06 November 2023 , 09:20
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Supermarket prices have risen more than 12% compared to last year, and even though prises are rising more slowly than they were before, Brits are still feeling the pinch.
Two lads decided to prove it's cheaper to fly to Poland for their weekly shop, rather than do it at their local Lidl, which was crowned the cheapest supermarket in the UK in October. However, 30-year-olds Joshua Pieters and Archie Manners still managed to splash out £164.47 in their local Clapham Junction store in south west London.
This irked the YouTubers so much that they decided to test just how much inflation has impacted everyday items in the UK - by flying to Poland to shop at a Lidl there. Josh and Archie, who have 1.47m subscribers on their YouTube channel, found cheap return flights to Poznan for a combined £48.
Archie and Josh standing outside their local Lidl in Clapham, London (Kennedy News/Josh & Archie)There they found a Lidl store which had the same 25 items that they had purchased in London, such as butter, crisps and bread, but instead paid just £96.75 for their whole shop. Despite saving a whopping £67.72 on the food shop itself, this was dented by the fact that they had to pay for flights, extra luggage, public transport, and a £8.55 stay at a bedsit.
Even so, they managed to make a profit of £11.14 - proving that it's cheaper to fly to Poland to buy food - the same items the Office of National Statistics uses to measure inflation - than shop them at their local Lidl. Josh, who grew up in Meissner in South Africa, and Archie, from Hampshire, arrived back at Gatwick airport with most of their items intact - apart from a leaking bag of flour and exploded raspberries.
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Archie and Josh weren't sure they would save money because of all the extra costs (Kennedy News/Josh & Archie)After returning, Archie, who is also a professional magician, admitted it wouldn't solve the cost of living crisis, but does feel it proves a point that inflation is disproportionately impacting the UK compared to Poland. He said: "This doesn't solve the cost of living crisis but it's an interesting look at the difference in price. It seemed a fun way to prove a point.
"It proves that inflation in this country is much higher than elsewhere and until the rate of inflation comes down then everyone's going to continue to struggle. It's not a useful solution.
"If you're going out to Poland every week then it would be possible but I don't think people are going to stop shopping in Clapham and fly to Poland. I don't think we were hoping it would be cheaper or it would be similar. We just wanted to test it."
Josh and Archie at the checkout at Lidl, Poznan (Kennedy News/Josh & Archie)Here is a full list of items Archie and Josh purchased at Lidl:
White fish
Banana
Blueberries
Honey
Butter
Pork sausages
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Beef mince
Pork joint
Frozen full chicken
Chicken breast
Tomato soup
Cream
Chicken nuggets
Salmon fillets
Canned fish
Eggs
Regional cheese
Peanut butter
Olive oil
Lettuce
Broccoli
Mushrooms
Bread
Crisps
Frozen vegetables
Lidl declined to comment.