There are many irritants in the local food acquisition scene. Often the supplies are highly erratic. Folks are prone to hoarding when something is available, therefore stocks are wiped out and we go months before they are replenished. Stuff always seems to be near their expiry date. Weather, bugaboos and storage issues sometimes result in crushed, moist, bug-infested goods. Canned goods are sometimes dented and worse, rusting. Stores are semi-stocked, out-of-stock, or have no idea what kind of stock you are looking for. Sales staff often DO NOT KNOW what products their store carries, and fewer care to know. Basically, it is a tough food retail scene, and if you knew enough, and had the time to hit several stores a day, you could arbitrage or take advantage of price differentials from one store to the other. Little real competition, too many supply chain disruptions related to transport, customs, storage, pilferage, etc. and a less than demanding clientele with a lower than expected total buying capacity that are happy to take whatever is put on the shelves. To keep my pantry well-stocked, I resort to visits to several local purveyors, I have balikbayan boxes sent from the States several times a year, and if I get to Europe I do the same from there. Short trips to nearby cities such as Hong Kong and Singapore fill in the remaining gaps. But even worse than supply issues, are the incredibly unreliable prices of goods across the city. And here is one of the worst examples I have come across in recent months…
I like chives. They are a great garnish and their subtle onion flavor is terrific in sauces, soups and other dishes. They were almost impossible to get fresh until the last few years when a few enterprising farmers in Tagaytay and elsewhere finally started growing them, primarily in greenhouses. At certain times of the year, they make it to the retail food stores. Last weekend, I was at Santis delicatessen and spotted a nice bundle of locally grown chives. Perhaps about ¾ of an inch in diameter, the roll was priced at PHP40 and without thinking too much, I decided to buy it. I figured PHP40 wasn’t so bad, other herbs were typically in this price range. Then a few seconds later, I walked not 50 meters to a Rustan’s shop and lo and behold, they had chives in the chiller, approximately the same amount or maybe a little less for just PHP10.75 !!! Yikes, that is a 300% difference for essentially the same product at the same location! I just wanted to scream, race out of the grocery with arms flailing and stuff a food retailer with a whole bunch of chives. Now Rustan’s isn’t known for its low prices, so their having chives at 1/4th the price of Santis next door was just outrageous. OUTRAGEOUS. I am so annoyed. And don’t leave a comment and tell me this is trivial. That stuff happens. This is just a sign that things here are totally screwed up in many ways indeed. Can you imagine a few months ago, a researcher for the DTI (Department of Trade & Industry) in the Philippines contacted me by email to ask ME to give HIM the prices of basic vegetables (HIS LIST) from my market forays so that they could complete their market price comparison reports from the comfort of their desks instead of going out to the markets themselves??? Does the word kapal mean anything to them? You can just imagine the tone of my email in reply…
So here’s what I plan to do about it. I had wanted to initiate this effort before, but just didn’t get around to it. Sometime in the next month or so, I plan to visit maybe half a dozen groceries, warehouse stores, delis or specialty food shops and do a price comparison on say 10-15 food items and publish the results here on Marketmanila. If it works well and the reader response is good, maybe I can do this price analysis once a quarter or so… What do you think? Even better, if readers volunteer to cover one store in their area, we could have price reports from across the country and the Metropolitan Manila area. Then stores might take notice and start to do something about it. But for the first attempt, I need to identify a basket of say a dozen goods that will have a very high likelihood of being available at all outlets (a difficult condition right there) that I shall rush to over a two day period. And just so I don’t get sued by the groceries that I SHALL NAME, then I plan to BUY the whole list of goods at each and every outlet rather than stealthily taking down prices and risking the wrath of roving security guards. So here is the question for you. What five to ten items would you like to see a price comparison on? Please leave a comment and I will try to figure out the most popular requests and give this thing a try. Let’s not get too esoteric just yet… maybe ketchup, chicken, milk, ice cream, chocolate, skyflakes, bread, etc. Many thanks in advance for your comments.
52 Responses
My top 10 grocery staples: cooking oil, soy sauce, patis, ketchup, coffee, sugar, milk, butter, toothpaste, laundry soap. Looking forward to the results of your research.
Nice idea MM! This definitely will help!
I just bought chives over the weekend at EDSA Central Market. I think i got it for P10.
Prices that i always try to remember are – ground round, oil, butter, cheese, spaghetti, potatoes, onions, garlic, bell peppers, chicken, beef cubes, shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, milk and diapers. :)
Should we name the brand of the items? Or will reconciling be too difficult?
chuck in ice cream,yoghurt,olive oil,tinned tuna and sardines
This is a very good idea MM! I hope this endeavour pushes through.
