Americans React to Waitrose - The Most Expensive UK Supermarket?
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Reacting To My Roots
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In this video we react to Waitrose for the first time. We've heard that Waitrose may be posh and the most expensive UK supermarket. Is that true? Compared to the grocery prices we're used to, we were shocked at the cost of groceries we were seeing on the Waitrose shelves. Not only that, the quality of the food at Waitrose looks amazing. While this was only a first look, I must say, Waitrose seems to be a good place to get groceries.
Thanks for watching. If you enjoyed this reaction please give this video a thumbs up, share your thoughts in the comments and click the subscribe button to follow my journey to learn about my British and Irish ancestry.
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And you have to remember that the UK prices are already added of VAT, so that's what we actually pay.
Not everything has VAT in the UK. A lot of food is VAT exempt
@@Coolcarting yes but the state and local tax are added at the Till
Depends where you buy from, stores can do VAT exemptiond, for example, I'm able to buy tobacco 50g for £6 due to it being ftom Europe, see, with Europe, they get taxed in those countries, once taxed it cannot be taxed again, hence how tax exemption works and same with tax evasion!!!
You can even remove tax completely by not addign VAT to it, this only applies when a business is not registered.
@@610annasinclair Only if it's a taxable item it is added At the till in the US. Just like the UK, a lot of food is tax exempt.
@@CoolcartingFood is not exempt it’s zero rated. I know that means pretty much the same thing at the end of the day. However, I think it makes it a lot easier to change in the future. If a government wanted to put VAT on it. Much easier to increase the rate from 0 to something else and it is to remove an exemption. Also some luxury foods are not zero rated and again, it would be easier to move a particular product from one category to another.
It says something about the cost of US groceries, when Waitrose sounds cheap.
I'd never dream of shopping at waitress i can't afford too
But the Americans get paid alot more for comparable jobs.
Lidl it is then @@stewartmarshall5853
@@mollytabitha8851 True. There's about $20k(£16k) difference in the average salary in the US vs UK.
@@eileenmiller4685 That's very true. But the extra US cost's do not stop at food. Healthcare is one of the big ones. How the two balance out at the end of the day - no idea.
Been to both the US and UK and I have to say UK hands down has the cheapest and best quality food in their supermarkets
Yes, I've been to the US a lot of times in different states and you cannot buy decent bread and everything has tons of chemicals, oil, cheese and salt or sugar. If we are flying there with AA, we get blotted before landing and never feel hungry in the whole stay...there is something in the food that inflates your body and the portions are huge so you never feel hungry, you just eat because you know is time for the next meal...
We were shocked at the poor quality of food, and sodas, in America. Everything was in Huge portions, but tasted horrible, so that was no bonus. So many additives and chemicals, Why? The amount of sugar ,in sodas, is horrifying. I'd heard of this,so tried a Coca Cola 🤢It was undrinkable. I stuck to plain water ( or wine with meals 😊) Food was SO expensive , also. I'm sad for the American people. Now I live in Europe, where food is better than BOTH Countries, and MUCH cheaper
The overall feeling is that Americans are being ripped off. The quality of meat and vegetables in the USA would not be acceptable in the UK. The pricing in the US seems exorbitant for additive laden food.
There are a ton of variables that impact cost. Supply chains become exponentially more difficult over longer distances, especially with American weather.
@@Mat-eq8mk ...You might want to remember that most items in supermarkets here are not British-produced but imported from other countries, often times at vast distances (staple fruit from Peru and China, for example). I'm very amused that you think American weather is a factor, as if the US is under some constant state of emergency. You might consider that the shipping and airflight that brings our food to us could also undergo transportation problems due to weather, but there it is, our shelves are still filled. Robert, uk.
@@2eleven48 The UK is a small island. Our fruit and veg is delivered almost to our doorsteps by container. In the US, the nearest port might be a thousand miles away. That in itself has a significant cost. Weather is another big factor when it comes to the cost of transporting fresh or cold goods over distance.
@@Mat-eq8mk ...Surely, refrigerated containers for fresh or cold foods are used whether there's a thousand miles in the US internally or thousands of miles across the globe to be received in the UK. Yet food, I gather, is cheaper here than in the US. Frankly, how produce is distributed and is apparently more costly in the US is a matter for the federal government and states to be concerned with.
Thanks for taking the time to reply. Robert, uk.
@@Mat-eq8mk the very furthest point from the coast in the USA is bennet county in Dakota and it’s 1025 miles from the coast.
Also do you not have railway lines or airports?
The influencer you watched is in the centre of London, so the prices are actually higher than they would be in other areas of the country. People who work in London are paid a higher rate to accommodate the higher property/rent and living expenses ( even if they are doing the same job for the same company,. I think this may apply to government benefits too?)
Not many people living in the expensive boroughs of London are on benefits, they've all been long since driven out by the sky high prices.
Certainly if you work for a unionised employer, London Weighting is negotiated every year together with annual wages. It's roughly 20% of basic. I don't know how common it is for employees of non-unionised work-places to get LW, but there are probably quite a few if they want to retain staff in London.
London weighting, i think it's called, mrs Robinson. Could be ms, it's just Simon and Garfunkel always springs to mind when i hear that surname.
Yes!, it called London waiting and we would refer to her as Ms until they declare themselves to be married (Mrs)..@@blackbob3358
The price of stock in Waitrose will be the same in London as in any other of their branches across the country. The prices and discounts and offers are universal.
Yeah we don't add tax at the register, it's already included into the food. So the prices you see on the floor, is exactly what you pay :) . Love that with Britain, it makes things so much easier.
That's everywhere but the US I think
Everywhere in Europe prices include tax. What you see on the tag is what you pay.
Not only is the food cheaper but it is infinitely healthier as it's not pumped full of chemicals and preservatives which is the norm in the USA.
Have youloked at average wages. Average wage at time of upload would be 2.5 times what we get in the UK.
@@glesgakiss66 Yes but when you take into account that US citizens are taxed more and they have things such as health insurance to pay for and that the US has the most billionaires living there skewing the data too as their minimum wage is around $7/hr ~ £5/hr compared to our £10.26/hr. It's still very expensive to live in the USA compared to the UK
And we still get cancer!
