Supermarket cost comparison?

Have you tried the pet shops instead of the supermarkets.
You can even try lidl

maltablues9 wrote:

Have you tried the pet shops instead of the supermarkets.
You can even try lidl

Hi maltablues...
No, we have not looked at Lidl yet but will do so.
Trying to look at pet shops too.
We move to Mosta in 2 weeks and trying to create a realistic budget
Thank you.
R

It is near on impossible to compare prices. Malta imports what they are given basically...Sometimes, like at the moment, there are thousands of Mars bars for sale, for as little as 3.00 euro a box of 24. Sometimes there is a huge influx of one make and then you don't see it again. Local shops can be as cheap as larger supermarkets one minute and not the next.
Local shops deliver, there are larger online stores like supermarket.com.
I really wouldn't stress over the prices. The island becomes a village, you go to different parts for different things, different shops for different items. You won't know until you get here!

There is one company that I have seen that does home delivery on grocery shopping ,
Supermarket wise Scott's and the gs groups of supermarkets can work out cheaper then other places , and then there is lidl but most of these are out of town ones and you would need to get buses/drive to them .
Thought I have found shopping around and buying some things from some places and others helps to keep costs down

Markets and street vendors are a great place to buy fruit and vegetables and are often a lot cheaper then veg from shops ,
Pet food is available at markets , shops and specific pet shops so it's worth looking around for the best value products ,

Pastas rice, grains are less expensive then the uk but cereals are more expensive , meats are about the same , though local produce is cheaper then imported stuff , sweets chocolate etc is slightly cheaper and soft drinks are about the same
Frozen produce is a little more expensive. , they sell a lot of Iceland branded products -but buying in bulk at the frozen food wholesalers can work out better

It all depends on what your buying and when , get loyalty cards , these can help costs and most shops will do a deal where if you spend 50 or 100 euros you will get a voucher or free water , soft drinks etc so these can help to negate some of the extra costs , there is also a company called kwiksave that. , you can gain points for taking along selected food labels , cartons etc and these can then be used to purchase items from them ...

It's so much easier to find prices when your there.
Then you can ask the locals.

Most shops on Gozo do home delivery. Sometimes there is a minimum spend and sometimes your points are not allocated to defray cost of delivery.

Just came across this:)
http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/ci … city=Mosta

RoyR5085 wrote:

Just came across this:)
http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/ci … city=Mosta

Very, very outdated and almost laughable at the prices...Sorry, but a gross miscalculation!!

coxf0001 wrote:

RoyR5085 wrote:

Just came across this:)
http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/ci … city=Mosta

Very, very outdated and almost laughable at the prices...Sorry, but a gross miscalculation!!

Was wondering and could not see a date either...how far out do you think?

It says it was updated in June...The average for all of Malta was more accurate.

It's really hard to budget from the Uk, you really need to be here. Your eating habits will most likely change, to fit in with seasonal produce. Prices really do go up and down. You may stick to Uk brands but then find the cheaper Italian ones, it is trial and error I'm afraid

eg, tuna went up for a few months to 1.30-1.70 a can, it's now back down to 0.80-1.00 a can, that's just the way it is!!

Before you decided to move to Malta did you not visit several times to check things out and look at property,areas,restaurants and shops etc. If you did then I would have thought you would have found the answers to many of the questions you are asking now.
Presumably you came over to view property before you signed a lease and have not just picked one from the internet! Perhaps you should have looked at local shops and supermarkets then?
I just hope you like it when you get here!

Lol I came to malta once before I came back wanting to stay (I am not usually spontaneus but hey) best descision I made so nothing wrong with finding out things when you get here

I recommend you always buy your fruit and veggies from one of the many vans that you find all over the island. Inevitably there will be one close to where you live. Be carefull of buying from a van in tourist areas as you´ll pay to much.
Example: When I first arrived I brought a tub of strawberries in St. Julians for 3... lucky not to pay 3.50. Now I live in Msida and pay 1.50.. sometimes 1.
Make friends with the seller over time and they'll soon recognise your face, all it takes is a smile. There's something romanticaly authentic about this daily routine as opposed to the supermarket. Every little helps

F0xgl0ve wrote:

Before you decided to move to Malta did you not visit several times to check things out and look at property,areas,restaurants and shops etc. If you did then I would have thought you would have found the answers to many of the questions you are asking now.
Presumably you came over to view property before you signed a lease and have not just picked one from the internet! Perhaps you should have looked at local shops and supermarkets then?
I just hope you like it when you get here!

WOW!! Anyway, just to answer you in more detail.

Yes, we visited twice staying in the Fortina in Sliema. The first time was just a holiday after my wife was involved in a car accident and after 6+ months in hospital to just get away. We fell in love with Malta in this week!

The 2nd time (again staying in the same place) was really to sightsee and consider and at this time we obtained a better understanding of cost of living as best as we could and decided on Mosta for a host of reasons. We had already met with agents/landlords then and selected where we wanted to live and the type of property too.

This time we are staying for 6 months with our two dogs and we are extremely happy with the house and the wonderful area (S.Gati) in we are will be renting in too.

