Recent analysis by Foodstuffs North Island has found that New Zealand’s PAK’nSAVE stores offer the lowest average grocery prices when compared to leading retailers in Australia and the UK – including ALDI, Woolworths, and Tesco.
The four-week price comparison looked at 20 everyday grocery items, chosen from the NielsenIQ Top 50. This list includes the top-10 selling products in each department across NZ’s supermarkets.
After adjusting for sales tax, currency exchange rates, and pack sizes, PAK’nSAVE North Island came out on top with the lowest average basket price.
- PAK’nSAVE North Island – $93.09
- Woolworths NZ (North Island) – $103.58
- Woolworths Australia – $115.44
- Tesco UK – $108.38
- ALDI Australia – $100.64.
“There’s been a lot of discussion lately about the cost of groceries in New Zealand and whether we’re more expensive than similar countries,” said Chris Quin, CEO of Foodstuffs North Island. “We didn’t believe that was the full picture – so we set out to test it.
“This was one of the most rigorous studies of its kind. We’ve looked at real pricing data for real products that Kiwis buy every week – then benchmarked them like-for-like against international retailers. The result is clear: the innovation of Pak’nSave is giving customers great value.”
The comparison – which will be regularly updated – was based on average online prices from each retailer over four weeks, and included household staples such as:
- Bananas, onions, and carrots
- Beef mince and free-range chicken breast
- Butter, cheese, milk, and cream
- Shaved ham and toilet tissue
- White sugar, plain flour, chopped tomatoes
- Potato chips and Coca-Cola
- Instant coffee
- Mixed frozen vegetables, hash browns, and shoestring fries.
Prices were gathered from each retailer’s online channels and normalised to reflect New Zealand conditions – removing local sales taxes, converting to NZD, adding GST, and matching product pack sizes.
“We know food prices are a challenge – not just here, but around the world,” said Mr Quin. “But when you look closely, you can see our model delivers strong value, especially at PAK’nSAVE, where our team works hard to keep prices low.”
Foodstuffs North Island has served New Zealanders for more than 100 years, and Mr Quin says this latest study reflects the Co-op’s long-standing commitment to value.
“Our stores are owned and run by Kiwi families, our profits stay in New Zealand, and our team is proud to be Team New Zealand for groceries,” he said.