@@theunholysoul cancer is a mutation of DNA in cells. Yes, something may contain carcinogens but claiming that it's down to diet is a little extreme
@@piecewisefunctioneermin wage in UK is £11.44 per hour
In the UK you are never more than 70 miles from the sea. The seafood selection is pretty normal for the UK
I was going to say the same. In fact, the fish counter at my local Tesco Extra is always impressive.
Excuse me I live in Nottinghamshire I'm 87.5 miles away from the sea
I used to work for Waitrose in my late teens, they were a pretty good employer - every employee of the wider company (John Lewis) essentially has shares so the better the business does the better your bonus
John Lewis scrapped the shares and bonus schemes back in 2018. Every employee is just a normal employee now. Not even a Christmas bonus.
Waitrose employees are now the lowest paid in supermarket food retail, and treated pretty badly.
@@rewindradioukmiss information. JLP have not scrapped the bonus, they pay one when the business can afford to. There is and never was shares in the business, it is a Partnership, there are no shareholders.
This is not misinformation whatsover. This is first hand information and not some third hand propaganda. I could shed light on the whole JLP lies but I value my freedoms.@@Crimson_Logic
Regarding the self scanners, when you go to the checkout, you can be randomly selected for an assistant to come and check that you have scanned everything. This actually does stop most theft according to staff I've spoken to. Apparently, it's more common at self checkouts.
In my country even at the self checkouts you get randomly selected for a check. Some even have a gate to leave after the self checkout where you need to present the barcode on your bill.
@@WookieWarriorz What job did you have? Toilet licker?
Nobody 'checks you"
@@xxxhustl3rxxx I've had my shopping checked a few times when using the bar code scanner. The staff member scans a handful of random items in your bags and if they're not on your receipt it'll show up. Doesn't happen too often, but it definitely happens.
I've been checked after self scanning- took my receipt and had a look in my bags - stupidly, I felt really nervous in case they found something I hadn't paid for even though I knew I hadn't stolen anything
Love popping into Waitrose for a cheeky treat, and you get a free tea or coffee too! Their shops are always spotless and the staff are uber friendly and nothing is ever a problem.
Thank you very kind of you. From a partner for Waitrose.
My local Waitrose definitely doesn't give our free coffee or tea. They have a little Cafe area at the back which is overpriced.
I have worked for Waitrose in the Uk. It was THE BEST employer I have ever worked for, and the team on the shop floor were a pleasure, they really take a pride in Waitrose and service is by far the best. The Scan and Pay handset shopping and the SCO tills where you checkout out are a major source of theft and fraud but the rate of loss is still less than employing staff equal to what the self service tills can handle in terms of through-put. The Waitrose essentials lines are actually good value compared to Tesco and Sainsburys. I wish we had Waitrose in the Netherlands, I would shop there all the time.
She's in London so the prices are going to more expensive than the rest of Britain. That goes for everything not just food and drink.
That's not universally true. Lots of fruit, veg and meat in Scottish supermarkets (eg) costs much more.
@@4bawbees Certainly the Highlands and Islands.
Food in Scottish shops is always dearer than England as we have no seaports to import produce and it all has to be shipped up from England. I remember going to Northumberland in the 1960s and my mother being astounded by how little my auntie Jean paid for her messages even then.
Who would believe that a pint of beer in London can be dearer that a gallon ( 8 pints) of petrol
Really?? Can of cola cola is 4p !ore in Wales!!
the idea of us in the UK having cheaper prices than the US is absolutely crazy as we've typically been known for higher prices. US has gone seriously down hill in the last couple of years.
A lot of what was shown were items from the more expensive end of the range. Just a thought - all eggs sold in Waitrose are free range, even egg used in own brand ready meals are free range.
Hannah has done several Christmas food shops in Harrods - that is a posh shop if anything! You should check those out. Loving your reactions together by the way, especially when you've already seen the shops and she hasn't 😂
Remember it's not just the price - or that no tax is added at the checkout - but the quality is often much higher than US food!
Yeah for sure!
@@reactingtomyroots great reaction as always, thanks. Please film your wife reacting to the Aldi shop items for 30pounds that you watched a while ago. Would love to see her see those prices and the great quality too. It would be epic to see her react to that video.
@@reactingtomyrootsA Cheap Loaf of bread in a Supermarket in the UK costs 45p
I shop in Waitrose and don't spend as much. The reason is I don't buy pre-prepared veg/fruit or ready meals as Hannah did in the video. If I buy chicken, I'll buy a basic whole chicken or you can get a pack of 6 thighs (1kg) with skin and on the bone for around £4 - ideal for curries and can easily feed 4 people. I buy fresh unprepared vegetables, and their basic own brand 'Essential range' on many items. e.g. 4-pack of tinned tomatoes = £2.80 v prime Italian brand for £3.50.
Reason Waitrose decor is simple and plain reflects a deli/kitchen feel - this helps put the focus on the produce, and the colour.
I always prefer the prime Italian brand, cost more but taste far better, much less acidic than the cheaper brands.
I agree.
@@papalaz4444244 Only to use a 'real life' comparison so our American friends appreciate the options even within Waitrose.
@@martinwebb1681 I buy them somtimes too, especially when on offer.
@@papalaz4444244Only using a 'real life' example for our American friends, to demonstrate there's a range of options even within Waitrose showing it can be cheaper.
I find the brand name items at Waitrose are a lot more expensive than other supermarkets, but if you opt for their own brand 'Essential' range they are very good value, and extremely good quality
That's the thing though isn't it?
Iceland is the absolute one when it comes to everything frozen
Give me one of their prawn rings and a slice of brown bread and butter and I’m very happy. 😊
As well as farmfoods which also has great food and prices.
They roadie far more than just frozen foods.
@@russellkerner9512 sorry farm foods????
@@chixma7011 We were DIRT poor when I was a kid. On special occassions we would go get a prawn ring and a frozen Black Forest to "push the boat" out lol
If you can find a video of Harrod’s food hall you should take a look, it’s MAGNIFICENT!
And Selfridges!
The chocolate room!
thats a food hall and a half Amazing!
