'Credit crunch cuisine' success

Last Modified: 13 Oct 2008
Source: PA News

Forget Cordon Bleu, a new style of cooking has arrived - credit crunch cuisine.

Supermarkets responding to the increased pressures on shoppers' wallets have packed the market with meal deals and recipes designed to lure in the budget-conscious.

And retailers have experienced a massive reaction from consumers keen to eat at a low cost.

In one instance, a Feed Your Family For a Fiver advert for Sainsbury's featuring salmon was followed by a 500% jump in sales of the store's Basic Salmon since the advert aired in June.

Under the promotion, the supermarket provides priced recipes for the cash-conscious cook, while a weekly online planner sets out what shoppers should buy to plan their family's meals, in a move harking back to old-fashioned household budgeting.

An advert from the same campaign using sausages was followed by a 300% rise in sausage sales, since it first aired on September 3.

In a similar effort to cater for the cash-strapped, Tesco said recently it had worked out a seven-day plan by which a family of four could be fed healthily for around £5 a day, using products from the supermarket's Value range to feed a family for just £32.68 a week.

Tesco said sales of the range have "soared" in the last three months, with much of the growth coming from more upmarket customers.

Consumer champion Martin Lewis, of MoneySavingExpert.com, said that people were looking for "any way" to cut costs.

"The fact is, people are saving money," he said. "We're seeing a big growth in cooking.

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