THERE’S a shop you’ve probably never heard of selling top brands like Coca-Cola and Walkers and it’s cheaper than Tesco and Asda.
Grocery prices have rocketed and many of us are finding ways to cut costs wherever we can.
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The Big Food Company is an online grocery store that sells products at a lower price than your usual supermarket giants.
The products can no longer be sold at major supermarkets but are still perfectly safe to eat.
It might be that they’re past their best before date but are within their use by date.
Some of the items might be jumbo packs of products, but shoppers can also pick up singular stock too.
For example, at the time of writing The Big Food Company was selling a 24 pack of Coca-Cola cans for £9.99.
In comparison, Asda was selling the same box of fizzy drinks for £14.99 – that’s a £5 difference.
Meanwhile, shoppers could also pick up a packet of Walkers Monster Munch crisps for only 50p, but you’d be paying £1 at Tesco.
The online store also sells other big brands like Uncle Ben’s, Dolmio, Surf and Mr Muscle.
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These sorts of savings all add up so it’s definitely worth considering ordering from The Big Food Company.
It is important to compare prices and factor in delivery or travel costs.
Even if a product is cheaper online, you might save more by going to your local supermarket and shopping in store.
Delivery is free for orders over £250 at The Big Food Company, so most shoppers will probably end up paying the £5.95 delivery fee.
Depending on the plan you choose, Tesco shoppers could pay anywhere from £2.49 for their order.
While Asda customers would pay anywhere from £3.50.
Is there anything similar out there?
There are also social supermarkets that people struggling with the cost of living can join up to.
There’s Your Local Pantry, Community Grocery, Community Shop and Company Shop which all offer discounted food and essentials for people on low-incomes.
Feeding Britain also works with hundreds of food hubs across the country to provide discounted food to struggling households.
They’re not always well publicised so it’s worth having a look online as you may have a couple near you.
You could also ask your local council as they should have information on social supermarkets in the borough.
In addition, Too Good to Go is an app that allows you to rescue end-of-day food from many popular cafes, restaurants, shops and supermarkets that would otherwise go in the bin.
All you need to do is download and set your location on the Too Good To Go app and you can choose from nearby stores listing their unsold food at a reduced price.
Similar to Too Good To Go, you can search for nearby food to pick up based on your location through the Karma app.
You can then purchase meals at discounted prices.
However, unlike Too Good To Go, Karma will tell you what food you are getting, so there is even less chance of it going to waste.
No Waste is an excellent way to get organised, as you can scan your food and list it by expiry date, name or category.
It makes it easier to see what you are running out of, so you don’t double up on items in your next shop.
Lists can be shared with family so you can give away unwanted food plus you can track how much you are wasting by deleting items you have eaten or that have expired.
How else can I save on my supermarket shop?
There are plenty of other ways to save on your supermarket shop.
You can try looking out for yellow or red stickers on products which show when they’ve been reduced.
If the food is fresh you’ll have to eat it fast, or freeze it to have another time.
Sometimes even timing your shop to stock up just as items are discounted on the shelves can help you get the best bargains – lots of shoppers have said this is in the evening typically.
Making a list could save you some money too as you’ll be less likely to make any rash purchases when you get to the supermarket.
Going own brand can be one easy way to save hundreds of pounds a year on your food bills too.
That means going for “own” or “value” type products instead of “finest” or “luxury” lines.
Plenty of supermarkets run wonky veg and fruit schemes as well where you can get cheap prices if they’re misshapen or imperfect.
For example, Lidl runs its Waste Not scheme offering boxes of 5kg of fruit and vegetables for just £1.50.
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