocolate: up 17%
In light of these circumstances, I was keen to see if I could trim down my grocery bill. So, I decided to give Lidl a try.
First impressions
My local Lidl is a stone's throw away from an Asda superstore, which significantly overshadows its budget counterpart in size. I fully anticipated having to pop over to Asda to pick up items I couldn't find in Lidl. However, I managed to purchase 60 items in Lidl without missing anything from my list. The compact size of the store also made it much easier to locate what I needed (there's nothing quite as frustrating as struggling to find that last item amongst dozens of supermarket aisles).
Cost
My total shop at Lidl came to £152.95. The equivalent shop in Tesco would have cost me £164.01. That's a significant saving of £11.06 for a weekly shop. Over the course of a year, that equates to a saving of £575.12.
Where were the biggest savings?
Several items I purchased were priced the same in both supermarkets, including:
Four-pack of tinned tuna: £2.49 in both stores Bananas: £1/kg Spreadable butter (own brand): £2.18 Four pints of whole milk: £1.65 1kg jar of Nutella: £6.89. Frozen peas: £1.15 Kitchen towel: £2.55 Cauliflower: £1.19 Avocado: 88p
Interestingly, some items were actually cheaper in Tesco, including:
Salmon (two fillets): £16.15/kg in Tesco (that's £4.20 for 260g) versus £17.82/kg in Lidl (£4.99 for 280g) Beef mince: £10.38/kg in Tesco versus £13.67/kg in Lidl.
However, on balance, far more items were less expensive in Lidl than Tesco. The most substantial savings included:
Medjool dates: £3.99 in Lidl v £5 in Tesco Super nutty granola: £1.99 in Lidl v £3 in Tesco 16 rolls of Andrex toilet roll: £8.99 in Lidl v £9.80 in Tesco Heinz tomato ketchup: £3.99 in Lidl v £4.50 in Tesco Hake fillets: £3.29 in Lidl v £4.40 in Tesco 12 eggs: £2.89 in Lidl v £3.25 in Tesco Potatoes: 89p/kg in Lidl v £1.16/kg in Tesco.
One particular food item where there were considerable savings in Lidl compared to Tesco was nuts. As someone who frequently buys a variety of nuts for their versatility and health benefits, I was astounded by the price difference. Pecans are 45% cheaper in Lidl than Tesco. Almonds, walnuts and cashews are 39% cheaper, and pistachios are 38% cheaper. Given that nuts can be quite pricey, this resulted in a significant overall saving.
Checkout
The checkout experiences at both supermarkets have their pros and cons. In Tesco, I usually choose the self-service tills which, as we all know, can be prone to glitches, leaving you stranded waiting for an attendant to come and rectify them. The scan-as-you-shop service in Tesco is also really handy -- but you can still encounter problems at the checkout.
Lidl doesn't offer self-service tills but, from what I observed, no one had a trolley as laden as mine so I felt self-conscious holding up the queue with my 60 items, while people queued behind me with just a small selection of goods.
What is causing the price increases in food?
Several factors are contributing to the escalating cost of our food, including climate issues (drought in the UK has resulted in lower crop yields this year, whilst extreme weather in other countries has increased the wholesale prices of commodities such as coffee beans and cocoa); the conflict in Ukraine, and governmental decisions.