'I ditched Aldi and Lidl for the supermarket where some prices are even cheaper'

We all know that Aldi and Lidl are generally the cheapest supermarkets and both have seen an increase in the number of shoppers during the cost of living crisis.

But there is another lesser known supermarket that's pulling in the customers with its cheap buys.

When we wrote about Morrisons being the latest retailer to take on the German retailers with its own price match last week, a number of shoppers told us they're finding the cheapest prices at Farmfoods.

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Among them was David Retallick, who commented on the article on our Facebook page and said: "All this price match, when one puts the price up the other does. I shop at Farmfoods now, for example Daddies ketchup Farmfoods £1, Tesco £2."

Intrigued to see just how cheap the prices are, I headed there for a big shop to see for myself. And, after signing up for the retailer's newsletter I was emailed details of some of the best deals in stores, along with some vouchers to use too, so that was a bonus.

The 10 Birds Eye products for £10 immediately caught my eye. My kids love the chicken and the Alphabites so that deal was going straight in my trolley.

Another money saver was the 15-pack of Young's fish fingers for just £1.69. That's pretty much the same price as Aldi and Lidl's. Same with the white loaf, at 75p for 800g.

But some products came out even cheaper than the budget retailers. That Daddies ketchup was indeed just a quid - well 99p actually - for a pretty big 685g bottle. Lidl's Batts ketchup is £1.15 for a 650g bottle and Aldi's Bramwells ketchup is 89p for a much smaller 500g.

The larger 4-pack of brown onions cost £1, whereas Aldi and Lidl both sell a pack of three for 89p. And a huge 1kg tub of Just Like Butter spread was £1.79. Aldi's Beautifully Buttery and Lidl's Heavenly Buttery are both 95p for 500g.

Milk is cheaper too - a two-litre bottle of semi-skimmed is also a quid at Farmfoods, whereas Aldi and Lidl sell 4-pint bottles for £1.45, which equates to £1.28 for two litres. It's the same price at most of the supermarkets. And a 350g block of cheddar was £1.79, as opposed to the £2.49 price for slightly bigger 400g blocks at the budget stores.

I got a giant 1kg bag of Gala apples from Farmfoods for just 99p, whereas a six-pack of standard size budget apples is 99p at Aldi and Lidl. Their cheapest tins of chopped tomatoes are also 35p a tin - or 49p if you for the branded ones - whereas you get three Bella Napoli branded ones for a quid at Farmfoods.

Another multibuy that stood out as a particular bargain was Farmfoods' two for £15 deal on huge 1kg XXL bags of fish fillets. I picked up a bag of smoked haddock fillets and wild salmon fillets for £7.50 each.

In Aldi and Lidl, a bag of smoked haddock fillets is £3.49 for 400g, which equates to £8.73 per kg. Salmon works out more at £9.13 a kg.

While both the European discounters aren't big on brands, they do sell some Heinz products, yet while Lidl's current offer of a six-pack of 415g tins of beans for £4.49 is the cheapest I've seen for a while, you can still get them cheaper at Farmfoods with its 2 packs for £8 deal.

The tins of Heinz I picked up from Farmfoods however - beans and sausages, spaghetti and sausages and ravioli - were three for £4.50, which is the usual offer you'll find in most supermarkets these days. Asda is the only one with a five for £5 deal.

The Holland's pies, at £7 for two packs, is cheaper than Asda and Tesco's £4.40 a pack price, or even the Clubcard price of £3.90 a pack. And some of the other branded items were cheaper than you'll find elsewhere too - like the Goodfella's pepperoni pizza for £1.50 and the six-pack of Kingsmill white rolls for 79p. The 400g tin of Farmlea custard for 69p is even cheaper than B&M's 75p price.

And, some of the brands that Aldi and Lidl do stock - the PG Tips for instance - were the same price at Farmfoods, at £5.49 for a 210 box.

Not everything was cheaper and it was a random selection of products rather than a standard big shop, but it's certainly impressive and definitely worth a trip to stock up on some of the bargains.

My voucher for £5 off a shop of £60 or more was the icing on the cake.

Aldi says its customers know that on a typical basket, they will make 'significant savings' by shopping there.

A spokesperson for the retailer said: “This research comparing a small number of products is not representative of a weekly shop and doesn’t take into account the higher quality of our items.

“We have been consistently awarded the title of the UK’s Cheapest Supermarket by Which?, and more shoppers have switched to us than any other supermarket during the last 12 months as they look to save money. Our promise to our customers remains that we will always offer outstanding quality products at the lowest prices.”

My Farmfoods shop

• 10 Birds Eye products for £10
• Chopped tomatoes 3 400g tins £1
• Fish multibuy two for £15
• Heinz tins three for £4.50
• 2 packs of Holland's potato and meat pies £7
• PG Tips 210-pack £5.49
• Skips 14 pack £3
• Eggs 15-pack £2.59
• 10 unsmoked bacon rashers 300g £1.99
• Salted caramel cones 5-pack £1.89
• Mature cheddar 350g £1.79
• Just Like Butter 1kg £1.79
• Young's Fish Fingers 15-pack £1.69
• Unsalted butter 227g £1.55
• Goodfella's pepperoni pizza 332g £1.50
• White potatoes 1.5kg £1.19
• Apple and blackcurrant cordial 1.5L £1.19
• Brown onions 4-pack £1
• Semi skimmed milk 2L £1
• Daddies tomato ketchup 685g 99p
• Gala apples 1kg 99p
• Kingsmill white rolls 6-pack 79p
• Sunblest thick white bread 800g 75p
• Custard 400g 69p
• Passata 500g 65p
• Sardines in tomato sauce 125g 45p

Total £70.47 (with £5 off voucher £65.47)