Remember our cheeses are amazing!
Yes, they really are.
Oooooh Black Bomber cheese is amazing em/Drool
@@Drath49 I spotted that too lol and it is yummy 😋
Not as amazing as we have in France!
@@foureyes1700just as good as France
The ‘Duchy’ brand is exclusive to Waitrose because it was started by King Charles when he was Prince of Wales and heavily into organic farming on his Duchy of Cornwall estate. The Duchy Originals range of goods were stocked by WR but they started getting into financial trouble. Waitrose, who at the time held Royal Warrants from The Queen, the Queen Mother and The Duke of Edinburgh, stepped in and offered to buy it. A change to the marketing and promotion of Duchy Originals using Waitrose expertise and it’s now doing fine. They were subsequently awarded a Royal Warrant by the then Prince of Wales. On his accession this will have been upgraded from PoW to HM the King. Warrants are displayed above the main entrance at Head Office and also the individual stores that are actually supplying the goods.
The current Prince of Wales, William, can start awarding his own Royal Warrants to people or businesses that have supplied him with goods or services for 5 years or more. Other members of the Royal Family, such as Princess Anne or Prince Edward, do not award Royal Warrants; William is as junior as it gets!
I worked at Head Office for 12 years until my retirement and saw many innovations introduced by Waitrose. They started the Bags for Life recycling initiative, the plastic tokens in stores to support local charities, the daily checking of competitors’ prices (so that they couldn’t be called ‘expensive’ for basic labelled products such as Nescafé coffee), the 25% discount on wines in the run-up to Christmas, the championing of small local food producers who might only be able to supply a few stores, and many others. They also own a farm called Leckford in Hampshire which provides the stores with mushrooms, milk and cream, eggs and apples. Quality is the watchword and if you want something unusual or exotic, such as truffles or Kosher wine you would head for Waitrose rather than Aldi or Lidl.
The holders of Royal Warrants would make an interesting subject for one of your videos, Steve. They cover everything from cleaning products and tractors to chimney sweeps. 😊
My husband holds a Royal Warrant. A very impressive certificate hangs on our wall at home - for engineering.
I know there's something my husband has that Waitrose won't - and that's his 'Certificate of Awesomeness in Health and Safety,' issued by the Vice Admiral, Master of the Household. (That last has given our visitors hours of merriment over the years).
A Certificate of Awesomeness is something we should all aspire to!!
So these are the people who are ripping us off with pay for bags. From 30p to a pound and a half? People now have to walk out without bags that use to be free. Only the stores know where the money is going!
They are the most expensive products in Waitrose
It would have been good to show the egg section. When the box shows the breed of chicken that laid the eggs inside, it tells you what colour the shells are, for example Old Cotswold Legbar chickens lay pale blue eggs, Burford Browns lay caramel-coloured ones etc. My nearest Waitrose has a good wet fish section, with rows of shiny mackerel, sea bream, salmon, and mussels.
I got some pale blue eggs from Tesco a few weeks ago Bluebell Araucana, they looked so pretty I didn't want to eat them 😂.... But when I finally did they were really nice and had lovely big dark yellow yokes.
You can see why we drink so much tea. 160 bags for £4.50 about 3.5 US Cents a bag/cup😂
Tea: making water less boring since time immemorial.
You can't cheap out when it comes to tea.
@@harbl99 😆
@@jonlen100 Twinings English Breakfast Tea, like a cup of espresso!
@@alimantado373noooooo
Fortnum and Masons are the most expensive food hall in the UK, they supply food for the Royal family.
I always drop by there when I'm London, and leave with at least a jar of marmalade. For me, the best UK souvenir!
My wife sometimes orders special items to be delivered in rural Derbyshire dales
Harrods also has a quality food hall (or rather a group of them) also expensive but worth it
It's not the most expensive! Just meant to be quality foods! It's not much different from M&S! Ocado is expensive
As mentioned in other comments, please look at Harrods Food Hall and Fortnum & Mason - they are really expensive.
Waitrose is considered high quality products and the other quality supermarket is M&S, Marks and Spencer.
M&S food is not quality though, people just think it is because it is expensive.
@@puddleglum76 Stephen Fry likes M&S because it keeps the plebs out of Waitrose!
Having said that, Ocado (M&S's online branch) is generally cheaper and better quality because fresh produce comes directly from the warehouse instead of sitting on shelves in the supermarket, being pawed over by all and sundry.
@@puddleglum76 I disagree. M&S is quality.
I prefer M&S food to Waitrose
Waitrose is part of John Lewis partnership which is owed by the workers, and are not called staff but are known as partners Waitrose does sell a essential range for a cheaper brand.
These prices already include taxes so the price on the item is what you pay at checkout
The staff owned tagline is bit of a half truth, Waitrose Ltd and John Lewis PLC are technically owned by JLP which is a trust with a board of trustees. The staff "partners" don't actually own any piece of the organisation in the conventional sense and only hold the title of co-owners while under permanent contract.
If you want your jaws to drop check out the "real" British working class ultra budget chains like Farm Foods, Poundland, Home Bargains, Poundstretcher, B & M Bargains.
Don't forget Aldi, Which found they were the cheapest supermarket brand 2 years in a row I think
@@theparanoidandroid3583 And yet often wins taste competitions against Harrods/F&M/etc at Christmas!! (As well as Lidl doing the same)
And Icelands now with the £1 items 😅
Farmfoods is quite expensive compared to Asda,Tesco, Lidl a Aldi but they do have a better range of frozen stuff.
Poundland you need to be careful as they can appear to have cheaper prices but have smaller packaes.
Home Bargain/Poundstretcher and B&M on like for like items are usually more expensive than the big 4 but have a bigger range of non-food items.
@@amandaabrahams5118I went to my local Iceland for the first time in years last week and left without putting a single item in my trolly. On like-for-like items the top 4 supermarkets are all cheaper including the £1 items the cost per g is still cheaper at the other supermarkets Iceland like poundland are clever with their packaging to make it look like you are getting a better deal than you ar
Waitrose is like a Palace compared to Asda, our version of Walmart. I shop online these days but I regularly lost the will to live halfway round Asda. Waitrose food is such good quality. Their chicken tikka masala is one of the best I've ever tasted and their cakes and bakery items are delicious.
