Aldi has lowered the price of its own-brand baby formula for the second time in a week.
The budget supermarket has slashed the price of its own-label Mamia Infant First Formula from £8.89 for 900g (£7.90 for 800g pro rata) to £8.49 for 900g (£7.55 for 800g).
It comes after the German retailer last cut the price on 28 February, in a bid to counter Iceland’s fierce price competition as it offered the industry’s cheapest formula milk.
Given the latest price movement, it makes Aldi’s equivalent formula 40p cheaper than Iceland’s product.
However, Aldi is currently the only UK supermarket to offer own-label infant formula, with a recent Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) study showing that parents could save £500 in the first year of a baby’s life by shopping around.
Julie Ashfield, managing director of buying at Aldi UK, said: “We understand that for some parents, infant formula is a necessary part of their weekly shop, and we are committed to offering the lowest prices on all our products.
“New parents have to make hard choices about how to spend their money, but Aldi’s Mamia range provides the best quality products for the early stages of parenting, at an unbeatable price.”
Earlier this week, Aldi was named the cheapest supermarket in February for a shopping trolley with 72 items.
The supermarket lowered fruit and vegetable prices in February and also cut the price of some essential items in January.
Meanwhile, Aldi was also recently crowned cheapest UK supermarket for a third year in a row by consumer group Which?.
Baby formula on a budget
At the end of February, Iceland said it had a “moral obligation” to act and help struggling families as it launched the cheapest price for SMA Baby formula powder, urging others to follow suit and cut costs.
The price cut on SMA Little Steps First Infant and Follow On Milk to £7.95 (800g) made it nearly £2 cheaper than the market price and, at the time, came in at a lower cost than Aldi’s Mamia range.
It wasn’t the first time the frozen food favourite slashed the price of baby formula milk or kept quiet about the move, with charities praising the supermarket’s efforts.
In December 2023, it controversially called for a change in the law as it announced a price cut following feedback from customers that many were struggling to feed their babies due to the cost-of-living crisis.
This year, it has reiterated calls for a change in the law to allow supermarkets greater freedom on baby formula pricing to make it more affordable for families. And, it was the first supermarket to cut formula milk pricing after Danone agreed a 7% price drop on Aptamil products.
Earlier this year, Iceland proposed an amendment to the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill. Under the change, it would allow retailers to advertise in retail premises, promote discounted infant formula, and sell infant formula in exchange for non-cash-based forms of payment. It would also allow infant formula to be given away at food banks.
