'I saved almost £24 by using discount food website - but there was big catch'

02 September 2023 , 06:00

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Our Approved Foods haul (Image: Ruby Flanagan)

The cost of food continues to be a major worry for many households.

Grocery inflation remains high at 14.8% - leaving Brits up and down the country, myself included, looking for ways to cut down costs where they can. To see if I could save money, I did a food shop at an online discount food website which claims to save shoppers £60 on their monthly shop - but was it any good?

Approved Food was founded back in 2008 - so it's been around for a while - and is based in Dodworth, South Yorkshire. The website sells over 2,000 items that are near or past their best before date, surplus products and lines that are considered difficult to sell by other retailers. Best before dates are different to use by dates. If a product is past its best before date, it is generally still safe to eat - these labels are instead about quality rather than safety.

We spent £40 and tried to pick out items and other bits you would pick up in your typical weekly shop to see how much we could save. I noticed Approved Food had a huge range of categories to shop from, including groceries, drinks, health, beauty, pets, and household items. The site was also pretty easy to navigate with each section clearly labelled.

But as much as I was impressed with the range of products offered, I think you may struggle to do your entire weekly shop on there - depending on what you normally buy. For example, you can't get fresh fruit and vegetables and the choice of products available isn't perhaps as wide as what you'd get in a traditional supermarket.

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As well, I noticed Approved Foods had a lot of items that you may not buy as often, such as fancy chocolates, speciality popcorn and nuts - the kind of items you would pick up around Christmas rather than as part of your weekly shop.

But I liked the household goods and cosmetics that you could buy. In my shop, I picked up a Mr Muscle oven cleaner for £2.49 and Vanish Oxi Action for £3. The cheapest price I found these selling for elsewhere was £3.90 and £4 respectively - so again a small saving compared to if I was buying them in a supermarket.

I was also impressed with the number of branded items I was able to purchase, as with the cost of living I have given up my brands in favour of supermarket own labels. I picked up a bottle of Heinz tomato ketchup for £2 and four tins of Heinz baked beans for 99p. I also managed to get Hellman's vegan mayonnaise for £1.49, Meridian peanut butter for £2, Knorr vegetable stockpots for £1 and Sharwoods madras curry paste for £1.49.

All of this totalled £8.97, which is £8 cheaper than the £17.44 I would’ve paid for the exact same branded products at one of the major UK supermarkets.

One of the best deals in my shop was the Heinz baked beans, with each can costing around 24p - this is actually cheaper than supermarket beans. However, the catch to this was the beans I got had a best before date of July 31. I still feel comfortable eating this though. Out of my 24-item order, 11 items were past their best before date, with three having a best before date of December 31, 2022.

Some items were not as good of a bargain as what they seemed. I picked up Flying Goose Sriracha Sauce for £2.49 but I found the exact same product for the same price at Tesco - and it was price-matched with Aldi. Another one was my packet of Batchelors Savoury Rice which I got for 99p. When I compared it to other major supermarket chains, I actually only made a saving of 1p.

Approved Foods also allows you to buy a range of alcohol products including beer, wine, cider and spirits. I got four Estrella beers which set me back £5. This was a small saving as some supermarkets are selling the same pack for £6 - although I could match what I paid if I had a Tesco Clubcard.

Delivery costs at Approved Foods is based on how many boxes you fill up with the maximum weight of your box being 25kg. One box has a minimum delivery cost of £3 for orders going to England, Scotland and Wales. Orders going to the highlands of Scotland have a delivery cost of £9 and Northern Ireland is priced at £12. However, you do get free delivery if your food order leans over £55.

Overall, there are deals to be bagged by shopping at Approved Foods - particularly with the branded items. It also has a sales section where they are selling off products for as little as 1p, although prices that low are few and far between. Approved Foods also allows you to sign up for its free newsletter which will alert you of its latest stock updates so this can help if you want to wait for a true bargain.

Heinz No Added Sugar Beanz in a Rich Tomato Sauce 415g - 99p (saved £2.76)
Amoy Straight To Wok Udon Thick Noodles 2 x 150g - £1 (saved £1.10)
Batchelors Savoury Rice Golden Vegetable 90g - 99p (saved 1p)
Blue Dragon Dark Soy Sauce 150ml - £1 (saved £85p)
Geetas Premium Mango and Chilli Chutney Hot 230g - £1 (saved 70p)
Flying Goose Sriracha Hot Chilli Sauce 455ml - £2.49 (saved 0p)
Heinz Tomato Ketchup 400ml - £2 (saved £1.40)
Hellmanns Vegan Mayonnaise Vegan 270g - £1.49 (saved £1.11)
Cillit Bang Limescale Remover 750ml - £2 (saved £1.25)
Mr Muscle Oven Cleaner 300ml - £2.49 (saved £1.51)
Heinz Minestrone Soup 400g - 75p (saved 95p)
Vanish Oxi Action Advance Stain Remover Powder 470g - £3 (saved £1)
Meridian Smooth Peanut Butter 280g - £2 (saved 80p)
Heinz Made For Veggiez Chilli and Miso 250ml - 50p (saved £2)
Doritos Mild Salsa 300g - £1.49 (saved £1.01)
Nakd Cocoa Orange 4 x 35g - £2 (saved £1)
Walkers Crisps Classic Variety Multipack Crisps 12 x 25g - £2.99 (saved 26p)
Sharwoods Easy Paste Madras 290g - £1.49 (saved £1.50)
Blue Dragon Chow Mein Stir Fry Sauce 120g - 69p (saved 26p)
Estrella Damm Beer 4 x 330ml - £5 (saved 0p*)
Kallo Organic Wholegrain Sesame Rice Cakes 130g - £1 (saved £1)
Knorrs Stock Pot Vegetable 4 x 28g - £1 (saved 90p)
Weetabix Original 24 Pack - £2.49 (saved £1.01)
Garnier Summer Body Moisturising Lotion Light 250ml - £2.50 (saved £1.49)