My top grocery items would have to be:
cooking oil, soy sauce, vinegar, ketchup, sugar, milk, butter, eggs, bread, sardines,
Oooh, a scavenger hunt! Having this info will be like getting the food store flyers in the Sunday papers. OK, here’s my list: butter, heavy or whipping cream, sliced bread, crusty bread, vegetable oil, olive oil, whole nutmeg, bottled water, Coke or Pepsi, dried pasta. If this project ever turns global, I can send you prices from my end too.
.nappies – EQ Dry, Prokids & Huggies Red
.milk – fresh, UHT & Nido full cream powdered milk
.toilet paper
.chicken – whole & in parts
.olive oil
.butter
.pasta
.cheese
.pork tenderloin
.tilapia
.herbs
.tomatoes
.bell peppers
Thanks MarketMan! This is going to be great list!
Hello MM, both Santis and Rustans in 1 strip mall are just a hop and a skip away from where I live. Next time you’re in the area and is in need fresh chives, basil, dill, rosemary, mint, tanglad, pandan, parsely, oregano (& 2 other herbs their names I forget at the moment) I welcome you to pick some in our mini herb garden.
kb, that is so very KIND of you to offer! I have some herbs in our tiny kitchen garden as well, but not chives… for some reason, I have a black thumb so I don’t grow too many things successfully…but at the moment, there is some makrut lime, pandan, kalamansi, oregano, bay leaf, tanglad, siling labuyo, mint, basil, vietnamese leaves of some sort, and dying rosemary and and near death basil bush out there… thank you very much for the offer…if desperate, you never know, I may email you…
great idea!
my mom grows a bunch of herbs she uses frequently in our little garden. i wonder how hard chives are to cultivate…
anyway, my list would have to contain:
coke light
toilet paper
skippy peanut butter
colgate
magnolia butter
philadelphia cream cheese
First, my goodness! Thank you for posting this. I know I was probably an witless victim to these price differentials countless of times :( My own fault I guess…
SO…this is an awesome idea and oh-my-god what a great service you are doing for your readers! Yes, definitely GO!
Ok, my main grocery items: MILK, paper towel (kitchen towel), toilet paper, dish washing liquid, cling wrap, olive oil, ground beef, tomatoes, garlic, onion, sugar. Ooops, that’s 11 and there are more but I’ll stop here :)
Again, fantastic idea! If you are not careful you are going to reach the heights of foodie superhero ;) If you haven’t already…
Was in Manila for Christmas and noticed that some groceries are trying to compete with wet market prices already. There was a time when ginger cost much less in Cherry (a grocery) than our Municipal wet market suki. Here is my list:
Onion
Shallots
Garlic
Tomato
Calamansi
Ginger
Eggplant
Pechay
Lemongrass
Chives
Potato
Carrot
Cabbage
Kangkong
Saba
Papaya
Mango
to name some…
Wow! This is a great project and would be a big help to us consumers. So, here are ten items that I hope would be included in your list:
1. Fresh Milk
2. Cooking Oil (Canola, Corn, Olive and Vegetable)
3. Vinegar
4. Laundry Soap
5. Fabric Softener
6. Cleansers, All Purpose Cleaners
7. Catsup
8. Toothpaste
9. Shampoo/Conditioner
10. Bath soap
Can I name specific brands? :)
Try Landmark Makati. I don’t mind stocking on vegetables because Landmark prices are competitive and almost always, fully stocked: chives, fennel, shallots, parsley (local and the other variety), rosemary, thyme, wansuy even sigarilyas and sili and talinum tops. Dizon farms brand are usually cheaper.
(Altho not very often) Landmark has wide variety of fruits. Fruits I saw at Landmark I never saw at Rustans: Bosc Pears, Pomegranites, sampalok, tsesa, macopa (yes, macopa!) guyabano and persimmons.
Btw. Check out their shelves of discounted cheeses. Kiri cream cheese is buy one take one at Landmark! expires 3rd week of March but what the heck?! Their Philadelphia brand expires in March too but has no discount. Mix it with good ricotta or mascarpone and u can have new york cheesecake!
I dont work for Landmark.
