$2 less for pasta: Savvy shopping tricks to save you at Coles and Woolworths

Food is getting more expensive but there are ways shoppers can trim their grocery bills. (Source: Getty)

The cost of food has been rising, with year-on-year food price inflation the highest it’s been since 2011.

According to the experts, groceries are only expected to get more expensive.

Rabobank senior analyst Michael Harvey said consumers should be bracing to pay even more as higher transport costs, supply chain disruptions and higher input costs continued to flow through the food system.

• Also read: Aussies forced to change shopping habits to beat price hikes

• Also read: Heinz baked beans up 28%: The supermarket staples set to cost even more

• Also read: Coles says supply chain issues 'enormous'

However, there are a number of tactics savvy shoppers can employ to keep their shopping bills down.

Brand switching is one of them. It’s no secret that home-brand products are cheaper than branded alternatives, but exactly how much you can save may surprise you.

Data from grocery comparison app Frugl showed a 500g bag of supermarket-branded pasta was 66.2 per cent cheaper than the branded alternative, amounting to a $1.95 saving.

There was also a substantial difference between supermarket-brand corned beef and the branded alternative, with 340 grams of brand-name corned beef priced at $8.20 compared to $2.50 for the major supermarket brands.

Plain flour was another product where shoppers could save a lot by brand swapping, with branded flour costing $3, compared to $1.25 for supermarket-branded products.

Unbranded canned vegetables were also a lot cheaper.

Shoppers could save $0.90 by buying a 420g can of supermarket-brand corn kernels, compared to the branded product, and $0.85 by buying the off-brand 400g can of red kidney beans.

For other categories, the saving was less significant. For example, supermarket-brand canola oil was around $7.50, compared to $8 for the branded product.

Other ways to save on groceries

After more tips to keep your food spending down?

Joel Gibson from One Big Switch had a few other suggestions for trimming your grocery bill:

• Avoid ‘shrinkflation’: Pay attention to unit pricing, which compares products based on their actual weight

• Plan meals before hitting the aisles: And don’t shop hungry

• Shop at more than one supermarket: This way, you can “pick the eyes” out of the deals

• Shop at discount stores occasionally: Stock up on non-perishable items cheaply by buying in bulk

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