Video: How Much Can We Save Buying Housebrands At Supermarkets?

Food prices have risen steeply in recent years, hitting our wallets hard. In fact, inflation for food was the second highest in 2022, behind only transportation. As a result of the current supply chain disruptions and geopolitical issues, this trend of high inflation, especially in food prices, is likely to continue in the near future.

As individuals, macroeconomic events that give rise to inflation are not within our control. What we can do is make small changes to our spending habits to save a little more and stretch our dollars a little further.

Read Also: Struggling To Cope With Inflation: 5 Things To Be Avoiding, And What We Should Do Instead

One simple way that we can save more the next time we do our groceries at the supermarket is to consider buying housebrand products instead of leading brands.

Housebrands belong to the respective supermarkets, like NTUC FairPrice’s Pasar, DFI Retail Group’s Meadows and Sheng Siong’s Tasty Bites, Heritage Farm, and Happy Family brands.

Typically, housebrand products are sold slightly cheaper compared to leading brands. But some may think that the products under the housebrand label may not be as tasty or high-quality compared to similar products by more established brands.

We put our DollarsAndSense team to the test to see if they could spot the difference between housebrand vs leading brand products and how much they each cost. Watch to see if you’re also able to tell the difference.

As one of those who was “put to the test,” I can say that it is definitely not as clear-cut to tell apart the difference, especially without its packaging.

I guessed a few of the items wrongly, like the milk and bread, and later found that what I assumed to be the leading brand was actually the housebrand. In some instances, I actually preferred the housebrand taste over the leading brand, which goes to show that you don’t have to always pay a premium for what you like.

 

While there were noticeable differences in their tastes, it was difficult to say which product was superior. It was also difficult to gauge how much cheaper a housebrand product should be because, as I realised, the differences were small and did not necessarily indicate a poorer quality product based on look, feel, or taste.

Though the difference in price was more obvious. Some housebrand products were as much as 50% cheaper compared to the leading brand.

Read Also: Struggling To Cope With Inflation: 5 Things To Be Avoiding, And What We Should Do Instead

As a self-proclaimed “bargain hunter”, I use the Price Kaki app by CASE whenever I do my groceries. On the app, we can search for the latest prices and in-store promotions of products at the leading supermarkets. As someone who has three leading supermarkets near my place, the app also allows me to do a price comparison from the comfort of my home, so I can easily decide which store to go to for the best deal.

As the saying goes, “a penny saved is a penny earned.” Every small savings that we make by adjusting our spending habits will help us deal with the rising cost of living.

Read Also: 4 Types Of Everyday Expenses That You Can Stretch Your Dollar On Effortlessly

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