The two stores are less than £3 away in difference
A discount store has declared itself as the “UK’s newest and most exciting discount store.” In a bid to witness all the excitement for myself, I grabbed a basket at One Beyond in St Johns shopping centre and aimed to complete as much of my shopping list as possible.
I thought that One Beyond didn’t offer the same extensive range as its rivals but there’s everything you need in terms of basics. The aisles sway towards general home products rather than groceries with a snack section dominating the offerings.
My aim was to discover whether One Beyond can go toe-to-toe with my regular supermarket, Aldi, on price. I picked up grocery items typically seen on my weekly shopping list and refrained from any that were viewed as luxuries or irregular.
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I refrained from searching for the lowest-priced items. I sincerely purchased what I normally would from the selection available or the next best thing if the item was absent. In the case of measurements affecting my purchasing habits – quantity of oil, multipack items – I calculated the number of products needed to achieve a matching total.
There are six One Beyond stores around Merseyside. The most convenient for this trip was in St Johns Shopping Centre which conveniently houses an Aldi under the same roof. Below are my shopping lists and totals in full for One Beyond and Aldi:
One Beyond
- Head Funk Nourishing Shampoo 600ml £2
- Napolina Chopped tomatoes (three tin pack) £2
- Wisdom 100ml Sensitive toothpaste £1
- Bisto Roast gravy granules £2
- Rague 500g lasagne sheets £1.39
- Head Funk Nourishing Conditioner £2
- Pedigree medium dog bone 500g biscuits £1.50
- 2litre vegetable oil £3.99
- Mayflower curry sauce mix £1.25
- Dolmio red lasagne sauce x 2 £3
- Ragu 750g spaghetti £1.25
- Granulated sugar 500g £0.75
One Beyond total: £22.13
Aldi
- Garnier Ultimate Blends Shampoo £2.39
- Chopped tomatoes x3 £1.17
- Dentitex Toothpaste 125ml £0.69
- Quixo gravy granules £1.09
- Cucina lasagne sheets 500g £0.75
- Garnier Ultimate Blends Conditioner £2.39
- Earls Marrols Meaty Rolls 500g £0.95
- Solesta vegetable oil 1l x 2 £3.98
- Jalfrezi Curry Sauce £1.49
- Dolmio red lasagne sauce x 2 £3.70
- Spaghetti 500g £0.28
- Granulated sugar 1kg £1.09
Aldi total: £19.97
I overspent by £2.16 by shopping at One Beyond. It’s hardly an egregious amount but it solidifies my longstanding belief that Aldi is the best value for money. That being said, One Beyond eclipses the high street giant with homeware and general goods. My advice would be to grab your groceries from Aldi and everything else at One Beyond.