Does NTUC FairPrice live up to its name? A survey of FairPrice house-brand prices

[UPDATE, July 17]:

NTUC FairPrice has responded with clarification on claims made in this article.

In a statement to AsiaOne, a spokesperson for NTUC FairPrice explained that the article by MoneySmart used "promotional prices that give savings of more than 50 percent... against FairPrice Housebrands for comparison, while some did not accurately compare like-for-like products with similar country of origin."

On the issue of its packaging of housebrand products, the spokesperson added: "The differentiating hallmark for the packaging of housebrand products and all products is the prominent and distinct brand and logo.

"To insinuate that our housebrand packaging design seeks to 'dupe' customers is both mischievous and misleading. Similar types of products found in a supermarket, in general, utilise consistent types of packaging across both national branded and housebrand products."

The following is FairPrice's statement in full:  

NTUC FairPrice housebrand products are priced cheaper than leading national brands to provide the community with high-quality alternatives at a better value.

When comparing products, shoppers should consider factors such as retail selling price (RSP) and not promotional prices, consistent availability, the product’s country of origin, expiry dates as well as food safety standards that the retailer practises.

In the case of the article by MoneySmart titled 'Does NTUC FairPrice Live Up to Its Name? A Survey of FairPrice Housebrand Prices', promotional prices that give savings of more than 50 percent was used against FairPrice Housebrands for comparison, while some did not accurately compare like-for-like products with similar country of origin. In terms of product quality and safety, FairPrice is a primary food safety partner with FSA and has attained ISO 22000 certification – an international standard on food quality.

All FairPrice-branded housebrand products are clearly labelled and we continue to develop our packaging so that they remain relevant to our customers and engage them. The differentiating hallmark for the packaging of housebrand products and all products is the prominent and distinct brand and logo. To insinuate that our housebrand packaging design seeks to “dupe” customers is both mischievous and misleading. Similar types of products found in a supermarket, in general, utilise consistent types of packaging across both national branded and housebrand products.  

We assure the community that FairPrice remains committed to our social objective.

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[Original article]

For most Singaporeans, picking up groceries from the nearby NTUC FairPrice outlet is as commonplace as popping over to the Singapore Pools to buy 4D - it's practically a national institution.

But being a Giant and Cold Storage type of girl (yes, I am the proud owner of a PAssion Card), I've managed to avoid going there for almost a decade.

… Which is why I got a huge shock when I casually dropped by my neighbourhood NTUC FairPrice the other day.

A quick walk down the aisles revealed more brands of Japanese short-grain rice than I could count. The freezers were stocked with gourmet ice cream, while the produce section had bunches of fresh basil and thyme.

There were a deli counter and multiple aisles devoted to Korean, Western and Japanese groceries. And is that charcuterie?! Good lord.

ERM... ISN'T NTUC FAIRPRICE SUPPOSED TO BE FOR THE POOR? 

I always had the impression that NTUC FairPrice would stock mainly basic essentials like rice and oil and infant formula, being a sort of social enterprise/co-op kind of business.

Just to check that I'm not crazy, I went to see what their official website says:

"NTUC Fairprice Co-operative Ltd was founded by the labour movement in 1973, with a social mission to moderate the cost of living in Singapore."

See? I'm not nuts.

In the decades since, Singaporeans' appetite for gourmet food and international groceries have grown, and from a business standpoint, they are well within rights to stock their aisles with high SES stuff.

In fact, their corporate story acknowledges this:

"Today, with our multiple retail formats serving the varied needs and interests of people from all walks of life, we are keeping pace with the changing needs of customers while remaining committed to our social mission"

So yup, NTUC FairPrice still markets itself as a social enterprise now, and its mission remains the same.

HOW DOES NTUC FAIRPRICE "MODERATE THE COST OF LIVING IN SINGAPORE" TODAY?

Certainly not with gluten-free quinoa patties…

But even their regular groceries such as canned food and produce aren't all that cheap. Although prices for most everyday branded products are about on par with that of Sheng Siong and Giant, NTUC FairPrice tends to lose out to heartland stores like Ang Mo Supermarket and U Stars.

