Ocado now it's dropped Waitrose- what's the quality like now?

[JinglingHellsBells]

I know this is old news, but opinions please.

I used to order from Ocado but haven't since very much at all since they dropped Waitrose. Get WR deliveries.

Reason being I cook 90% from scratch and find M&S quite ready-meal heavy.

Having said that, Ocado does have a few things that I'd buy - mainly toiletries and some more unusual ingredients. I'm still paying for a delivery saver so wondering whether to get an occasional order.

BUT how do you find the quality of everyday fruit and veg ?
Are prices pretty much the same as Waitrose (I've done a quick comparison and they seem almost the same.)

I used to have Waitrose deliveries then swapped to Ocado last year. I find their everyday fruit & veg fine other than their own brand carrots which have a really weird taste . The M&S ones are good though.

Oooh! I have VIEWS on this.

In my opinion it's been a boiling frog. Initially I didn't notice too much difference. But have become increasingly cross with very slow incremental changes - for example, the 3 for £10 protein offers tend to be semi-prepared (breaded chicken, burgers, sausages etc) rather than raw meat or fish, and there's far less choice.

I think the range of things like grains, pulses, spices, pastes etc is much narrower now, as are cold meats and cheeses. Things like frozen basil have disappeared. I'm really only using it out of habit now, and because we don't have a car to do our big shop. On the plus side, the fruit and veg tend to last pretty well.

I found it pretty much the same but there were definitely more substitutes.

One of the main attractions for me is the range of toiletries as we have a tiny Boots near us. But they aren't things I'd buy weekly. And I love WR loo rolls- Ocado, M&S and Andrex aren't great IMO.

I swopped from ocado to waitrose after a few months of trying to stick with the, The M&S range seemed substantially more ready meal focused with a lot fewer interesting raw ingredient, even what felt like some real staples that totally diappeared; my shop got substantially more expensive; and we didn't rate the M&S stuff in comparison to waitrose options. Shame as I liked the quality of ocado fruit and veg, but not worth it for me overall.

Oh yeah, and agree that (at least when they swopped over) they had real substitution issues.

I've just cancelled my Smart Pass after 15+ years as I was so disappointed with both quality and range.

I don't think fresh Ocado is as good quality as WR, and ethically it's much worse (Ocado pork is rated v badly, not always British etc whereas WR is high what's, UK only etc).

Also, there are many missing ingredients that went with Waitrose. Things like Chinese pancakes/certain vinegars etc etc. Much more of a tendency towards prepared food.

I now user Aldi click and collect (always British meat, great supporters of UK agriculture), Riverford and then go to Waitrose for missing bits.

Think I may pay for very occasional Ocado shops to stock up on Picard and other French bits, but they were having such stock issues I'm really not missing much.

Availability of products is not nearly as good, but that could be Brexit etc. The number of last minute substitutions is much higher. Personally I don’t think the range is as good and find myself ‘topping up’ at a supermarket every week. I usually add to my order the night before, last night I couldn’t increase the number of loaves of bread as they were all out of stock.

Not what it was.

Cancelled my smart pass after 10 years for many of the reasons above. Lack of choice, things of stock, really expensive. I now use sainsburys and although the app is awful I find I spend less and have better choice.

I love it, very rarely get subs. Some stuff is very ££ but ocado usually have an own brand which is comparable to others

Others = other supermarkets

@FreiasBathtub

Oooh! I have VIEWS on this.

In my opinion it's been a boiling frog. Initially I didn't notice too much difference. But have become increasingly cross with very slow incremental changes - for example, the 3 for £10 protein offers tend to be semi-prepared (breaded chicken, burgers, sausages etc) rather than raw meat or fish, and there's far less choice.

I think the range of things like grains, pulses, spices, pastes etc is much narrower now, as are cold meats and cheeses. Things like frozen basil have disappeared. I'm really only using it out of habit now, and because we don't have a car to do our big shop. On the plus side, the fruit and veg tend to last pretty well.

I completely agree. We cancelled our smart pass after it got expensive but the choice was less. We just go to Tesco now and it's £30 a week cheaper.

