Retail review
- From the most basic to the more gourmet cheeses, cheese boards are a traditional staple of holiday eating.
- We looked at prices for different cheeses and found that Checkers will offer you the best price.
- Woolworths, though, has a far more extensive offering.
- For more stories go to www.BusinessInsider.co.za.
Every festive season, charcuterie boards and cheese platters seem to become more popular in SA, and some of the big retailers have take to head-to-head battles over price and selection to cater for the cheese-minded.
For several years now, Woolworths has run promotions on speciality cheeses specifically during the festive season, while Checkers marketed itself on its wide array of cheese throughout the year.
We looked at the prices of some of our favourite speciality cheeses at the big retailers and found that while Woolworths has the broadest range of cheeses, you are likely to get the better price Checkers.
Compared to Checkers and Woolworths, Pick n Pay's offering is much thinner, and its prices are just marginally higher than Checkers for the cheese products that we did find to compare.
Some of the cheeses at Checkers have different discounts for its Xtra Savings members, while Woolworths currently offers a 20% discount if you buy any two speciality cheeses.
Here's what we found, shopping around for holiday cheese.
Camembert
Checkers has the best deal for 125g of Camembert cheese, which comes in R2 cheaper than what you'd find at Woolworths. You get just more than R7 off at Checkers if you swipe the Xtra Savings card while you save 20% when you buy two speciality cheeses at Woolworths.
Checkers
Pick n Pay
Woolworths
Lancashire
For a 200g block of Lancashire cheese, you'll pay R44.99 at Checkers compared to R68 on average at Woolworths. Woolworths sells the cheese per kilogram, with an asking price of R339.99 per kilogram.
Checkers
Woolworths
Emmental cheese
Emmental hard cheese a full 11% cheaper at Checkers, going for R299.90 per kilogram versus R336.99 per kilogram at Woolworths.
Checkers
Woolworths
Blue Rock
For a 100g of soft blue mould cheese, Woolworths has the better deal at R29.99, compared to R33.99 at Pick n Pay and R32.99 at Checkers.
Checkers
Pick n Pay
Woolworths
Brie
Pick n Pay had the priciest brie cheese ,while you’ll save 20% at Checkers with the Xtra Savings card.
Checkers
Pick n Pay
Woolworths
Goat's cheese
Generally, Woolworths has a wider goat's cheese selection with gourmet options, but they are more expensive than the goat's milk cheeses you will find at Checkers. Checkers has some gourmet options, especially within its Forage and Feast range, which are also more affordable.
Checkers' goat cheese selection
Woolworth's goat cheese selection
(Compiled by Ntando Thukwana)