So how does it actually carry out its "social mission"?

According to the (very pro-NTUC) website Unscrambled.sg, NTUC FairPrice never intended to be the cheapest supermarket around, but it helps with the cost of living by selling affordable house-brand products.

Indeed, NTUC FairPrice made some waves earlier this year by announcing that they're freezing the prices of 100 house-brand products for over a year.

So it does seem like house-brand products are NTUC's secret weapon for keeping grocery prices low for the everyday Singaporean.

The Unscrambled.sg article concludes with this line:

"In other words, things you see in FairPrice may not necessarily be the cheapest, but if you search for daily essential products under the Housebrand, then yes, they are cheaper than those in the market."

… I can't resist a challenge like that.

ARE NTUC FAIRPRICE HOUSE-BRAND PRODUCTS REALLY CHEAPER? 

First, let me start by saying I fully believed Unscrambled.sg's assertion that NTUC's house-brand groceries are the cheapest on the market. If it's published on the internet, it can't possibly be untrue, right?

But being a "data scientist", I needed to test the assumption.

So I filled my virtual shopping cart on FairPrice online with 18 house-brand products. They really have a LOT of house-brand stuff - I think it's the most I've ever seen from any supermarket! - but I tried to stick to the basic necessities.

Then I went to the Giant, Sheng Siong, Cold Storage, RedMart and OpenTaste websites to check if I could find any cheaper substitutes for the NTUC FairPrice house-brand product.

Here are my findings:

*Price difference is weighted to account for different packaged sizes. For example, NTUC FairPrice coffee is sold in a pack of 30 while Coffee Hock's is 20 pieces. I divided the cost of Coffee Hock by 20 and multiplied by 30.

Lo and behold, I was able to find a cheaper alternative to NTUC FairPrice house-brand in 16 out of 18 cases, or 88 per cent of the time.

In most cases, NTUC's house-brand was beaten by either the Giant or Sheng Siong (All For You) house-brand, which isn't surprising since both are popularly regarded as below NTUC FairPrice in the Singapore supermarket hierarchy.

But I was legit shocked that more atas online retailers like RedMart and OpenTaste were able to beat NTUC FairPrice's house-brand in some cases.

AIYAH, A FEW CENTS' DIFFERENCE ONLY WHAT!

True. Although I was a little surprised by the results, my little survey of NTUC house-brand prices is not exactly damning, because the fact remains that the prices are still very, very affordable.

You might have to pay a few cents more at NTUC for the same generic product than, say, Giant, but many Singaporeans believe that NTUC has better quality control.

But personally, I don't think I'd be able to tell the difference in the quality of things like salt and sugar, so if I were really watching my budget, I'd rather shop at Giant. (I did have some really good FairPrice house-brand brown rice the other day though.)

BUT THERE WAS SOMETHING ELSE THAT BOTHERED ME...

I started this mini-study of FairPrice products from a pure price-centric point of view, but while researching the multitude of NTUC FairPrice house-brand offerings, I couldn't help but notice something odd in their packaging design.

Some of NTUC FairPrice house-brand products are packaged way too similar to the original branded product to be coincidental.

Here are a few examples of these creepy doppelgangers:

 

You be the judge of whether these packaging design choices were "accidental". By the way, this one is my favourite:

 

SO? WHAT'S THE PROBLEM HERE?

You might think I'm purely nitpicking here if you've never shopped at other supermarket chains' for their house-brands.

But to me, this is what a house-brand should look like:

Or this. Notice the consistent design aesthetic here?

The point is when I'm buying a supermarket's house-brand… I want to know that I'm buying a house-brand!

Making your germicide look as Dettol-like as possible may translate into better sales, but it's not very ethical. First, it seems like a d*** move to the more established brands by undercutting them with "dupe" house-brand products. But more importantly, it could also fool shoppers who are in a rush.

I was totally prepared to be swayed by the reasonable house-brand prices, but it's very difficult to support FairPrice's practice of copying the established brand's design. Yes, they may have "fair prices", but they also should play fair in every other aspect, right?

This article was first published in MoneySmart.