If you shop at Coles or Woolies then you could be in for an expensive Christmas period, warns consumer watchdog CHOICE, as the prices of your festive favourites have gone up this year.
CHOICE compared the cost of classic Christmas treats such as pavlova, mince pies and candy canes, finding that one supermarket giant reigned supreme when it came to feeding the family on a low budget. To do so, they compiled a list of 22 items that Aussie families typically buy for the big day.
For the best value on your Christmas food shop, the advocacy group suggests Aldi, with the average cost for a basket of 22 items at the cut-price retailer coming in at a total of $174.50.
While it might still sound like a lot, the same basket would set you back $215 at Woolworths or a whopping $221.30 at Coles.
“Christmas is set to be more expensive this year,” says CHOICE consumer advocate Jonathan Brown. “We compared the Christmas basics across Coles, Woolworths and Aldi. It wouldn’t be Christmas without candy canes, mince pies, pavlova and finding bits of tinsel around the house weeks later.”
Brown added: “When it comes to price, Aldi is the clear winner for a cheap Christmas, but of course other factors often come into consideration at Christmas too.
“CHOICE’s Supermarket Satisfaction Survey earlier this year found local supermarket brands were highly rated for their fresh food and customer service, so if freshness and service matters to you, it might be worth considering a local brand.”
It has been a successful year for Aldi as their Christmas pudding recently topped a blind taste test, beating out the Coles equivalent, as well as winning the advocacy group’s festive custard blind taste test.
Last month CHOICE pitted a total of 13 supermarket offerings against one another, comparing taste, price and even ingredients. All of the puddings were scored by a team of taste testers who gave each pudding an overall ‘expert score’, made up of appearance (25 per cent), flavour and aroma (40 per cent), texture (20 per cent) and finally mixture quality (15 per cent).
Aldi’s champagne-flavoured pud which claimed the top spot, with one of the taste testers describing is as “a bit of glitz”. The Luxury Golden Champagne Pudding bagged a total CHOICE Expert Score of 89 per cent.
“The Aldi pud is a bit of glitz, a bit of fun,” taste tester Brigid Treloar said at the time. “It’s a nice, rich, fruit pudding without being sticky and it’s not overly sweet, which I found the Coles one to be. It’s great value considering the generous fruit topping and it looks a bit special on the table.
“An easy Christmas centrepiece at a time when things can get quite busy and expensive, and all you have to do is whack it in the microwave to heat it up.”