Sainsburys is only about 4% more than asda now and way better quality.
spot on. I agree. Ihardly buy cake but when I do its their very reasonable Lemon Drizzle loaf cake.. I love their chicken tikka masala as well.
plus, their essential range of condiments.. such as their creamy delicious tartare sauce, their balsamic glaze.. all reasonably priced and much better than elsewhere. I mainly get my stuff deliverydue to disability.. just occasionally go in there and use their cafe and pick up one or two things. Even the delivery price is worth my while as I tend to buy to stock up for a few weeks. hardly any substitutions or missed items.. it happens.. but not as often as with other companies. Their drivers are consistantly wonderful and helpful to me with putting stuff from thecrates into my bags and having lovely little chats at the door. Unlike a well known supermarket whose driver started randomly talking to me about 'dogging'.. I sent in an online complaint which they totally igored. I didn;t want the slease coming back to my door ever again so stopped using them.
plus he refused tohelp me bag up and watched as i had to sit on my backside and painfully do it all myself. despite their website saying theywould do it.. he was malevolent through and through that guy. Waitrose drivers are polite, always well turned out.. apologise if 10 mins late. whichis nothing of course and I understand.. they rang ahead to inform me.. same if a little early. they ring ahead to see if its convenient to take it early.. as many people are tied up with other things so cannot come to the door or are still out of the house. Before christmas I ordered a lot of second class stamps in my order and couldn;t find them when the driver had left. I emailed them and got a full refund. I tend to lave non perishables scuh as tins and jars to the next day to put away.. so when I did I found them stuck to the underside of a jar.. as it had been a wet day when he was at my door decanting into bags.. I had searched but missed them. I immediately confessed my error to them and aske them to retake the money.. it was around £18.. they sad they could not and to have it on them and they appreciated I was trying and wanted to pay for them. Cannot say fairer than that. I had a lovely email back. Wht I did was I went in store later and bought £18 or so worth of goods and put it in the food bank basket.. it was money I would have spent on the stamps so I wanted it to help others. I had to do it in two lots as I can only balance a basket on my rollator and get fatigued after a few mins.
I used to work at Asda, doing the graveyard restocking into the early hours. It was the definition of "soul destroying", lol
As a brit, one thing I noticed when visiting the US was how sweet the white sandwich/toasting bread is! I would actually say its sweeter than the brioche over here. Also the size of everything is so much bigger.
Pleased by your reaction. My nearest supermarket is a Waitrose and, although it is a tad pricier, I don't find it excessively so given that the quality is always there. Added to that, it is a genuinely pleasant experience to shop there - during Covid it was about the only place I felt comfortable because they took it both seriously and sensibly.
I use Waitrose at Christmas/Easter and for treats. The quality of the food is exceptional... the rest of the time I use Sainsbury's as it's very local to me - a 10-minute walk. I bought two large avocados this morning they cost £1.60.
100%
Opened in 1844 on Toad Lane, Rochdale, the first co-operative was initially opened for two nights per week, selling four key items - butter, sugar, flour and oatmeal
It used to be great. Now people are constantly monitored vua kpi's, and the coop sources things directly from suppliers, and then charges top prices for things. It touts how great it is, while crapping all over the people who make it happen - the workers.
We don't have to add any tax either what you see is what you get it's mind blowing isn't it and this is one of the two dearest stores I'm sitting here thinking OMG we are so lucky here xx if 8 went to Aldi it would be half this price and still good quality xx
But that's why you pay so much at whole foods your paying for the decor xx our supermarkets are so functional best fridges best packaging Im going to Google while foods is to see what these stores look like xx well if you want what is the most expensive department store food then you need to see Selfridges and Harrods ten times more expensive than Waitrose or Marks xx
@lynjones2461 Having work in food production years ago, i can tell you that the only thing that really changes with food is the labels and packing. For places like marks, they just add a little extra sugar or salt or something per unit. It's literally the brand, nothing special.
So that's about 6.45pm
What you need to bear in mind in the portions in UK supermarkets are a lot smaller than in the US
I work part time in my local Waitrose. So am biased😂 but I do think it’s worth every penny.
Waitrose is the only U.K. supermarket to hold a Royal Warrant. This means they provide food for the Royal Family. ( the bags have the late Queen and then Prince of Wales’ crests on them with “ Suppliers to Her Majesty the Queen” and the same for the Prince of Wales. We’ve yet to get updated bags with the now King’s crest).
We have lovely staff here, I love working with them, and the customers are great. Far as I know, we’re the only supermarket that gives free gifts to customers such as flowers, which they always appreciate.
Waitrose is No 1 in the country for animal welfare. They were the first supermarket to only sell free range eggs, and none of their fish or meat are factory farmed either. Their Duchy collection gives money to the Prince of Wales’ charity fund, and has raised over £30 million for good causes.
Also, there are great perks for working here- I get 20% off at Waitrose and 25% at John Lewis. Waitrose own three lovely hotels in the countryside that are just for a Waitrose employees to use, & they also have a yacht! ( I’ve yet to sample either hotels or yacht!) and I get to take home any food that is going out of date the shift I work. I freeze the lot and haven’t had to do a food shop for months!
Waitrose started an 'Essentials' range some years ago with all the most common items at normal prices (not shown by this vlogger, of course). So you can actually do a shop there cheaply and the quality is still okay. I'm sure the regular Waity crowd lammented the day that range was introduced and the unwashed hoi palloi started to frequent the place...
waitrose also has organic frozen berries and veg and cooked organic rotisserie chicken to go-they also have a basics range which is very reasonably priced(tinned stuff etc)
Using scan and shop is so much more easier.
You no longer have to get everything out of your trolley at the checkout just to put it all back in your trolley- you can bag it all up in your trolley as you go around shopping. Also, It knows exactly how much each item weighs and it weighs your entire shop at the end to see if matches what's been scanned. So you can't steal or not scan something.
tesco scan and shop doesn't require your trolley contents to be weighed but you're occasionally spot checked so it's not worth the risk for most people.
