UK food bills: can you really save money if you buy frozen?
W ith runaway food price inflation now adding more than £800 to the average household’s annual grocery bill, Britons are being forced to change the way they shop, whether it’s by switching supermarkets or by ditching their favourite brands in favour of cheaper own-label options.
Figures suggest savvy shoppers are also increasingly making a beeline for the freezer aisle, not only to save on staples but also for treats such as upmarket ready meals and desserts.
But does this really cut your food bill and, if so, by how much? What are the best (and worst) things to buy? Here, we lift the (freezer) lid on the savings some experts say people can make, and offer up some top tips from freezer fans.
With the latest official numbers showing food and drink prices racing up 19% in the past 12 months, it is perhaps no surprise that the freezer section – with its reputation for low prices – is back in vogue.
Because of the cost of living crisis, shoppers are buying less food overall.
However, despite this, in the 12 weeks to 16 April, frozen food sales volumes rose by 0.5%, according to the supermarket analysts Kantar, while sales of fresh food fell back 3.3%.
Frozen food is the “greatest story never told to the British public”, according to Andrew Staniland, the group buying director at Iceland Foods.
Since the crisis took hold last year, shoppers have been heading to Iceland stores, which, he says, offer about a 30% saving in comparison with fresh.
Initially, he says, customers were cautiously swapping fresh chicken, fish and vegetables for frozen but then graduated to prepared foods such as ready meals and desserts as they became more comfortable with the switch.
“Consumers are starting to realise the frozen food offer is now as broad as
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