War of the supermarkets, Aldi vs Lidl
Medway residents are wondering whether Aldi is still their best bet for grocery deals after the opening of Lidl in Gillingham, Kent.
In today’s current cost-of-living crisis many can’t afford to splurge on their weekly food shop so need to look for supermarkets that can provide cheaper alternatives.
Lidl and Aldi are German concepts that are known for their efforts to keep their products affordable. Up until recently the nearest Lidl store to Medway was in Maidstone but now with the Gillingham branch’s opening, residents are able to pick between the two most affordable supermarkets.
Debbie Richards who lives close to the store said: “It is busy but not too long a wait at the till. There is plenty of staff packing and it is much quicker than other stores I have been to.”
The store was given the go-ahead in October 2021 but it was not an easy transaction, with Asda over the road lodging legal complaints. The plans were asked to be considered a total of four times before permission was granted.
A poll on social media revealed that while 80% of the public found that prices at Aldi were cheaper, they found that Lidl’s products provided better quality, while still not breaking the bank.
“I have switched to shopping in Lidl as I think you get better quality for your money. Times are tough and you want to know that you are paying for food that is fresh,” said Pat Hull from Gillingham.
A poll on social media revealed that while members of the public found that prices at Aldi were slightly cheaper, they found that Lidl provided better quality while still not breaking the bank.
Here at Kent Buzz, we have done our comparison of ten essentials that all homes will need to buy to see which we find to be more affordable. To keep things fair, we have kept all products as similar as possible and have picked each store’s cheapest option.
The Lidl shop cost a total of £9.24 compared to Aldi which cost £9.00. Only a small £0.24 difference but we only tested ten items. A whole food shop could see a lot more savings from either shop, so we recommend trying both and seeing for yourself which is the cheaper option.
If you are looking at saving money on your food shop, there is plenty of advice available on how to do so. For example, buy foods with a longer shelf life so nothing goes to waste or possibly consider bulk cooking and meal planning to see if you can make any extra savings.
A TikTok account called @costoflivingcrisistips provides excellent saving tips. In one of his latest videos, he shared how you can boil your kettle once a day and put any remaining hot water into a thermally insulated flask, so you then have hot water for cups of tea all day long, without having to boil the kettle again.