@@mistakenot...4012 oh it does weigh each item as you bag it. If you scan and it's not put on the scale in the bag, it will say "please check bagging area or call an assistant" and won't let you go any further. It knows the exact grammage of every item. Or maybe that's the self-serve till and not the scan and shop, i'm not sure now.
Might have been pointed out already, but the Duchy range was started way back by King (then Prince) Charles, who was right up there with the whole organic thing when it started to pick up steam. Their sausages are excellent BTW. Another useful thing about Waitrose and M&S I find is that if you go in later in the day after work, their price reductions can be substantial - instead of a few pennies off like the other chains, you can get things knocked down from (for example) £6 to £4 and then even lower if it's close to closing time. Loving these comparison videos thanks
Back in 1970's & 80's, Waitrose was very much the posh supermarket- but we had far less supermarket chains back then - and certainly not so widely accessible - which is really when it 1st gained its reputation for being posh and expensive. It is still a leader in the higher end food - but over the years the likes of M&S (Percy Pig sweets you liked), have branched out from being just clothing and homewear into food - they are likely the equivalent of Waitrose in pricing & quality/range now. For the non chain options - Harrods food hall in London is definitely an experience (& expensive) - as is Fortnum & Mason & a few others. Farm shops are brilliant for local produce and obviously there are a huge number of independent/family run etc stores all over the UK. The key with Waitrose is - it does sell a great deal of own brand and posh brand goods - but within its own brand you have a basic range (which is still excellent & not stupid on cost), and then a 'posher' own brand selection. But - quality is king at Waitrose. Knowing the provenance of the food items - sometimes down to which farm produced that item - and ensuring a good range of organic/gluten free/meat free goods - along with some specialist items is where they tend to differ from Tesco/Aldi etc. Although in recent years some of the other chains have started the 'name that farm' on some items - Waitrose is still better at this. Personally I also find they tend to treat their fruit and veg more kindly than some other chains - it keeps for longer without additional nasty chemicals etc. I personally do not do my weekly shop at Waitrose - I am a Sainsbury's fan - mainly for wide selection and good quality - but I will visit Waitrose and/or M&S once or twice a month to pick up some tasty and excellent quality treats, along with any meat/chicken I want for the month - I eat very little of this - so choose to buy organic - and I like knowing where my chicken lived - and that a happy healthy life was had.
Waitrose is not somewhere you shop if you are on a tight budget or have a massive family to feed - in those circumstances - ensuring full stomachs is obviously more important - but for quality/provenance and range of different/specialist goods - Waitrose is excellent. 😉
All UK/EU meat products, poultry and Eggs are traceable back to producer/farm but often just a code on the packaging. Only M&S and Waitrose often name the farm as buy direct from the producer/farm. Makes the farmers proud of the product.
We certainly didn't have far less supermarket chains back then! From memory we had International, Key Markets, Presto, Victor Value, Kwik Save, Bishops, Budgen, Fine Fare, Bejam, Liptons, Safeway, Somerfield, Shoppers Paradise and Gateway.
@@netherherenorthere1000 And MacMarkets, MacFisheries, the fish retailer branched out. My Ex Wife was a Kwik Save manager, later area manager.
@netherherenorthere1000 I think maybe fewer stores to the chains would have been a better way for me to phrase that.
Waitrose joke "Two for the price of three!"
Wow I’m in Australia this is cheaper than our Aldia
One Pound One and One Pence
There are four traditional supermarkets in the UK: Tesco, Sainsburys, Morrisons and ASDA in roughly that order for price. Tesco being the most expensive. Then there are the budget supermarkets that have arrived from continental Europe: Aldi, Lidl and Netto. They initially fared badly here but have quickly learnt and are now all doing extremely well. There are also a few high end stores like Waitrose and Booths.
Netto doesn't exist now. I would disagree that Tesco is more expensive than Sainsbury's!
Tesco is definitely not the most expensive
@@milestone090me too,do my main shopping at Tesco and only get a small amount from Sainsburys but it’s more expensive
Netto, Safeway (UK version), Wavy Line (yes, a chain of supermarkets called Wavy Line), Bejam, Somerfield, Presto, Fine Fare and many more, all gone and mostly unlamented.@@milestone090
Don't forget your US gallon is less than our UK gallon by about 20%, so your milk is even more expensive.
I order my groceries online to be delivered because I live in a rural village that only has one tiny grocery shop that hardly sells anything that I need. Also the stores in the local towns that my orders come from are quite small. That means that no one store carries everything I need. However, although Sainsbury's has all the basics, I always buy my meat, and a few other bits and pieces, from Waitrose, because you simply can't beat the quality elsewhere.
You mustn't forget that here, what you call sales tax is included in the shelf price. Nothing extra is added at the checkout!
It's not big in the US, not in florida anyway where my cousin lived.
You could shop online but they didn't deliver, you had to pick it up. Or kerb side as they call it.
@@101steel4 But then... the US is very 'everyone drives a car everywhere for everything' society. I don't even own a car.
those chicken meals you saw, are ready to go ready to cook, all the seasoning has been doen for you, what ever flavour you like, from taste around the world, its done for you, in the ove job done
Steve you will have to take us on a visit to your local shopping centre............
When are you moving over here to the UK my darlings?!?!
I have to watch my budget, however two or three times a year I will blow a £60 home delivery on a few things I wouldn’t normally buy. Every day basics aren’t all that expensive and comparable to other supermarkets. What I love is how Waitrose support local charities so much. You get a green token at the checkout and you get to choose which charity bin to put your token in. Every month the local charity bin with the most tokens get a cash donation to the charity from Waitrose.💞🇬🇧
Actually, they all do. There’s a monthly pot available for each store (used to be £1000 in my day) and it’s divided up according to the number of tokens donated per charity. I think the tokens are weighed rather than counted (!) and turned into a percentage which is then applied to the cash available. Any local charity can ask the branch to be included for a month. Major national charities, such as the British Red Cross, are usually dealt with by the Partnership Head Office in London.
