Amidst increases in the cost of living, the once ‘bargain’ meal deal has dramatically increased, moving further away from its original £3 price tag. Poundland is now one of the only major supermarket chains to offer the deal at this original price, claiming to sell the UK’s ‘cheapest’.
We sent reporter Nathan Woollard down to his local Poundland store to investigate how the deal tastes and whether it’s really worth the saving.
For me, the term ‘meal deal’ is almost instantly synonymous with good old Tesco’s. I, as I’m sure you do too, love a meal deal.
I bet you remember the glory days – those three pound meal deals that you could scoff without shame and a huge hole in your bank account.
The glory days are unfortunately very much over and Tesco’s famous meal deal will now set you back a whopping £3.60 (with a clubcard too, the cheek!). That’s quite a chunk of change for lunch – especially for a uni student like myself.
A saving grace…ish
I’ve been on a mission to locate the cheapest meal deal on the high street, and I think I may have found it. Poundland’s three pound offering pleasantly surprised me when it met my gaze.
This is largely down to the retail giant’s habit of un-poundlanding their image over recent years. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still laughably cheap for a lot of basic household goods, and can be an absolute lifeline for my wallet.
But I just find myself seeing a huge number of products priced well over the initial promise of £1. This detracts from my dreams of walking around a utopian-style fantasy land where everything is made from bank notes and copper – but I digress.
£3 seemed more than reasonable for a main, a snack and a drink when compared to other supermarkets. I find myself chuckling over that last sentence, as I remember it was only a few years ago where this price was the absolute norm for a meal deal.
It didn’t take me long, however, before I found myself in Poundland’s deli section. I have definitely had a love-hate relationship with this area of the land of the pound for many years.
I find myself experiencing a lottery-style ordeal whenever I happen to purchase something from it. Sometimes it can be satisfactory, and I go away a happy camper, but most of the time I go away feeling like I need counselling.
The main attraction
The selection of the mains were, for the most part, not my cup of tea. Cheese and onion and chicken mayo sandwiches certainly haven’t made my Christmas list this year (Santa if you’re reading, don’t even think about it).
My eyes burned amidst the endless ocean of sandwiches I wouldn’t feed to my dog, until I came across the festive feast lurking in the top right corner of the fridge.
A glimmer of hope seemed to empower my being, and I quickly grabbed this sandwich and hoped for the best. It is Christmas, after all, so I thought this choice of main would be the stores’ best offering.
Visually, I didn’t like the look of this main – I loved it. It had some of the best packaging I’ve ever seen for a sandwich and the artwork looked hand drawn which certainly raised my expectations.
Unfortunately, after only a couple of bites of the festive feast, I had to throw it festive east. The sandwich was utterly appalling. The bottom crust of one of my sandwiches was wet and soggy after being suffocated by the radioactive cranberry sauce.
This was unpleasant, and was only made worse after I actually tasted the sandwich. Bone dry turkey, anaemic bacon and abysmal stuffing made up the ingredients of this ‘feast’.
They did not complement each other like a lovely Christmas meal – dogs have better meals than this. The £3 offering was unexpected, and far below the national average, but compromising this much on quality was a kick in the teeth.
The snack
Did Poundland do something right? Yes. The snack selection in the meal deal was adequate, and dare I say, comparable to its supermarket competitors.
Pringles, Walkers and Cadburys were some of the big names inhabiting Poundland’s shelves. I was impressed – but knowing the shops ability to stock all the biggest brands, I fear this was the bare minimum.
I opted for a personal favourite – the Walkers Max paprika crisps, which never let me down. Crunchy and punchy, these crisps were a solid addition to the three musketeers that was my Poundland meal deal.
The bev
The drink really helped this meal deal. Poundland’s drink variety was genuinely brilliant, and definitely surprised me.
With an expectation of more second rate brands, such as Boost energy, I was happy to see big brands such as Coke and Red Bull. A solid drink choice can make or break a meal deal, and Poundland nailing this aspect keeps this from being an entirely miserable review.
I went for a Red Bull, picking up one of the huge 450ml cans you would find at Tesco. This was a nice addition and certainly scored big points for value.
Worth the saving?
I honestly commend Poundland for this deal. It’s a huge help to those looking for a relatively affordable meal deal option. The main unfortunately let the deal down, however, making it an unpleasant experience to say the least.
The 60p saving needs to be justified in order to make fair comparisons to Tesco’s offering. The main doesn’t help here.
I was impressed with the snack selection, which competes with major supermarkets and keeps the deal above water. The same goes for the drink selection, my personal favourite part of Poundland’s offering here.
Poundland’s three pound deal – which they claim is the UK’s ‘cheapest’ – may be great on paper. But spending that extra bit at other retailers will most certainly guarantee you a better lunchtime experience.