Hi marketman! my first comment ever here.hehehe.
i know exactly how it felt when you find out seconds after that another store carried the same goods for a lesser price. i recently experienced it at landmark while looking for the best buy for cetaphil,at the beauty dept.it was selling for 229.35 and i snapped it thinking it was priced the same at their grocery section but lo and behold, cetaphil was going for P225 there and it was just from the same store!Boo.
when i do grocery some of my top items would be:
1.detergent
2.toothpaste
3.soy milk
4.kimchi
5.fruits
6.oats
7.honey
Here’s my list:
cilantro
tomatoes
lettuce
cucumber
onions
cheese
ham
rice
laundry detergent
P.S.
Did I mention that I have 2 pots of herbs that have flourished? I used to be unlucky in growing them. Cilantro is still hard for me. My 2 pots are comprised of lemongrass, parsley,basil and chives. The grower told me that they should be watered every other day. Now where can I get my hand on pandan?
Living in Bangkok made me realize how bad the supply and the prices of produce are in Manila. Vegetables and herbs here are very fresh, dirt cheap, and always in abundance. You won’t find wilted produce on sale even at the most downscale supermarket here (You can’t say that of Rustan’s now, can you?) My mom spent the holidays here and only flew back to Manila yesterday. Among the foodstuff she brought back: a kilo of beautiful cilantro for 20 baht (28 pesos) and a kilo of the freshest green/spring onions for the same price. Another amazing thing is that vegetables and herbs here keep very well in the fridge, sometimes up to one and a half weeks! I remember how my cilantro in Manila would only last 3 days at best in the fridge.
Brilliant idea vigilant to store prices! Collective efforts will work out well with the help of your readers! I do not understand it – the principle of supply and demand does not even apply here. The two stores are located in the same area but the price difference is a big gap. Probably they have different suppliers or one store drops their price as a crowd drawer and hit you with some other items?
Made this several times, price comparison thingie when we’re still into food business and would buy in bulk Marketman. Even other restaurant owners, chefs frequent the place. I always go back to this supermarket along Quezon Avenue. I still go there from time to time especially when I look for a specific food item and couldn’t find it in the supermarkets my route covers. Warehouses for vegetables and fruits, would you try Divisoria at wee hours? hehehe. Would be willing to give you some probable destinations.
With all that research you’re going to do MM, you might as well put up another website, like a “price spy” thing where people can compare prices of commodities from different shops and stores. And this would be very helpful.
But what if the stores do take note and the opposite happens? The price doesn’t go down. Instead, they see that the competitor’s price is up so they mark their price up, too?
Great idea MM! Here’s my list:
– canola oil
– fresh milk
– butter
– cheese
– soy sauce
– vinegar
– garlic
– onions
– tomatoes
– laundry detergent
I just love this post! I really hate too when sales staff are not knowledgeable of their products or when I am hopping from one supermarket to another. I remember when I was looking for a Comstock blueberry filling and noticed a difference of 30 pesos on its price on two stores. Had no choice but to buy the expensive one as it was out of stock in other store and had to bake a blueberry cheesecake for a friend.
I volunteer to cover 2 stores here in Pampanga to compare prices you have Manila or other parts of the country. I suggest that we specify a brand for each of the items. Here’s my list:
1. Philadelphia cream cheese
2. Anchor butter
3. San Remo pasta (any type)
4. Hunt’s chunky tomato sauce
5. Quaker Instant Oats
6. Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce
7. M.Y. San Graham crackers
8. Nuttella
9. Mc. Cormick herbs
10. Meiji Macadamia Nuts…hehehe!
here’s my list:
diapers, canned milk, coffee, sugar, cooking oil, tomato sauce, chopsuey vegetables, pork, beef, chicken, fish, hotdog, tocino, garlic, onion, tomato, potato
I usually find the disparity in pricing happens a lot when it comes to fresh produce. So very annoying I agree! A little less so when you compare the packaged consumer goods like toothpaste, canned tomatoes and toilet paper. The differences are usually more subltle but I still would be very intersted to find the retailer with the cheapest goods!
Abby’s entry on the difference in cetaphil pricing inside the same store but in different departments is very common. I found that happens a lot in Rustan’s and SM, between their supermarket and department stores.
Maybe along with your with your Retail Arbitrage you can do a SHAME ON YOU! feature when you see this sort of thing happening or when you see a marked difference between stores.
