Asda has pledged to rollout its ‘Smart Price’ value range to all stores across the UK following social media.
The supermarket chain’s value range has always proved popular with shoppers keen to keep things on a budget as it includes items such as a 15 pack of eggs for £1.18, a can of peas for 21p, carrots for 20p, and 500g of pasta for just 29p – but many have pointed out its limitations in recent weeks, and have raised questions as to why it’s not available in every branch.
The ‘Smart Value’ range is currently made up of 200 items in total, and 150 of those are only available in 300 stores.
Asda says its decision to extend the rollout of the range comes after food writer and anti-poverty campaigner Jack Monroe – who began her career back in 2015 sharing recipes she had created as a single parent with a young son to feed families for less than £10 – took to Twitter back in mid-January to give examples of price increases she had noted at her local supermarket in the past year.
Jack said in her initial tweet: “Woke up this morning to the radio talking about the cost of living rising a further 5% [and] it infuriates me the index that they use for this calculation, which grossly underestimates the real cost of inflation as it happens to people with the least.”
Woke up this morning to the radio talking about the cost of living rising a further 5%. It infuriates me the index that they use for this calculation, which grossly underestimates the real cost of inflation as it happens to people with the least. Allow me to briefly explain.
She continued: “The system by which we measure the impact of inflation is fundamentally flawed [and it] completely ignores the reality and the real price rises for people on minimum wages, zero hour contracts, food bank clients, and millions more”.
“The margins are always, always calculated to squeeze the belts of those who can least afford it, and massage the profits of those who have money to spare,” she added.
Crucially, she claimed that “nothing demonstrates that inequality quite so starkly as tracking the prices of ‘luxury’ food vs ‘actual essentials’.”
Jack’s Twitter thread not only went on to amass thousands of likes and retweets, and generate an important conversation, but it also inspired Asda to make some changes to “help our customers”, and so the retailer confirmed in a statement that it would almost double the number of stores that offer the ‘Smart Price’ range to all 581 of its locations.
Asda is rolling its ‘Smart Price’ value range to all stores across the UK / Credit: Flickr
Announcing the range rollout in a statement this week, Meg Farren – Chief Customer Officer at Asda – said: “We want to help our customers’ budgets stretch further and have taken on board the comments about the availability of our Smart Price range made by Jack Monroe.
“We are taking steps to put our full Smart Price and Farm Stores ranges in store and online to make these products as accessible as possible.”
Jack has welcomed the retailer’s response to the conversation, sharing news of Asda’s cheap food promise on Twitter saying simply: “Well, that went rather well.”
The supermarket has already added 100 Smart Price and Farm Stores products to its website this week, increasing the total online range to 187 products.
This will rise to 200 by the end of February, with all 200 products in stores by 1 March.
Featured Image – Asda Corporate
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A new music showcase is taking place at a beautiful and historic Stockport venue
Danny Jones
A new live showcase is coming to Stockport town centre as part of a wider music, art and cultural celebration next month.
And by new, we mean the artists; if you went to the last edition, you’ll know it delivers some serious talent.
Teaming up with the likes of Manchester-based music magazine and promoters, The Rodeo, as well as ticketing platform Skiddle, Stockport is set to welcome the return of Mercury Climbing Festival.
This week-long celebration of music, art and culture around parts of the Greater Manchester borough’s historic old town, and there are some exciting names on board already.
As for Mercury Climbing 2025 itself, the multi-day festival spread across several locations boasts the best in native and Northern music, visual arts, and comedy.
Popping up across a total of eight different spaces, including the likes of the brand-new Stockroom, pubs, and headline music venue St Mary’s Church – quietly one of the coolest places we’ve ever seen a gig – you have plenty of reason to be excited about this one.
Speaking of St Mary’s, while artists such as local legends Badly Drawn Boy, Manc indie outfit The Covasettes and Riding The Low – fronted by actor Paddy Considine – are set to play the stunning ceremonial space, The Rodeo is also hosting its own dedicated stage at the church.
Highlighting emerging new talent on Saturday, 20 September, Manchester-based solo indie project Better Joy is set to headline, with Denver County Council (who featured on our Manc artists of the month round-up), Henry Webb-Jenkins, Katie & the Bad Sign, plus more to be announced in support.
The last time we saw a ‘Live at St Mary’s’ event, we can’t stress this enough: it was nothing short of an unforgettable experience.
You don’t get to enjoy a ‘religious’ gig experiences like this often…
Taking place from Friday, 19-26 September, the festival as a whole will transform Stockport’s historic Old Town into a vibrant cultural hub.
And it isn’t just music: there are local food and drink traders getting involved, artwork from the one and only Stanley Chow, as well as plenty of other entertainment.
Above all else, the event is not only steeped in SK and Greater Manchester’s rich heritage, but it’s a great way of supporting new art coming out of the region.
The Rodeo’s St Mary’s stage gets underway from 4pm and is scheduled to finish at 10:30pm, but the wider Mercury Climbing programme is an all-day festival that won’t end until late. You can grab your tickets right HERE.
Manchester’s very own Jamie Hutchinson announces new stand-up tour dates
Danny Jones
Manchester comedian Jamie Hutchinson has just announced arguably his biggest domestic tour yet, and despite plenty of gigs around the North, he’s playing just one hometown headline slot.
So you’d best be quick about grabbing tickets.
The local stand-up has seen a huge rise in popularity over the last few years, not only thanks to his regular gigging on the live circuit, but numerous standout podcast performances and, in short, by being one of the most amusing comic storytellers around – at least as far as we’re concerned.
Now set to embark on an extensive run of UK shows early next year, Jamie Hutchinson is getting back on the road with his latest material very soon.
Taking his new hour, Can My Mate Come, He’s Sound (see, even his titles are low-key genuinely funny) on tour, the crown prince of Gorton, a.k.a. ‘Mash’ himself, is playing venues up and down the country, including plenty here in the North West.
After all, he can’t drive, so best keep the long train journeys to a minimum, eh?
To quote Broadway Baby, who shared their positive words only recently, their newest project promises a “brand-new hour of unfiltered mayhem, questionable logic and emotional chaos held together by takeaway boxes and blind optimism.”
If that isn’t a glowing review, then we don’t know what is..
The Hot Water’s Green Room host and regular Have A Word podcast favourite delighted his crowds and newcomers alike with his record-breaking Waterslide tour, which ran from 2023 all the way into last year, and now he’s looking to repeat that same success. As it happens, multiple dates have sold out already.
With more than 700 tickets sold within the first hour of presale alone, it’s no surprise that the likes of Chorley, Chester (already gone) and soon both of his Liverpool shows are soon to be sold out.
As for his Academy One show on Sunday, 24 May 2026 – which is just about the biggest Manc venue he’s played to date – we expect it won’t be long before that one books up too.
We can always hope he tacks on extra dates on the UK tour, but if you’re a Jamie Hutchinson fan, you’re still best just making sure you secure your seat while you can. Grab yours HERE.
Let’s just pray he makes it home in time for his appointment with ‘Dr Catford’…
He’s yet to record a live taping of a special, but this is the kind of charming nonsense you can expect.