Supermarket 'budget' products have vanished

[ThrushyFanjo]

Everytime I go into Tesco, Asda, Sainsburys etc I can never find any value, smart price or basics products! Not that I ever really bought that many, but things like beans, toilet roll, yorkshire puddings, cornflakes etc. Plus I would always pick up a few of these to stick in the food bank trolley at the end of my shop. Have other people noticed this?!

[MaidOfStars]

I read an excellent discussion of Value products once. The main argument for them is not altruism on the part of the seller (to provide cheap food for poorer people) but to tempt price-insensitive customers to buy Standard (or perhaps Luxury) to pay more for those. The markup on the premium products more than covers any loss on Value products.

So supermarkets make more money if they stock them, because price-insensitive people spend more.

[Therealslimshady1]

I have stopped going the Sainsbury's and Tesco, their pricing and trickery put me off.

3 times a month Lidl, once a month Waitrose works best for me.

The only branded things I still buy are Heinz ketchup and Hellman's mayo!

[MrGrumpy01]

Sainsburys basic Yorkshire puddings have vanished from my online shop.

But then cartons of apple juice have too, yet I can buy them in the much smaller store near work.

[smallmercys]

Rosy are Waitrose Essentials any much cheaper? I must have missed that, I just though it was their own branding.

[Idontevencareanymore]

A lot of it is location and demand. I live near 3 good sized Tesco, one is an affluent area and doesn't sell any value products
Ones a metro and sells very little value products as it's mainly older people and lunch trade.
the last is an extra on a retail park and sells a huge range of value products. Every product has a value equivalent almost.
Express stores notoriously don't sell value and very little own brand.

[Littlebatcalledlucille]

I have a silly Minor one.

The bin liners!!!!

They are the best part of £3

Why!!!!!! I only want to line my bin!

[PurpleMinionMummy]

Yes I've noticed it with Tesco too, on all own brand stuff. Pretty sure it's not been re-branded either. I haven't been able to get their malt wheat cereal for weeks, so it's choose something totally different or buy branded. I can no longer get tesco frozen garlic bread slices, so either have to buy fresh or different brand both of which cost more. The value mature cheese has disappeared. All means spending more ££.

[DollyMcDolly]

I work for Sainsburys. The store I'm in has loads of basic range stuff.

[Vitalogy]

MamaOfTwo Well said.

[Wellyboots86]

Work as a delivery driver for Tesco. They still have everyday value range for a lot of products - tissues, crisps etc but the fruit & veg and meat was rebranded last year. They now have names like nightingale, redmere farm etc

[noeffingidea]

Sainsburys still have quite a few basics. I bought their basic fish fingers and spaghetti today.
I think they're getting around it by increasing the prices, so that there is less difference between the basic brand and their own standard brand.

[MamaOfTwos]

For years people haven't been paying the true costs of food, dairy in particular. And now the proverbial pigeons are roosting, as there's a national shortage of butter, cheese and creme fraiche etc. If people bought more British produce and shopped more sustainably, there'd be more choice. Smart price and budget brands don't make money, supermarkets are a business so why should they have items that don't wield a decent profit?

[Scabbersley]

I used to really like the sainsburys basics packaging with the little description on the front "the same taste just not all the same shape" etc. I miss it

Its annoying as it takes choice away

[RightOnTheEdge]

They have got rid of loads of Tesco value things I used to buy. Not just re branded, gone.
I used to love the Tesco value flapjack that was in a big foil tray. And little Swiss rolls.

But they have been getting rid of a lot of things for a long time at my local one. My online shopping is full of 'Tesco no longer stocks this product'

[Topseyt]

Yes, they are there in Tesco under different packaging and with a different name. Many are also more expensive and not as good.

I opened a pack of Rosedene farm apples last week which I had only just bought. Whilst they looked and felt fine, once the packet was opened they just smelled awful. Like vomit. I threw them out, it was so bad. It doesn't seem to be an isolated incident.

[notangelinajolie]

The big supermarket's like Tesco have rebranded a lot of their value ranges to make them look more attractive and less cheapo just like Aldi who don't market own brands as value. Value ranges are still there but you can't do a whole shop sweep looking for a particular range of packaging because they don't package them that way anymore. A few still remain but there certainly isn't the same range they carried years ago. Look out for anything that ends in 'Farm' and you will be in value range territory.

Also in the run up to Christmas shelves are thinned out of a lot of the essentials and filled with more expensive brand names.

[VickyRsuperstar]

Yes. I have noticed this a lot as I shopped heavily from the Sainsbury's Basics items as I found them very good. Those products that they still do, have shrunk in size or quantity significantly too. (4 toilet rolls instead of 6), Basic ready meals - much smaller), Basics noodles...gone :-( The prices are nowhere near as good as they used to be and they think we don't notice :-( There should be a campaign to bring back the Basics range that was so useful.

[Topseyt]

It has nothing to do with Christmas. Tesco has been sneaking this in since at least last January and I am sure other chains have too. It pisses me right off. There are few "everyday value" products left now. I did manage to get value kidney beans and sultanas last week, but saw little else.

Why NOT blame Brexit? The currency has struggled since the stupid referendum, and imports have become more expensive. My guess is that the supermarkets are preparing themselves for the post-Brexit era, when they may no longer be able to offer the value lines because the costs have risen too much.

[musicform]

I think a lot of it was rebranded - usually you can see own brands - Adsas comes to mind

[melj1213]

I work for Asda and I know that they routinely go through the figures and work out which ranges are the least profitable.

A few months ago they started streamlining their ranges to just the most popular ones in order to maximise profits and free up shelf space for new/seasonal products and a lot of the basics range weren't being bought and so were the first to go.

[Strawberrybubblebath]

They are all still there at Tescos- just under different packaging.

[haba]

I tried to get our usual coleslaw from Sainsbury's today- none. Only fancy, expensive pots that you cannot reseal, so difficult to reuse
No small pots of cottage cheese either-or no value type ones, cheapest was ordinary at £1.40 grrr

[LyingWitchInTheWardrobe2726]

That's very true. I still lament Safeway's budget fish fillet fingers, they were 29p for a box of 10 and so delicious. Better than any that are around now.

[Fluffycloudland77]

I used sp food bags & can't find them anywhere now.

When I saw them in wilkos I bought 10 rolls.

[Monkeyinshoes]

Yes, it's not just for Christmas. The Tesco basic cleaning products and food bags I used to buy disappeared ages ago...the beginning of this year or before.