@@chixma7011
I know it’s a genius idea by the John Lewis group. I only wish more companies like Tesco did this, they make a shed load of profits every year from each and every store. Where I live within a twenty mile radius there’s one small Waitrose, two large Morrisons, two Asda’s, three large Sainsbury’s, seven small Tesco’s and three large ones. Tesco really has the lions share round my way. Because we have only one Waitrose it’s always very busy, and Christmas is a nightmare. As I’m disabled, I get home delivery from them everyone now, and Waitrose delivery drivers are the best of the crop. They’ll even help me put frozen away in the freezer for me. Asda are by far the worst for home delivery. They complain about the two flights of stairs, delivering more than fifty items, their GPS always sending them to the wrong area of town, and having to help me with my shopping if I’ve not got someone there to help me. Twice I’ve had the driver dump my shopping downstairs and just leave. Not great when you’ve got very untrustworthy neighbours, a load of frozen items defrosting by the minute and the lift is now permanently out of order which I need to access downstairs. 🤷♀️
Waitrose have a rewards scheme and are part of the John Lewis department store chain, you can pick up John Lewis products you have ordered online at Waitrose after you have done your shop, it may be more expensive compared to the other supermarkets but the quality and selection of produce is pretty awesome…surprised how you feel this isn’t that expensive compared to the States!.
Marks and Spencer food. Equally Excellent quality. A bit pricey but you can never go wrong with their products.
It's just the support of genocide people have issue with
I shop in marks about once every 2 months for a treat
Nearst m and s shut down before covid move to outside city, only way get m and s is though ocado its that or two buses there and two buses back
I'm a sucker for M&S own ginger beer - it's fiery! the vegan selection (stupid list of allergies - inc meat) isn't great, but, it does offer things that some of the other supermarkets don't - but choice is good wherever you shop and I can do four supermarkets in one trip - which reduces a lot of costs (just wish we had a morrisons in town as that would complete the circle and save me a two bus trip out of town) but most of my Christmas food shopping came from M&S - just as a way of a change. actually cost a lot less than I thought it would!!
it's not a massive food store, but it's big enough. it's a pensioner magnet though - going off all the old dears weighed down with groceries all wanting the bus into the town centre (even though it's only a 10 minute walk away!🤣)
I agree I have my weekly shop their, Ocado do the delivery.
In UK we have more premium superstores, like M&S food or Ocado online superstore (collab with Waitrose). In London you will find Fortnum Mason which is crazy expensive but you go there for the show, rather than daily shopping. In UK you will also find that most food (unprocessed food) is zero rate VAT, you pay extra VAT on things like snacks and crisps, higher rate VAT on fizzy drinks that contain sugar, hence it is cheaper to buy zero sugar drinks.
Love Waitrose. May be a bit more expensive but their food is top quality.
I work in waitrose & 2 years ago went to florida, your supermarket publix reminded me so much of waitrose, even down to the store colours 😊
Hi Steve. I know you've watched the video I'm about to suggest but I think your wife would be amazed by it and that's the Aldi UK vs Aldi US food price comparison by Evan Edinger that you reacted to by yourself a while ago.
Evidently you didn’t watch the beginning of Evans UK vs US Aldi’s,he did an online comparing his hometowns online Aldi, not Aldi in all 50 US states and he never mentioned that all those foods in the US would have no Taxes.
Hi Steve and Lindsey. There doesn't seem to be anything you don't like this side of the pond. So when are you moving over here? 🤭🤭
They're moving to Ireland. They can take some day trips to the UK though
@@okelydokely9984 🤣😂
I bought have a wheel of Stilton cheese with fudge and ginger, reduced to £2.45. I did wonder what on earth it would taste like, it was gorgeous! Waitrose cakes taste wonderful x
Waitrose is tied up with the Duchy of Cornwall. The Duchy Estates in Cornwall were run by King Charles, when he was Prince of Wales, and he convinced all his tenant farmers - many decades ago, maybe fifty years ago, to change to Organic Farming. It has proved a phenomenal success. The quality of the Duchy's foods is high, not just because it is organically produced, but because of its lack of artificial additives where ever possible.
I think it is safe to say he started a trend and now most of our Supermarkets sell a lot of organic foods here and the Government's Department of Agriculture is pretty hot on what additives can be put in food. Prince William holds the reins of the Duchy now and I am certain he will continue the good work. Many farmers all over the UK are now using organic methods to produce our foods and its become accessible and cheaper to almost everyone. Waitrose is more expensive though. A rough calculation - for every £1 you spend in a 'normal' supermarket, you will spend £1.25p in Waitrose for most items.
The headline price on the chicken and meat is per kilo, not the price of the actual items which are individually priced. This morning my organic corn fed chicken was £4.99 per kg, but the chicken cost £7.21 because it was 1.45 kg ( that was in Lidl not Waitrose, because there are fewer Waitrose outlets in the North of England)
Price comparisons in different countries but with similar cultures are always a curiosity but to see the overall picture it would be interesting to see the differences in household income , from young families to the average pensioner and the average wage for same type of job
Sometimes when TH-camrs get their wives/girlfriends involved they change the vibe for the worse or are annoying but Lyndsey definitely isn’t… great addition to the channel love you guys 👍🏻
Glad you enjoy the content! :) Appreciate you following along on the journey
A lot of super market chains do allow local items to be sold, you can find places where they will have shelves of local fruit, veg, meat as wells as prepared food also.
In Germany there are two cheap supermarket brands, Aldi North and Aldi South. Both went to the USA, one as Aldi, the other as Trader Joe’s
And Lidl as Lidl.
Waitrose is more expensive than most but worth it. And they're also not as expensive as videos like these would have you believe. The quality of their food makes up for the differences.
Did an online shop with them a week or so ago. I was surprised their prices weren't too bad, I was about to have a go at the wife for shopping at waitrose but it was all good.
I don't know if Waitrose does the same, but with self scanning as you shop in Sainsbury's, when you get to checkout you could be randomly selected by the checkout system to have your bags checked and a staff member will have to come over and scan some of your items to make sure you're not trying to cheat the system
Yeah it only happens to me when I’ve nicked something 😩(joke)😂
They are expensive but it’s worth it, Booths are a similar shop but mostly in the North of England.