Now we will be living in the community which is much different than staying in a hotel as same for what you spend your time and finances on each and every day.

What we are trying to get at this moment is just a better feel of things that is all.

We will be arriving on Sat 2 Aug and very happy with the information that we do have to live here for 6 months and we will use this time to decide to either perm or not. We think that we will always keep our little home here anyway and rent another for 5+ years there.

The reasons we are really coming to Malta is the people and then the climate and we cannot think of a better country to live in if we have to move from the UK and for the reasons above.

How you got from my enquiries into cost of living to an over assumption of accusations of people being totally naïve is beyond me!! Sheesh!!

Cheers anyway!!
Roy

But didn't you in your 2 visits go to 1-2 supermarkets and checked out prices?

as for supermarkets, i do all my monthly shopping in Tower (they deliver if bill is over 50e) and LIDL
I found that this combination works best (cost effectively) for me

fruit and veggies I started to buy from local truck sellers, way cheaper then in supermarkets

Duxx wrote:

But didn't you in your 2 visits go to 1-2 supermarkets and checked out prices?

as for supermarkets, i do all my monthly shopping in Tower (they deliver if bill is over 50e) and LIDL
I found that this combination works best (cost effectively) for me

fruit and veggies I started to buy from local truck sellers, way cheaper then in supermarkets

Hi Duxx,
No not really but we did go to a few and got an idea that is all. Not having the time as we were not going to actually buy too much as staying in a hotel. We did buy from local traders, fruit & etc.
I think this was not really the most important part of our investigations at the time but it is now just from a budget viewpoint to whether we should be looking at spending circa £150+, £500+ or £1000 per month or £2000+ for the same every day living, that is all. We have now got a good idea now.
As others have said and we agree with it is always best to be there as prices fluctuate all the time, Mosta seems to be less expensive then comparing to other area's but all we wanted to get a better idea that is all!!
Cheers,
Roy

p.s. If we cannot afford our every day groceries then of course we should not be actually going!!

Not sure what area you live in however I found for everyday groceries we like Scotts and Tower, we also like to buy a lot of our produce at the fruit and vegetable trucks parked near our place.  As far as dog biscuits I actually order all of my pet food and supplies online and they deliver right to our apartment as I found it difficult to find the proper good food, www.petshopmalta.com hope this helps or is relevant to your area.  Also for discount foods or larger quantities there is LIDL.

JVaughn wrote:

Not sure what area you live in however I found for everyday groceries we like Scotts and Tower, we also like to buy a lot of our produce at the fruit and vegetable trucks parked near our place.  As far as dog biscuits I actually order all of my pet food and supplies online and they deliver right to our apartment as I found it difficult to find the proper good food, www.petshopmalta.com hope this helps or is relevant to your area.  Also for discount foods or larger quantities there is LIDL.

Good morning JVaughn,
We will look at Scotts and Tower as well. We had not come across Tower before until now. We will be in Mosta and we have signed up with 'petshopmalta' and have asked if they deliver there too.
Thank you!
Roy

Tower are part of the gs group they are in silema and st Julian's , there is also trolees in bugibba , lasco in zejtun etc they sell a lot of carrefour products and these are relatively cheap
In mosta there is a more supermarket , and Italian one called uno , but there is a gs group supermarket on naxxar which is easily accessible by bus

robpw2 wrote:

Tower are part of the gs group they are in silema and st Julian's , there is also trolees in bugibba , lasco in zejtun etc they sell a lot of carrefour products and these are relatively cheap
In mosta there is a more supermarket , and Italian one called uno , but there is a gs group supermarket on naxxar which is easily accessible by bus

Brilliant robpw2...thank you:)
Roy

Hi JVaughn,
Just a quick up date. We have just made our first home delivery order to 'petshopmalta'  after checking out their prices as best as we could and the bonus is that they will deliver for us on Sunday 03 Aug as we arrive at 1am that morning as the guy lives near us and will come over with the dog food etc and this will save us a trip on that day...just an expected and nice kindness as well. Their current offers also saved us a lot money too!
Many thanks for your input and help.
Cheers.
Roy

I don't have pets and live in the south. As a general rule, Lidl is the cheapest but for brands, I find Chain competitive and rather well stocked - they do not deliver, I seem to remember.
Certain articles I find only at Scotts (the delicious "Total" greek yoghurt is an example) or at more expensive GS and Pavi (Pavi, for instance, also sells small electric home appliances as well as upmarket italian coffee). For delivery, service seemed more efficient at GS than Pavi but I only ordered once from each. More Supermarket seems on the expensive side, too, but have a good frozen selection inside well-maintained freezers.

I would include Greens, http://www.greens.com.mt/  and GS, http://www.maltasupermarket.com/  in any comparison, both deliver.  It's not easy to find the cheapest overall as most will have some items at a cheaper price but others at a higher price. I regulary use those two and  Pavi and Smart, it depends what I need that day. Not all stock the same items
Fresh fruit and veg is best bought from the local Farmers Market in Ta Qali, Tuesday and Saturday mornings.

