Asda limits sales of Just Essentials budget range

Asda has temporarily limited purchases of its new budget range Just Essentials, blaming soaring demand.

The supermarket said customers would be limited to buying three items at most of each product until further notice.

It launched Just Essentials in May, promising an expanded line of low-cost products to help shoppers with the cost of living.

That came after food poverty campaigner Jack Monroe criticised Asda for cutting back its budget ranges in some stores.

But on Wednesday, the supermarket said demand was outstripping availability, with sales growing almost 20% faster than the market average.

"Just Essentials is proving very popular with customers and we are working hard to improve availability across the range," a spokesman said.

"To ensure as many customers as possible can buy these products, we are temporarily limiting purchases to a maximum of three of each product for a short period of time. We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause."

It comes as the price of food soars, with consumers paying a record £571 more on average for their groceries than last year, according to data from research firm Kantar.

Asda's new value range, which features 300 budget products, replaced its smaller Smart Price range in May.

Ms Monroe had criticised the supermarket in April for taking value ranges off its shelves and raising prices at time when many household budgets were being squeezed.

Earlier this year trade magazine The Grocer said suppliers were given just four weeks to come up with new products for Just Essentials.

The supermarket has also faced criticism that the range's bright yellow packaging "stigmatises" hard up shoppers - claims it rejects.

Asda, which was bought by the billionaire Issa brothers and their backers TDR Capital in 2020, is the UK's third largest grocer.

Inflation - the rate at which prices rise - hit 9.9% in the year to August, easing slightly from 10.1% in July.

According to the Office for National Statistics, food prices rose at their fastest pace since 2008 last month as the war in Ukraine continued to help drive up prices at supermarket tills.

Shoppers are seeking discounts and the budget chain Aldi overtook Morrisons in August to become the fourth-largest UK supermarket for the first time, according to Kantar.

People are also cutting back on spending by buying more own-brand products, with sales of the very cheapest value own-label products up by a third compared to last year.