I m it’s the w/r ranges. I hadn’t though about the ethical side till tasting thus thread so that’s a great point. I agree about the ready meal/processed stuff being much more prevalent. I switched smart pass down from full (for 8yrs plus) to the cheaper mid week/pay six month for £22 option and now do Lidl or Aldi top ups most weeks. It feels much more expensive but that might be in general - have you noticed recently Heinz baked beans and soup used to be £3 for 6 everywhere or £3.50 if not on offer, now they are £4 on offer or £4.50 😱. That’s in sainsbo, tesco, Morrisons and Ocado; Hovis best of both bread went up from 89p to £1.10… you get the idea. So I think it’s expensive end of the spectrum but when I tried to shop around so is everyone else! Tin foil has been out of stock in local Lidl for weeks, Ocado only has bacofoil brand in stock. Tissues are like gold dust, and any stock (Lidl, b&m, Morrisons, Ocado) is the expensive brands small cube boxes or super soft or balm ones. Basically not sure if the cost increases are entirely Ocado /M&S or more general. Older size packs at a good price are often out if stock and are gradually replaced by smaller new price ones. Examples tuba, chicken mini fillets. Veg and fruit quality and meat dates remain good.

We hung in there initially, but I cook mostly from scratch and was really struggling with Ocado. So we went over to Waitrose home delivery and get a large fruit/veg box weekly from Riverford on top.

I think that M & S is great as an occasional treat but to buy for a large family wasn't cost effective. We have a lot of Waitrose essentials like multipacks of tinned tomatoes/beans/baked beans etc, and I like their meat quality. We tend to buy less but better quality.

Prices are about the same, as is the quality but so many more substitutions or missing items (6 this week) I’m assuming it must be a logistics issue because things that are out of stock for my weekly order are available in abundance in M&S stores. It’s irritating!

They've really struggled with some stock issues over the last year (didn't they have a massive fire?) and I think that combined with the switch to M&S has meant that they've struggled a lot. I still like some of the stuff they stock like Picard but I agree that there's much less choice, especially when it comes to basic ingredients. My shopping always seems very expensive although that's partly because I do less frequent big shops with nappies, toiletries etc.

In my opinion it's been a boiling frog. Initially I didn't notice too much difference. But have become increasingly cross with very slow incremental changes - for example, the 3 for £10 protein offers tend to be semi-prepared (breaded chicken, burgers, sausages etc) rather than raw meat or fish, and there's far less choice

Defintely agree with this, far less choice.

And I haven't had a complete order for ages, and I don't like substitutions which are more expensive (they've been doing that a lit recently)

It's definitely got a lot more expensive. Last February they ditched their Tesco price match & now I notice that things are always cheaper in Sainsbury's. Recent examples include McDougall's flour 10p. Bistro best gravy powder 50p (that's about 20% increase) and Comfort fabric conditioner £1 (50% more). These were Sainsbury's normal prices - they weren't discounted. I imagine a whole shop would work out pretty expensive in comparison.

I've found it's much worse. I still have a midweek pass but going to cancel it.

We are an allergy family and ocado used to be amazing for vegan and free from foods, they do push vegan foods now but actually the range has reduced. Tesco is far better, and Asda actually although I hate online shopping with them

Mind you, I've always hated that ocado doesn't offer veg by quantity. I end up inundated with courgettes when I just wanted one.

@FreiasBathtub YES. THIS.

It's been the slow erosion of the Ocado range as well.

I really should swap. I keep meaning too. Perhaps this is the shove I need. The Waitrose esstnetis range was so good. M&S is not as good and more expensive.

They seem to keep swapping Ocado and M&S branded stuff for... branded stuff which is really annoying.

Not great!

We don’t have a Waitrose near us so one of the major reasons I had to use Ocado was for Waitrose.
It’s not as good now and Waitrose deliver here now so Ocado’s days are numbered for me as far as I am concerned

Shit
M&S food is processed crap-no ego fro cooking from scratch
They also ditched a whole load of none Waitrose lines as M&S had equivalents- they dont- they have sugar laden to hide cheap ingredients alternatives

We swapped to morrisons delivery, live next to Waitrose so top up there and local farm shop and every 4 weeks or so Ocado offers me a free delivery to tempt me back and use that

It's not as good as before.

Only shop Ocado once maybe twice a month now since Waitrose left Ocado. We only need a handful of items from Ocado, but even those are typically out of stock - so finding substitutes wishing Waitrose..Ocado prices have increased more dramatically and quality average at best.
TBH Never found the Wow factor of M&S products which seem to be overpriced for poor quality.

Dropped anytime saver to mid week slots, and about to drop subscriptions completely. Only retaining as a safety net incase we have any further lockdowns.