Looking back at a series of popular Coles commercials that aired six years ago has revealed an eye-opening cost-of-living comparison.
The supermarket giant created budget-friendly recipes for families in its “feed your family for under $10” series, which was fronted by Curtis Stone.
The celebrity chef whipped up his gran’s cottage pie for $10 in one segment from 2017.
He used the ingredients:
- Beef mince, 500g
- Liquid beef stock, 1L
- Two celery sticks
- Two carrots
- Five brushed potatoes
- Two brown onions
- Two cloves of garlic
- Butter, 250g
Today, the same ingredients for the pie would cost $23.18 – a staggering 131 per cent increase.
At Woolworths, the cost of the same meal has soared by 150 per cent to $25.03.
For comparison, the recipe saw a 120 per cent rise to $22.02 at Aldi.
Stone created a fettuccine bolognese for under $10, also in 2017.
- Beef mince, 500g
- One carrot
- One brown onion
- Loose cup mushrooms, 200g
- Balsamic vinegar, 500ml
- Fettucine, 300g
The same recipe would total $18.32 today at Coles, an 83.2 per cent increase.
The meal would cost $18.64, a 86.4 per cent rise, at Woolworths and $14.45, a 44.5 per cent increase, at Aldi.
Groceries are one of several areas affected by skyrocketing inflation, which saw the Reserve Bank raise interest rates 13 times in 15 months in an attempt to reign in prices.
After reaching its highest level in about a decade in December 2022, inflation has slowly dipped to 5.4 per cent in the year to the latest quarter, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
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The prices for food and non-alcoholic beverages suffered one of the most significant increases after Australians forked out 5.3 per cent more in the year to October.
Of that, bread and cereals recorded the highest price rise of 8.5 per cent.
At the same time, Coles and Woolworths both raked in billion-dollar profits in the last financial year despite the worst cost of living crisis in almost two decades.
The pair will now face scrutiny into their prices and market concentration at an upcoming senate inquiry, spearheaded by the Greens.
Greens Senator Nick McKim said it was time to “smash the duopoly”.
“For too long, the big supermarkets have had too much market power,” he said in a statement.
“This allows them to dictate prices and terms that are hitting people hard.
“Coles and Woolworths are making billions in profits because they feel that they can overcharge people without repercussions. It needs to end.
“We’ll find a way to dismantle their power and bring grocery prices down.”
