A Herald investigation finds the supermarket that could save you thousands on your annual food bill.

If you’re after a pleasant supermarket experience – a florist at the entrance, fruit and veg displayed in rustic-Scandi-chic baskets and that harissa paste or beef short rib for your Ottolenghi weekend feast - by all means, shop at a New World. Or Countdown if you’ve also developed a taste for their Costco-style cookie packs.

But, as new research from Canstar finds the cost of paying for groceries is now the biggest worry for Kiwis, usurping housing costs, are those in-store pleasantries worth paying more for your food bill?

Canstar general manager Jose George told the Herald recently: “The cost of putting dinner on the table has become by far the biggest financial concern for Kiwi households.”

So the Herald went shopping at each of New Zealand’s three biggest supermarket chains: Pak’nSave, New World and Countdown and, with a budget of $100, discovered significant savings and price discrepancies, sometimes on the same branded item.

While it may not be surprising to learn Pak’nSave was notably more affordable, with food and grocery costs up 12 per cent in the year to February 2023, the exercise is a timely reminder of just how much can be saved if you’re willing to wrangle the yellow box stores’ clattering giant trolleys, pack your own items and forgo the frills of other supermarkets.

Because a shop of approximately $100 worth of basic items, from dairy products to toilet paper, fruit and veg - and a block of Whittaker’s - found a savings of $15 at Pak’nSave last week.

The total costs for the same 14 items were:

Pak'nSave, Royal Oak: $105.89

New World, Hobsonville: $116.80

Countdown, online: $120.48

Or, if you had to stick closely to a $100 budget, you’d be going home without toilet paper and perhaps that block of chocolate by shopping at New World or Countdown.

According to Stats NZ, the average weekly food and grocery bill – which doesn’t include alcohol purchases - for an Auckland family of four is $478. That’s according to data from 2019 adjusted for inflation to the latest available figures – with the actual number likely to be higher because food inflation is higher.

While stats aren’t available solely for grocery spending, even with an assumption of $100 knocked off for takeout and coffees in a week, if the Herald’s $15 savings at Pak'nSave on $120 held true across every weekly shop for a year, a family could save almost $2500 annually.

Every item, often the same brand, was cheaper at Pak'nSave - and by up to 45 per cent in some cases.

Pointing out the most crucial item first, a block of Whittaker’s Creamy Milk chocolate at Pak'nSave was $5.49. At New World it’s $5.59 and at Countdown you’ll pay $6.50 (at the time of publishing it was on special for $5.60). That’s an 18 per cent difference for the same block of chocolate.

When it comes to the real staples, Anchor milk was 10 cents more at New World and Countdown. Toilet paper of the same brand and ply was $2 more at New World and $2.50 more at Countdown.

According to Stats NZ figures, fruit and vegetable prices have risen 23.1 per cent in the year to February.

Again, Pak'nSave offered the best prices on these items.

Bananas per kilogram were $3.49 compared to $3.79 at both New World and Countdown. Broccoli was $1.99 at Pak'nSave but $3.79 at New World. When the Herald tried to buy a head of broccoli at Countdown, it was out of stock. However, broccolini was $3.99 a bunch.

And if you bought an iceberg lettuce at the same New World or Countdown stores we shopped at last week, you paid 40 per cent more for it than if you were to pick one up at Pak'nSave in Auckland’s Royal Oak.

While Canstar general manager Jose George said “post-Covid inflation, and months of wild weather” are behind soaring prices on “everyday supermarket staples” spokespersons for the supermarkets acknowledged it’s a “tough time” for Kiwi households and that providing value on items is important.

A spokesperson for Countdown said: “We know it’s a tough time for New Zealanders and across our business, our priority is to make food as affordable as we can while sensitively managing the industry-wide inflationary pressures we and our partners are seeing.”

They said being “part of more than 190 Kiwi communities” is “a privilege and we know customers have a choice where they shop. We don’t take that lightly, and we’re always looking at ways to improve our shopping experience and provide the most affordable groceries we can”.

And Emma Wooster, spokeswoman for Foodstuffs, of which Pak’nSave and New World are subsidiaries, said: “Many different factors go into determining the price a product is sold for at the supermarket. The largest component of shelf prices is what we pay suppliers for the goods, other factors include the cost of getting the product on to the shelf, whether the product is in good supply and if it’s on or off special.

Wooster explains that each Pak’nSave and New World store is “owned and operated by local owners which means they have the freedom to deal directly with suppliers and the flexibility to tailor their offer and pricing to their local community needs”.

“We know now more than ever, getting great value is important to New Zealanders and we’re absolutely committed to doing all we can to provide this. We’re proud that for the last 10 months in a row, Foodstuffs stores have held price increases to customers below inflation and below supplier cost increases.”

• Prices are likely to vary between stores and week on week depending on reasons including but not limited to specials and supplier prices.