The OCU has analyzed the price differences in basic baby products to find out how and where it is cheaper to buy them. To carry out this analysis, it has prepared a “basket” with some of the essentials in a home where there is a baby between ten and twelve months and compared how much it means to buy them by going, on the one hand, to leading brands (three different in each product) and, on the other hand, another, to the cheapest.
What establishments have been analysed?
The OCU has visited a total of 90 establishments in six cities: Albacete, Barcelona, Bilbao, Madrid, Seville and Valencia. Among the establishments there are pharmacies, parapharmacies, online parapharmacies (Atida Mifarma, Promofarma, Dos Farma, Pharmacius, Farmavazquez and Farmasky), physical supermarkets (Aldi and Lidl), and online (Mercadona, Carrefour, Dia, Eroski, Consum, Alcampo and El Corte Inglés), online chains specializing in childcare (Nappy and Maspañales) and Amazon.
By channels and supermarkets
If we bought all the products that make up the basket in the same channel, the cheapest thing would be to go to supermarkets, where the total average cost would be 89.98 euros. Among those analyzed, according to the OCU, the cheapest would be Carrefour (82.26 euros), Mercadona (84.31 euros) and Alcampo (84.53). Behind them would be Consum (86.65), Aldi (87.17) and Dia (91.78), while the most expensive would be Lidl (95.24), Eroski (96.10) and El Corte Inglés, where the cost total would exceed one hundred euros (101.83 euros).
As he explains, the OCU «Lidl, which is a fairly competitive chain in terms of prices, is penalized a lot for not having its own brand or economic range powdered milk; We have only found Nidina’s milk in its stores at a price of 16 euros per kilo, while its competitors offer Hero Baby’s for 9.31 euros per kilo. An expense that is partially offset by its Lupilu diapers, which are the cheapest of the supermarkets, but not enough so that it does not affect the total of your basket»
By channels, after supermarkets, the cheapest would be online childcare (where the average price of the basket is 118.42 euros), online parapharmacies (118.84 euros), Amazon (126.41), pharmacies ( 146.90) and physical parapharmacies, where it would rise to 156.50.
by products
The analyzed basket would be made up of cereals for baby food, fruit bags, powdered milk, jars, diaper cream, shampoo, gel, body milk, diapers and wipes.
Cereals for porridge. Taking as leading brands (and products) Nestlé 8 cereals with honey, Hero Baby Solo Multicereals and Nutribén 8 cereals with honey and as a reference those aimed at babies over six months in a format of about 600 grams, the comparison establishes that the price average is 7.68 euros per kilo in the leading brands and 7.37 in the cheapest. If we want to buy the leading brands, the best places are, except for Nestlé, supermarkets and physical drugstores. If we opt for the cheapest brands, the best place is the supermarket and the worst, Amazon.
Fruit bags. In this case, the average price is 11.35 euros per kilo for the leading brands and 9.29 for the cheapest. It has been calculated by choosing the ‘pouch’ format of about one hundred grams and as leading brand products Nestlé banana, orange and biscuit, Hero only apple, strawberry, banana and blueberry and, finally, Nutribén Fruta Go pear, banana, orange and biscuit. . “Here we have found few price variations in the leading brands,” clarifies the OCU, although the most expensive were in online establishments specializing in childcare and the cheapest in pharmacies. If, on the other hand, we opt for the products with the lowest prices, it is best to go to the supermarket where the white brands are sweeping”, assures the consumer organization.
Milk powder. In this category they have compared the prices of follow-on powdered milk for stage 2 presented in cans of about 800 grams and have chosen Almirón Advance 2, Nidina Follow-on Milk 2 and Nutribén Continuation Pro Alfa as leading brand products. The conclusion is that the average price is 18.75 euros per kilo in the leading brands and 12.52 in the cheapest, although the comparison is a bit lame. «Since powdered follow-on milk is a product that most private labels have not developed, supermarkets are not the best place to buy products at lower prices» (it would be Amazon), «although in all honesty the differences are minimal. For leading products, the cheapest would be Amazon and physical drugstores.
He had got it. Here the OCU has analyzed the prices of jars with meat for babies over six months of about 230 grams, taking as leading products Smileat veal with vegetables, Nutribén chicken pot with rice, Hero Solo Vegetables from the garden with chicken and rice. The conclusion is that the average price is 7.22 per kilo for the leading brands and 5.73 for the cheapest ones, and that the best place to buy jars of leading brands are physical drugstores, while for the cheapest brands they would be supermarkets.
Shampoo. The price of 500-milliliter containers has been analyzed taking Johnson’s chamomile shampoo, Mustela mild shampoo and Johnson’s sweet dreams shampoo as leading references. In this section, the average price would be 11.80 euros per liter for the leading brands and 8.29 for the cheapest. The OCU points out that “at Amazon we have found good prices for the leading brands chosen. For cheap shampoos, supermarkets are the ideal place to buy, especially Aldi and Lidl, which are priced at 1.72 euros per litre.”
diaper cream. The comparison has been made on tubes of about 75 milliliters and the referenced leading brand products have been Weleda calendula diaper cream, Johnson’s Baby diaper cream and Suavinex diaper cream. The average prices are 7.62 euros per hundred milliliters in the leading brands and 6.15 in the cheapest. “For the leading brands, the cheapest prices are in online parapharmacies, compared to Amazon, which has the highest for Weleda cream, and online childcare stores for Johnson’s baby and Suavinex. For the lowest-priced creams, we recommend online parapharmacies and supermarkets, especially Aldi,” the analysis concludes.
Bath gel. In this case, the container of about 500 milliliters has been analyzed and has been taken as a reference within the leading brand products Nenuco Sensitive hypoallergenic bath gel, Spanish Institute Baby bath gel without soap and Mustela Baby foam bath gel. Average prices are 16.47 euros per liter for the leading brands and 9.13 for the cheapest. «To buy leading brand bath gel at a good price we have not found a clear pattern, it depends on the product. And for the lower priced products go to the supermarket; Aldi has a soft body wash that only costs 1.72 euros per litre. At the other extreme are the pharmacies, with an average price per liter of 14.88 euros because their cheapest products are premium cosmetics.
Body lotion. In this category, the container of about 500 milliliters has been analyzed and has been taken as a reference within the leading brand products Spanish Institute Baby moisturizing body lotion, Mustela Hydra baby body milk with avocado, Johnson’s cotton touch face and body lotion. Average prices are €16.77 per liter for the leading brands and €14.65 for the cheapest “For leading brands, Amazon is the cheapest site on average, but if you’re looking for a cheap moisturizer, the best prices are in supermarkets. Pharmacies and parapharmacies are the places where we find higher prices.
diapers. Here the comparison has been made with packs of one hundred units of size 4 and taking Dodot Activity, Dodot Bebe-dry and Chelino Nature as a reference. The average prices are 32.78 euros in the leading brands and 21.85 in the cheapest According to the consumer organization, “the cheapest prices are for both the leading brands and the most affordable in supermarkets, while higher for leading products in online parapharmacies and online childcare stores, and for lower-priced products, in physical parapharmacies. Aldi diapers stand out, Angelito, which are the cheapest, with a price of 0.14 euros per unit».
Wet wipes. The prices of the 50-unit packages have been consulted and the leading brands Dodot Aquapure, Dodot Sensitive and Baby Dove biodegradable wipes have been taken as references. The average prices are 4.17 euros per hundred units in the leading brands and 3.24 in the cheapest «As with diapers, the best offer is in the supermarkets for the cheapest products. But for the leading brands, look to online childcare stores instead.”