People are losing it over the North’s best kept secret: Booths.
A twitter user by the name of Mared Parry from north Wales has sent the internet into a frenzy over the popular northern supermarket chain of Booths after a trip up North tweeting:
“I’m up north and just came across this supermarket chain called Booths. Most boujee shit I’ve ever seen, it makes Waitrose look like ALDI.”
The original tweet. Credit: Twitter used @maredparry
Booths has been an institution in Cumbria for years and in our county we boast over 7 different Booths mainly in the south of Cumbria but there are some as far as Penrith.
Most of the Booths in and around Cumbria are in tourist trap destinations and because a lot of their products are farm to table it has a reputation for being expensive.
However, don’t let that fool you as you can grab some real unique finds and cheap deals on meat, produce and more you won’t get anywhere else.
With all the hype we headed out to Kendal’s branch in the South Lakes, located on Wainrights Yard, to show you all what the fuss is about.
We wanted to see what unique local products they had in store as well as how essentials shape up to the supermarket competition.
Local products
The Cake District: Cumbria is home to confectioners and treat makers that have been around since the 19th century.
Thankfully, Booths buys these local delicacies straight from the companies that have been making them for over two centuries so you don’t have to go straight to source.
Luxurious Lakeland handmade biscuit selection from Wilsons,
one of the original makes of Kendal mint cake
They boast a stock of Wilson’s, a Cumbrian confectioners: classic biscuits, mint cake, peanut brittle, nougat and fudges.
You can also buy Cartmels world famous original sticky toffee pudding prepackaged for just £3.00 a fraction cheaper than advertised on their website.
They also sell many more Cumbrian products such as Herdy's tinned biscuits for £7.00.
Local lake district business: Herdy’s tinned biscuits
To wash them sweet treats down your probably going to need a good brew to go alongside them.
Fear not as Booths has Lakeland special tea by Farrers at £3.40, a fraction cheaper than online, with Lancashire tea from our neighbouring county at £2.15, which is expensive in comparison to other retailers like Asda.
Essentials
With Booths having the boujee reputation it does, we wanted to see how it compares to other supermarkets on essentials during the cost of living crisis.
Orange juice has been one of the many products that have been highlighted in the cost of living crisis as soaring in prices with co-op selling Tropicana for over £5.
In Booths 1ltr of orange juice cost just £1.80 which is just slightly more than Asda who are currently selling theirs for £1.70.
Orange juice from Booths
Everyone loves a good brew but with the rising cost of milk reaching a 24% increase, supermarkets are struggling to keep this essential at a fair price range.
Similar to the juice trend for Lake District we see a premium on milk and at Booths a semi-skimmed organic milk costs £1.40 and for standard semi-skimmed milk at Asda it costs £1.30.
South Lakes Organic Milk from Booths
Although Booths may not seem too expensive in regards to milk and orange juice, it falls on the more expensive side of things with other essentials.
Butter is at a hefty £2.80 which is a whole 80p more than £2 original butter from Asda. Tiger bread costing a whopping £2 from Booths in comparison to Asda selling it for just £1.30.
In all fairness Booths is known for artisanal bread, but we still think £2 for basic bread is a rip off.
A tiger bloomer bread sliced thick from Booths
You would think that fresh local meats from Booths would be comparably cheaper than the big supermarkets.
However, at Asda you can get a 500g pack of bacon for just £3.50 whereas at Booths it would cost you a massive £7.25 for the same product.
On the plus side, Booths does pay local farmers more than you expect to get from big supermarkets and so it’s reflected in the price, that plus the quality of the product.
The selection of local fresh meats from Booths
The last essential we were looking at was one of the many products that sold out in an instant during the pandemic.
We are of course talking about pasta and Booths is just a fraction more expensive at £1 for a bag of fusilli whereas at a places like Asda it costs 95p.
Verdict
Although Booths may seem boujee on the surface, it seems you can get some quality deals on certain essentials. It's the perfect shop, if you are a tourist or local, for getting high quality local produce, treats and more.
Other big supermarket brands did come out on top cheaper overall but Booths has always been a place where you go to get a little treat, something a bit more special.
So next time you are last minute shopping for a birthday, anniversary or whatever you're celebrating you can always count on getting something totally unique in Booths, like Wagyu steak flavoured crisps or gifts from Herdy.
All prices shown were accurate at the time of posting.