Star Bargains: could you save money at the online discount supermarket?

Food prices are on the rise, but a new online supermarket says it can save you as much as 75% off branded items.

Food prices rose by 2.2% just last month, as inflation continues to bite. But, one store thinks it could help you slash the cost of your weekly shop. Star Bargains says it can save you as much as 75% off branded items.

Star Bargains is known by another name to many northerners: it is the new online arm of frozen food firm Fulton Foods which has 100 stores in the North of England.

The online-version launched in April and is aiming to spread across the UK and Europe.

The store has exclusive deals with manufacturers that means it can buy surplus stock and sell it on to you at vastly discounted prices. It mainly sells cupboard fillers and doesn't currently offer fresh meat, fish, fruit or vegetables.

Star Bargains is offering free delivery on orders over £30 until 30 September.

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Would you buy after the 'best before' date?

On top of selling surplus stock, the online supermarket also has a ‘Waste Not Want Not’ section where you can make huge savings on food that is close to, or just past, its ‘best before date’.

The Food Standards Agency states that food just past its best before date is still fine to eat.

“We offer deals on food and drink items which have been sourced directly from manufacturers or bought as surplus stock,” Karen Gunter, director of Fultons Foods, told The Mirror.

“In addition to this, we also sell some items at even bigger discounts as they are close to or past their best before dates – these are clearly labelled and are perfectly fine to eat, but would otherwise end up contributing to the millions of tonnes of food that is discarded every year in the UK which could’ve been eaten.”

Star Bargains aims to take on bargain supermarkets Aldi and Lidl who have done incredibly well in recent years. But, the key difference is shoppers can still get the brands they love at Star Bargains. In contrast, Aldi and Lidl rarely offer big-name items.

“Over recent years we have seen a rise in the popularity of discounters who offer own brand products at low prices such as Aldi and Lidl,” says Gunter. “We compliment these types of retailers – meeting the needs of those shoppers who want big savings but prefer to stick with big name brands and family favourites.”

Read more: how to save money on groceries delivery at all the major supermarkets

Will you actually save money?

We compared the prices of a range of items at Tesco, Star Bargains and their non-brand equivalents at Aldi:

Based on prices on Monday 6th August

Is it worth the effort?

As you can see Star Bargains isn’t always cheaper than Tesco. But, several of the products we checked were on offer at Tesco – at their normal prices, you would have saved even more shopping at Star Bargains instead.

Plus, if you stick to the Waste Not Want Not Aisle you can pick up some definite bargains.

When we looked there were Bisto Vegetable Gravy Granules for 75p, compared to £1 at Tesco and family packs of Cadbury Chocolate Mini Rolls for £1.50 compared to £2.50 at Tesco. The latter wasn’t even past its best before yet and who doesn’t use gravy granules after the best before date?

So, if you love your brand names its worth checking Star Bargains before you do your weekly shop to see if you can get a few bargains.

If you really want to save money though, you are better off abandoning your brands and heading to Aldi – where our sample shop was half the price of the other two stores.