Hi Roy and Linda!, I have just followed you from the other message!
We find the little pet and gardening shops to be cheap for dog food. Our one does five cans for 2.50
Malta supermarket delivers for free on orders over 70 euros, it's not as cheap as lidl but the San gwann lidl has been like the seventh circle of hell whenever we've been in........
I agree with Cox about fluctuating prices (definately Tuna!) and eating in season to keep prices reasonable.
More supermarket in Mosta is handy though as it has parking round the back and is open on sundays.

Tower supermarket Sliema....
towersupermarket.com/

Hi
We use maltasupermarket.com and they have always been very good. If they are running late they call and if an item is unavailable they call and suggest a replacement. I tip the drivers and they are happy to carry the stuff and put it where you want it, we have no lift so this is a bonus to me I do like the selection at Smarts who also do online but I go to the shop as I tend to buy the same things if I go online all the time. We moved here a year ago and love it. We go to Ta Qali for our fruit and veg on a Saturday as we found it cheaper than the local veggie market. We also have a small place that we go to and Jimmy the owner gives us great prices and cheap carrots for my horses I think you soon learn where the best places are to go and its lovely to go to local shops and get to know the owners. I also shop at Scott's mainly because it is handy. I buy pet stuff from Borg Cordona as I can find horse, cat and dog things in one place. Sometimes the local shop is cheaper than the supermarket, I grab a bargain if I find one Good luck with the move.

Hi,

I am very happy with Malta Supermarket (maltasupermarket.com/). It's basically Carrefour. You might want to check it out.

Good Luck!

Eg. Aldi Digestive Biscuits UK. 31p
Here Qawra 1.05 €
Pair of Slippers here 13.94€ .
Cheapest make.
,
UK £ 2.99 to £4.99

Everything Thing here is far more expensive here than UK.

This thread is going into 4 years old.

Knownowt wrote:

Eg. Aldi Digestive Biscuits UK. 31p
Here Qawra 1.05 €
Pair of Slippers here 13.94€ .
Cheapest make.
,
UK £ 2.99 to £4.99

Everything Thing here is far more expensive here than UK.

Not everything!

Your profile says you are still living in Sheffield so shop there ( If your not, try updating your Profile)

I buy veg from the the trucks, its all trial and error.
I know one truck has the fresh stuff on a Tuesday.( strawberry's still half green)
and one seems to have fresh stuff on the Sunday.
the more i shopped and the more i talked to them the cheaper stuff seemed to get and the more little stuff like chilies, peppers,spices they just threw in for free. or even gave me fresher stuff than i picked up.

same goes for the local butcher he gives me free bones for the dog and even cast off meat mince as the dogs on a raw food diet saves me a good 50 euros a month.  Got them all a bottle of wine for Xmas. ;-)
I only shop at supermarkets for cleaning products, toilet rolls stuff like that.
for one person my meat comes to 30-35 euros a week
and veg comes to 15-17 euros.
That is three meals a day as i am on a healthy diet since the new year.

gavherb wrote:

I buy veg from the the trucks, its all trial and error.
I know one truck has the fresh stuff on a Tuesday.( strawberry's still half green)
and one seems to have fresh stuff on the Sunday.
the more i shopped and the more i talked to them the cheaper stuff seemed to get and the more little stuff like chilies, peppers,spices they just threw in for free. or even gave me fresher stuff than i picked up.

same goes for the local butcher he gives me free bones for the dog and even cast off meat mince as the dogs on a raw food diet saves me a good 50 euros a month.  Got them all a bottle of wine for Xmas. ;-)
I only shop at supermarkets for cleaning products, toilet rolls stuff like that.
for one person my meat comes to 30-35 euros a week
and veg comes to 15-17 euros.
That is three meals a day as i am on a healthy diet since the new year.

Absolutely right, we got to the point when we used the same grocers van for 3 years that he was giving us wine at Xmas. No way was he trying to rip us off as so many new arrivals seem to think happens.

Ray

I live in Buggibba and have found Piscapo to be pretty cheap but cheapest I found to shop is at Iceland

Hello,
i personally recommend LIDL if you have a car. It is the cheapest option.
If you are looking to get delivered, we tend to go for Park Towers.
Here is an interesting article that gives you the best supermarkets delivering in Malta

I think every super market in Malta has its own product & business model. Some Super Markets sell all outside brands and some have their own brands.

Price at each Super Market is according to the quality of product. At some Super Markets price will be less but the quality of the product will also be less.

e.g. Lidl sells only its own packed stuff and its price is low but at the same time its quality is also low.

One also at times, particularly, the bachelors have to compromise with the Super Market nearest to his home because when buying less in quantity and not at one time in a week or a month than only neighbouring Super Market is practical.

One or two Super Markets I have experienced make home delivery when one time purchasing is more than 50 or 100 Euros

In General prices in Malta are higher than other EU countries or UK because in Malta every thing is imported from third party suppliers in EU. Most and majority of items are not produced or packed in Malta

Eradium wrote:

e.g. Lidl sells only its own packed stuff and its price is low but at the same time its quality is also low.

Lidl's food and produce are far from low quality.