Very nice idea indeed, sometimes when I go to grocery stores I don’t know if I’m having a good deal in buying it or not, because prices are so erratic. I will definitely wait for your price analysis. Here’s my list:
1. Spices (fresh rosemary, chives, etc.)
2. Canola and Olive oil
3. Milk
4. Vegetables
5. Eggs
6. Tomatoes
7. Onions
8. Garlic
9. Chicken
10. Honey
I know you will do far much better than those people in DTI, I mean we all know they really don’t do much research hehehe :) keeps me wondering where my taxes go hehehe :)
The price comparison would be more precise if you specify the brand and net weight. And I think the items should be common enough to be present in most supermarkets.
I don’t have a list but I’ll share an observation. I noticed that Baker’s Best margarine is cheaper in Robinsons Supermarket than in Macro. Surprising, ‘no?
K just holler :–)
Great idea! Here’s my list:
1. Onions
2. Garlic
3. Carrots
4. Bananas
5. Zucchini
6. Eggplant
7. tomatoes
8. Butter
9. Olive Oil, Canola Oil
10. Fresh Milk, Enfakid, Anchor Milk
I hope it works!
1. Sliced bread
2. Chicken
3. Pork
4. Beef
5. Bananas
This might be a little off-topic, but still worth posting, I think. I usually shop at SureFold* (San Pedro), and they preweigh their vegetables and other produce. One time, I asked that a bunch of bananas be reweighed, as it seemed lighter than the weight indicated on the sticker; true enough, it lacked ~30 grams (less than “kalahating guhit” in palengke-speak). When I asked why there’s a difference in weight, the salesperson told me that it loses weight as it ripens. So I asked him how I could be sure that their measurement is correct, but he did not reply anymore. He did not change the price sticker either (I did not get the bananas! If I’m paying for a kilo, I want a full kilo!). This happened again, just 2 weeks ago, when I asked them to reweigh a sealed plastic bag full of onions, and it lacked 100 grams (one full “guhit”!). But this time, the salesperson changed the price sticker, saying that somebody must have opened the (sealed) pack and took some of the onions.
I still shop at SureFold, as it is closest to my home, but I reweigh everything now.
*Name has been changed.
My basic list includes:
1. Canola Oil
2. Anchor Milk
3. Domex
4. Toothpaste
5. Butter
6. Cheddar Cheese
7. Tide Laundry Det
8. Toilet Paper
9. Kikkoman Soy Sauce
10. Bacon
Hmm, the latter post sounds familiar. Didn’t the Concepcion group use to post the price of wet goods in different markets in newspapers every week? Prices of tomatoes, rice, fish among three or four markets; I don’t see the ads anymore.
I find the same situation in other suppliers like bookstores. The same book title, paperbacks, different publisher perhaps, but essentially the same content – P50 to P100 price difference.
I’d add my vote to the ff items:
– butter
– bread (whole wheat)
– lettuce/tomatoes/calamansi/cucumbers (I suspect the freshfood price discrepancy will be more variable)
– milk
– sugar/salt
hi. it’s my first time here but i’ve been reading your posts since last year. great entries!!!
for this project, i hope to see prices of shampoo, soap, fabric softener, garbage bags, tissue, laundry soap, milk, butter, ketchup, and some canned goods like luncheon meat, corned beef, etc…..
goodluck!
RE DTI rep it’s quite dubious that they’d rely on the word of a 3rd party for their “research” (although I’m sure MM any info from you would be accurate).
RE grocery basics: toilet paper, eggs, cooking oil, milk, coke light, unsalted butter, sugar, equal, ground coffee beans, shampoo, soap, toothpaste … hmmm the list could go on forever.
I volunteer to do surveillance on grocery stores in the Ortigas / Pasig area!
mine are;
1. bell peppers
2. cooking oil
3. cauliflower/broccoli/carrots
4. eggs
5. fish (tuna/lapu-lapu)
6. crabs (alimango/alimasag)
7. shrimps
8. onions and tomatoes
9. potatoes
10.garlic
Great idea MM! It’s time to give the Filipino consumer some rights. My staples would be milk, rice, detergent, fabric softener, olive oil, canola oil, toothpaste, kikkoman, eggs, rolled oats.
Here’s another list: garlic, onions, eggs, skim milk (Paul’s), instant noodles, beef (sirloin), bangus, whole chicken, Coke light, mangoes
Good luck and thanks for doing this! I’d volunteer if I were back in Manila.
This is a fantastic service you’ll be doing, MM! It’s information that, in fact, should be easily available to consumers, but sadly, isn’t. It’s always annoyed me that supermarkets prevent shoppers from noting down their goods’ prices so that they can comparison shop. Why are they allowed to get away with that, when it’s our right? So you deserve BIG APPLAUSE for taking this on!