I much prefer Booths (but that’s the Lancastrian in me).
Waitrose was founded by to gentleman Mr Wait and Mr Rose and is now part of the John Lewis Partnership. Everyone who works for the company is a partner. I worked for Waitrose for 7 year's in Bristol branch 151 and the yearly bonus was 12% to 24% of the yearly wage. They used to have the world's largest fully automated warehouse in the world at bracknell.
I can say with my now local supermarket's all the managers would be sacked if they were Waitrose
She mainly showed the pre packed stuff which is a shame. Would be nice if she showed the counters where you can have as much or little as you want. They have butcher counters, fish mongers, deli and patisserie and sushi where it's made in store in front of you. You could order just what you want like one slice of ham cut to how thick you want straight from the joint. The cheese is full blocks ie 80lb block of cheddar and you choose how big of piece you want . Butcher cuts and prepares your joint of meat for cooking you could even buy 1 sausage. It's a great way to buy ie if you live alone or have a big family
If you want to see expensive food Harrods would blow your mind. X
This company sells a brand Duchy Originals Organic, which was set up by King Charles III so they are seen as very high-quality products, and are sometimes bought as gifts.
Not anymore waitrose brought king Charles company because it nearly went bankup hence why waitrose sell duchy food stuff no one else king Charles food stuff anywere else only in waitrose can't buy it in tesco or morrisons etc
His salmon is farmed crap and massively overpriced.
Our local Aldi has phone & face recognition so u tap ur pho e when u go in and cameras pick up whatever u pick up put in ur trolley then u go and they charge u after
Just one step away from widespread use of RFID chips so that items can be remotely and individually priced to dissuade "undesirables" by making their shopping more expensive. Apply that to a Chinese-style social credit system and you have a very effective device for controlling people. Commit the crime of "wrongthink" and you suddenly find your grocery bill rocket overnight. It's already possible, so is that paranoia or just a matter of time and political will?
The scan as you shop works due to scanners at the specific checkout counter. It scans all your shopping in the cart as you enter and some also go by weight. each products weight is also recorded so they will know if you haven't scanned anything. They also pull random carts for spot checks
I stumbled upon your channel last week. Binging it! You guys are so down to earth and amazing. Thanks for all the content and yeah, agree 100%. Was in Florida last year and Publix/Wallmart prices were really high in general compared to what I pay here in the UK.
You are both great - thanks again!
Steve i used the scanners many times .You scan your product then when you finished shopping just go to the area where you can just transfer what you scanned to the till and then just pay the amount.
To get to use the self scan thing, you have to have a 'loyalty' card for that particular chain of stores. You swipe/scan the card & it releases a scanner for you to use. You then just leave the scanner at the self scan check out when you're finished.
There are certain things that they have set in place, as ways to deter/reduce the chance of people not scanning some items & certain for items, an employee has to come & manually type in a code to authorise the sale (i.e. age restriction items like cigarettes/alcohol/adhesives/razor blades etc)... There are always a couple of employees in that checkout section, to help you if needed & to authorise & check on the sale if required... They would do 'spot checks' quite often, at the self scan check out area. There are a couple of ways they do this. Sometimes, it's a 'random items' scan, which is just a few items (how many items is determined by the checkout computer), then the shop's employee randomly selects items from your shopping & they scan those in to allow the checkout computer to authorise the sale.... other times it's a full shop rescan, which the employee helps you to rescan & repack everything again.
@@kookycat9663 yes and I have a Tesco card
Many people who say Waitrose is expensive have never set foot in one..lol.. I know people like that.. no convincing them otherwise.. For me, quality in my food is very important.
The same people prefer Lada over Ferrari!
Also, bear in mind that by volume UK gallons and pints are much larger than USA gallons and pints so we get even more for our money than you think. So this applies to milk which is sold in pints in the UK.
Oh we have those posh whole foods shops laid out nicely as well, it's just Waitrose is your generic supermarket chain shop that is the most expensive. Usually middle class people shop there lol It's actually fairly good in that they pay their employers and farmers more than other supermarkets.
I did a lidl shop this morning (a bit more than aldi) I spent about £130, but included in that was a paint sprayer, a sabre saw and some spanners (probably about £80 in tools) on top of that I spent another £30 in asda getting some treats and that was my shopping done for just me- for a week.
So a quick one with scan as you shop, every so often when you get to the checkout and scan to say you've finished your shop you'll get a random check where a staff member will scan 10 randomly selected products in your basket or trolley to check you've scanned everything
You say our prices are far lower but our average household earnings are also lower. According to the UK’s ONS, the average UK household income (pretax) is £32300 (approx $41050), compared to data from US Census Bureau which cited the average household income to be $74580. Taking that into consideration, our grocery prices take a higher percentage of our income compared to our US friends.
Ah, but we pay less for things like healthcare and medications etc so it probably roughly balances out.
Generally the more important statistic for cost and quality of living is income inequality rather than income itself
Must admit I felt like I'd made it in my professional life when I did my first food shop at Waitrose! (Sainsbury's girl normally...but the variety of lovely things in Waitrose is amazing!)
Waitrose and Marks and Spencers' quality of food is the best. The shopping experience of shopping in both are totally different from shopping in main stream supermarket's. Yes they are more expensive but its worth the addition cost, and you are able to buy items you can't find in everyday supermarket's.
That was part of the car park (parking lot).
We also have very high food standards and animal welfare legislation for example free range eggs are the default eggs you'd find in shops. We also have pretty much all meat fairly local (somewhere from the uk) and you can trace back to where it comes from. I'm vegetarian so don't know how taste compares but I studied farming and basically less stressed animals taste better. Others have pointed it out but the price listed is the price you pay, no extra added at the till
I have just returned to the UK after 20 years away. Morrisons is the place to go for me! So many deals. 18 Chicken drumsticks for about $3.50USD
Thats what we pay at the check out ,we pay as priced, no tax to add on at the check out (Checkout is called a Till in England )
The till is what the Americans call a register. The checkout is the area in which you bag and pay.
I think for Waitrose you have to think higher class not particularly more expensive!
Better welfare standards too.
