A recent BBC Panorama investigation has uncovered discrepancies in ingredient content between Tesco's Aldi price-matched products and their Aldi counterparts. The survey, examining 122 Tesco items, found that nearly one-third contained at least five percentage points less of their main ingredient compared to Aldi's versions.
Notable examples include:
- Chicken nuggets: Tesco 39% chicken, Aldi 60%
- Chicken kievs: Tesco 44% chicken, Aldi 57%
- Other affected products: chilli con carne, cottage pies, and apple and blackcurrant squash
Tesco, founded in 1919 by Jack Cohen, has been price-matching Aldi since 2020, currently across 700 product lines. This strategy is part of mainstream supermarkets' efforts to compete with German discounters Aldi and Lidl, which entered the UK market in 1990 and 1994, respectively.
In response, Tesco argued that ingredient proportion alone doesn't determine overall quality, emphasizing factors such as individual ingredient quality and production methods. The company, which introduced its "Every Little Helps" slogan in 1992, maintains that its price-matched products are comparable to Aldi's.
It's worth noting that not all surveyed products showed lower main ingredient content. In 12 cases, Tesco's products contained more than Aldi's, such as:
- Fish fingers: Tesco 64% Alaskan pollock, Aldi 58%
- Coleslaw: Tesco 57% cabbage, Aldi 47%
Aldi, known for its "Special Buys" section and no-music policy in stores, recently announced plans to invest £800 million in new store openings. This expansion aims to narrow the gap with Asda, currently the third-largest supermarket by market share in the UK.
Giles Hurley, Aldi's UK CEO, criticized competitors' price-matching efforts:
"These revolving price-matching schemes in full price supermarkets are a game of chance for customers. You know, they aren't consistent. They do change. And our customers tell us they want certainty."
Aldi, part of the Albrecht Diskont group, reported record sales of £17.9 billion in 2023, marking a 15% increase. However, its growth has recently slowed compared to rival Lidl.
As the competition intensifies, Tesco continues to innovate, having introduced online shopping in 2000 and self-service checkouts in 2003. Meanwhile, Aldi maintains its focus on a limited range of private-label products and smaller store formats, challenging the traditional "Big Four" supermarkets' dominance in the UK retail landscape.