My family’s grocery needs are quite big, so even small price disparities make a big difference. They shop in Macro and Landmark. Rustan’s is avoided except for last-minute purchases (it’s the nearest).
My list: sugar, cheddar cheese, butter, eggs, bread, flour, tomatoes, garlic, onions, olive oil
i’ve experienced this too with infant formula. a 900g can of formula costs around 760 pesos in sm supermarket (and most other supermarkets) but can be bought for 694 in sm hypermarket!
here’s my list:
1. tomatoes
2. onions
3. garlic
4. toilet paper
5. paper towels
6. diapers
7. pork liempo
8. chicken wings
9. lean ground pork
10. carrots
it’s a brilliant idea, thanks for sharing it with us =)
Hi!
Mine would be salad greens, fresh herbs, seedless oranges & mushrooms. I’ve felt most ‘victimized’ buying these food items.
(Wysgal, maybe we can coordinate? I’m happy to volunteer for ortigas groceries too.)
Thanks, Marketman. This will be very helpful. I will not allow myself to get gypped!
A proper scientific study works best, as we all learned in school, if all other variables are constant and only one is changing. So in our buying list, we should specify that the brand and weight/size of the items have to be the same. For example, not just “cheese”, but say, Kraft cheddar cheese 500g. Not just “spaghetti”, but San Remo spaghetti 500g. That’s the only way we can make an objective price comparison.
Great idea, Marketman! I’ll definitely be helping out in your study. Count me in as volunteer for the Quezon City area supermarkets.
pistachio, you are right, I planned to select the dozen or so products first, then the specific “SKU” or stock keeping unit – meaning brand, size, etc. before we scour the groceries on a specified 2 day period… thanks to all who volunteered and I will keep readers updated on this effort…
If you need a spy in Alabang I’m happy to oblige.
Marketman,
Your idea of doing a price survey is of great help, although is not something new. Competitors often price survey each other, in hopes of atleast being able to match the others price. This is a well-known practice among some companies, i would just like to warn the volunteers that it may get ugly if caught doing such because of the known prevalence of this practice. I’ve seen people beat up because of this. Make sure that when you visit your “target” store that you have complete and verifiable identification with you, so as to not make them think you are working for a competitor. Im not trying to scare anyone, but letting you guys know about it beforehand so that no untoward incident may occur. With that i volunteer my services for the san juan-mandaluyong area.
Ok great! Here’s my list of a dozen regular grocery items. (Of course, not necessarily these particular brands. For this study, I’ll buy the brands that you specify. It’ll be a good opportunity for me to try out other brands outside of my usual default ones.) :)
1. Kraft cheddar cheese
2. Anchor salted butter
3. Magnolia low-fat milk
4. Nestle cream
5. San Remo spaghetti
6. Dutch Mill yogurt drink
7. 10-pack individually wrapped Skyflakes
8. Colgate Total toothpaste
9. Kleenex soft pack
10. Softee Plus 2-ply toilet paper
11. Dona Elena anchovies
12. Dona Elena extra virgin olive oil
great idea, MM!
i volunteer for makati area (wet market or grocery).
– tilapia
– bangus
– cheez whiz
– cooking oil
– tomato
– onion
– garlic
– banana
– ripe mangoes
– ampalaya
– eggplant
This is really a nice idea, I can be a pricewatcher here in Commonwealth, QC.
Here’s my list:
1. sugar
2. coffee
3. sanitary napkin
4. detergent soap
5. dishwashing liquid
6. toothpaste
7. shampoo
8. roll-on deodorant
9. powder milk
10. loaf bread
I think MM has started something here! I love how so many people have come together like this. Count me in. I can hit makati and PC supermarket in kapitolyo.
at the alabang, muntinlupa area, south and makati supermarkets compete with each other’s pricing. one being cheaper on some items and the second on some others. isn’t it all a matter of supply and demand? unpopular items in a store tend to be lower priced by a few centavos or more (or sometimes the other way around)… but this is still a very good idea, let’s empower us consumers for a change.
I just want know if its against supermarket policy to list/copy supermarkets price tags for comparison with other supermarkets??
hello guys, i’d like to know where to buy pistachio nuts in bulk orders? someone told me that i can find it in Divisoria, but where in Divisoria is that? thanks in advance!
one way to cut down on costs is to buy in bulk, the problem is the amounts are usually too much for the normal household, what can be done is to pool resources with neighbours and form a coop of sorts. buy in bulk and divide accordingly, you can do that for cooking oil, coffee, sugar