It fascinates me that food, or at least some foods, seems so much expensive in the USA. On the point about the self scanning. You do have to belong to the Waitrose loyalty scheme to use the scanners and there are random audits of your shopping when you get to the pay point. We use Quick Check every week and it is so much more convenient that going through a traditional till point. As to being Posh that is often determines by a persons attitude its not something you can really categorise. One persons posh is another persons ordinary! To me it is a place where you can get decent food and a wide variety of food. They still have service counters which have disappeared from some supermarkets. We also shop in other supermarkets but Waitrose is our first choice.
I lived in England for some years, and I loved Waitrose. I wouldn't do my whole shopping there, just a few special things, but it's a lovely shop. Actually, one of the most delicious breads I ever ate, I bought from there, it just had rye flour, salt and water and it was so good!
Also, I love that all the vegan and vegetarian products are labelled, that's so practical for us and makes us feel welcome.
I wonder though, if in the US food is so expensive, do most people cook their meals from scratch at home? That would save a lot of money, I think, and would be a healthy option too.
Hello. It’s a part of the John Lewis Partnership.
John Lewis is about to axe some Waitroses it was in today's news.
There is a Waitrose close to my main work, and I've picked up many bargains over the years. Even buying a multideal I've found cheaper sometimes than other chains. One time I wanted supermarket own Cheerios, the Tesco opposite work didn't have their own and they did, so worked out 3 x cheaper at Waitrose. Plus, the food does taste better.
You would love the fish in Scotland. We have a fish van who comes round. He picks the fish up from the fishing port in the morning and the fish is on our plates by dinner time. The seafood is also world renowned.
Oh, I'm sure I would! Hopefully one day I can experience it for myself :)
@@reactingtomyroots I hope so too, you would have a warm Scottish welcome.
I love Waitrose, I used to live in Brighton and the store their is amazing, it had a proper butchers shop inside, not just a normal supermarket style meat counter, but an actual butcher who would hand cut your steaks for you and stuff, and in general they just do a lot of very tasty food, unfortunately now I live 23 miles away from a store, but I'll pop in if I know I'm going to be in that area though. I'd say the next best is probably Marks and Spencer, it's an in-store food shop in a department store but their range is similar to a supermarket these days though, and they're similar to Waitrose in quality.
The Marks & Spencer in out local market town is a proper supermarket, as I believe many M & S stores are now. They only sell food and drink, nothing else.
@@martinwebb1681 I've never seen a stand alone M&S food store, my local one is still in a normal store.
@@markjones127 ... Yes there are plenty about now since they started just going into food and drink. The one in our local town in Lincolnshire was originally built as a Budgens supermarket, but they closed down and M & S took it over, M & S also have another supermarket about 9 miles from me. They have also built a brand new supermarket in the next county about 26 miles from me. Their stores are called M & S food hall supermarkets.
They do really attractive packaging in Waitrose ..it’s very conducive to a sale…i love the packaging in this shop..
The staff are the best and most polite of any supermarket….they are really pleasant and extremely welcoming…it’s a lovely customer experience ..the customers are nice to each other too…no pushing or shoving everybody’s got lovely manners in this shop….everybodys treated like Royalty in this shop…
LIDL and ALDI are up to 50% cheaper than many of these prices for comparable quality stuff but with way less range. Often you find out they are from the same root supplier too.
A lot of people make fun of the packs of pre-prepared fruit and veg we get in the UK, assuming we're very lazy. In fact it's to help the elderly or people with disabilities affecting their hand strength, etc. who find cutting or peeling produce difficult.
It's also ideal for people making their work lunch, or kid's lunch boxes, or grabbing picnic stuff....as we don't carry knives and peelers around with us in our handbags! 😂 Yes it's more expensive in one way...but also cheaper as the weight doesn't include the peelings, stalks, vines, seeds or leaves that would otherwise contribute to the weight of the whole fruit or vegetable.
We have a small chain of supermarkets in the NW of England called Booths. They are a bit pricier than Waitrose but specialise in locally produced products from smaller producers as well as a great range of produce, meat and fish.
With Waitrose, they have some very premium products that are very expensive but also do their own brand premium, standard and value ranges.
The video shown tended to highlight the higher priced products.
I shop at both Morrisons as well as Waitrose on alternate weeks and tend to spend the same amount.
The shop-scan-go hand scanners are great and you can see how much you are spending as you go. Some other retailers have them too. You can also use their App on your phone to do the same thing too.
The vast majority of plastic packaging is recyclable at the kerbside or in collection points at the store.
Hi guys.
I think the big resumé of this video is for you to rent a flat or air B&B when you come over.
My experience of travelling everywhere is that only overnight accomodation is your single most expense item when travelling (and you also have a child).
You can cook quite cheaply and when you cook, often you have food left over for the next day.
There's no tax on food, unless you sit down in a restaurant.
You could stay on a caravan site. A family would probably save quite a lot c/w other accommodation, and possibly have access to a swimming pool, games room etc.
one of my favourite news items was a few years ago, our late HM Queen Elizabeth visited a Waitrose on a official visit.. met the staff erc and was shown around and there she was.. hat on and handbag, lol. looking at the goods on the shelves and of course commenting favourably about them. lol.. Like SHE would personally do her shoping there. I think the firm has the Royal Warrant.. which means they suppliled the Palace.
When she was Princess Elizabeth she did live a much simpler life.
I am talking about her in her early 90s. Yes.. I am aware she was able to go to the hairdressers etc when she lived on Malta. She hardly did all her own grocery shopping though and would have had a chef in the residence. My Mum used to joke as the family left the Church at Sandringham on Christmas Dahy.. well. she will be rushing back first to put the potatoes and veggies on and check onthe turkey - pinny on. lol. @@charlestaylor9424
The woman in the Waitrose video, doesn’t appear to cook! Everything is just ready prepared.
Scan As You Shop is pretty common at most of the big supermarkets. Select the product, scan the barcode and move on. The handset gives you a running total and you just scan the handset at the till and pay. Much quicker and has the advantage of you already having bagged your groceries as you went round the store. The system selects customers at random (or if they are new to using it, or have a history of being caught mis-scanning) for a physical check to try and combat theft, but overall it works pretty well