As with everything else in the shops, the price of meal deals have been rising of late. We’ve recently seen supermarkets such as Tesco and Sainsbury’smake changes to the cost of theirs.
Tesco’s rose from £3.40 to £3.60 for those with a Clubcard, and for those without one it’s £4 instead of £3.90. At Sainsbury’s shoppers saw a 7% increase taking the meal deal from £3.50 to £3.75 in July, which is the first time the price has risen in three years. Before 2021, it had remained firmly at £3 since at least 2014.
Both supermarkets also have ‘premium’ meal deals, which cost £5 and feature different options for the main that are a little fancier than the regular fare.
But people are only just realising that Sainsbury’s also has a third meal deal option, and the price has left some feeling a little flabbergasted.
What is the Sainsbury’s ‘posh’ meal deal?
In July the retailer launched , which costs £7. As part of this offer, customers can choose from 14 mains that are exclusive to the Kitchen Deli range, including sandwiches, salads and to-go meals.
Items available as part of the range include the Salami, Mozzarella & Rocket Focaccia sandwich, as well as soft tortilla wraps like the Kitchen Deli Chicken Pesto Wrap (both priced at £4.75 each).
There are also £5.50 delicatessen-quality salads, such as the Tuna Niçoise Salad, and ready-to-eat or heat-up meals to-go. These cost £6.50 individually and the range features dishes like Japanese Style Teriyaki Chicken & Sticky Rice, and Turmeric, Cauliflower & Chickpea Dhal.
When these products were launched, Richard Crampton, Sainsbury’s Director of Fresh Food, said: ‘We are thrilled to introduce customers to Kitchen Deli, our new speciality selection of ready-prepared food that will add to and complement our existing range of own brand ready-meals and food on the go.
‘We’re passionate about making inspiring, tasty food the focal point of how we show up for our customers and Kitchen Deli will give them a new and convenient way to sample the best of what Sainsbury’s has to offer. We’ll listen carefully to everyone’s feedback in the coming weeks and months as we work to build on and improve the new range.’
Despite the fact that this deal has been available for a few months now, many shoppers are only just learning about it, thanks to a viral post on social media.
The @NoContextBrits account took to X (formerly Twitter) to share a snap of the meal deal section in Sainsbury’s, writing: ‘£7 meal deals? This country is finished.’
The image attached was rather misleading though, as it featured several Brie, Bacon and Chilli Chutney sandwiches on the Kitchen Deli deal shelf, with the £7 price below them. These sandwiches aren’t part of the premium deal, they’re included in the regular £3.75 option.
More than 586,000 people have viewed the tweet, with it garnering thousands of retweets and likes. Many incorrectly assumed from the post that the meal deal price had gone up to £7 and were sharing their outrage, while others just couldn’t fathom ever paying this much for a supermarket deal even if it was ‘posh’.
‘That isn’t a deal. It is a rip off,’ said @annnditsgonesol, while @cosmosquark replied: ‘This is why I make my own sandwiches.’
@thriftyinsurrey commented: ‘At least McDonalds now has a £5 meal deal.’ And @Winchester21107 claimed: ‘If it was Caviar and champagne and fine cheeses I would say good deal.’
While the post might have been incorrect, it did did spark an interesting conversation about everyday items that have had jaw-dropping price increases over the last few years, with many still holding a grudge about the cost of Cadbury Freddo bars, which had once cost just 5p.
This comes just days after Sainsbury’s shoppers discovered a few big changes had been made in supermarkets.
Sainsbury’s is testing out larger hybrid which feature conveyor belts as well as a bagging area. These are similar to the regular manned tills which you place all your groceries onto, but without cashiers. Shoppers would scan their own items, as usual at self-service.
The bigger tills are intended to allow customers with trolleys to use self-service with ease, and the change comes after the CEO Simon Roberts’ shared plans to make Sainsbury’s stores ‘more efficient’.
These are currently only being trialled in two Sainsbury’s locations, and while the CEO told that the new tills were proving ‘popular’, it seems shoppers online aren’t all too happy about the idea of their supermarkets having even more self-service checkouts.
The retailer is also currently testing out touchscreen devices in supermarkets, that show customers which aisle the product they’re looking for is located on. This would reduce the need for customers to ask staff for help.
These trials are all part of the retailer’s ‘Next Level’ strategy which aims to make the supermarket the UK’s first choice for food shopping.
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