ICELAND is a much-loved gem on the British high street, offering a huge range of frozen goods for bargain prices.
But some items might be more worth your money, and some may be better left in the freezer.
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We spoke to shopping and money expert Andy Barr about the items you should always buy in Iceland and the ones that are better to buy elsewhere.
Andy has worked in the money-saving industry for nearly 30 years and is also the co-founder of online price-tracking website alertr.co.uk.
The site helps shoppers to save by tracking products across online retailers so they can compare prices.
If you’re not sure where your nearest Iceland is, you can find out by using the store locator tool on its website.
Below, Andy explained the things you should always buy in Iceland and those to leave on the shelf.
Big name brands and dupes
Andy’s first items that he recommends shoppers buy at Iceland is the big name brands and dupes.
He said: “You can’t go to Iceland without taking full advantage of its huge range of frozen products.
“The best items available, in my opinion, are the frozen versions of restaurant and food retailer favourites, such as TGI Friday and Greggs.”
“Not only does this give consumers easy access to foods they know and love, it’s often cheaper than going to the restaurant itself.”
As an example, he explained how you can save over £1 by buying a four-pack of frozen Greggs’ sausage rolls at Iceland instead of fresh in the bakery.
They work out at about 88p each in their frozen form, compared to £1.20 when bought fresh.
You could even buy four boxes to save even more; using Iceland’s mix and match offer, you can buy 16 sausage rolls in total for just 63p each.
Iceland has a whole range of items like this including Ed’s Easy Diner and TGI Friday’s ranges.
Make sure you compare prices online before committing to a purchase though.
Frozen meat
Another item Andy recommends you always keep an eye out for when shopping in Iceland is frozen meat.
He explained: “The frozen meat aisle at Iceland can also be great, especially for big families looking to keep everyone well-fed on a budget.”
One of his examples is a 1.9kg bag of frozen chicken portions for £3.50, which works out at £1.84/kg.
This is significantly less than other retailers like ASDA, where 1kg of frozen chicken breast costs £4.25.
Andy added: “If you’re looking to bulk buy, Iceland has you covered; you can purchase a whopping 5kg of frozen chicken breast fillets for £25.”
Iceland also offers a popular three for £10 deal on frozen meats, it includes various products like beef burgers, chicken skewers, sausages and steaks.
Ice cream
The last item Andy recommends is Iceland’s vast array of ice creams the supermarket has on offer.
He said: “The last range I’d recommend checking out is the ice cream. Iceland’s variety of brands and flavours is second-to-none.
“From high-protein ice cream, to Terry’s Chocolate Orange, J2O and even Lotus Biscoff-branded products, there’s a massive selection of unique flavours to suit anyone’s tastebuds.”
And he’s not wrong, there are hundreds of unique flavours available that you’d struggle to find elsewhere.
For example we found Capri-Sun, Barratt cherry cola bottles, and Hubba Bubba ice lollies.
There’s also a range of dairy ice creams too like Cadbury Caramilk, Ferrero Raffaello and Skittles.
Each of the items cost between £2 and a fiver for a box or tub, making it pretty cheap to feed a family.
Iceland also came out on top for our taste test of Cornetto dupes, you can bag a box of six for half the price of the real deal.
“If you’re looking to try a new ice cream flavour, Iceland really is the store to visit,” Andy said.
What to avoid at Iceland
One of the main things to Andy would say you should probably buy elsewhere is fruit and veg.
While he does think that Iceland has good range of produce, he just thinks other shops might do it better.
He said: “It’s worth noting that, in contrast to popular opinion, Iceland does have a good range of fresh produce at decent prices.
“That being said, you can certainly find cheaper deals elsewhere; ASDA, Lidl and Aldi often work out cheaper.”
Another few items that Andy would possibly avoid buying in Iceland are bread, pasta and tinned food.
He explained: “I’d avoid pantry items like bread, pasta and canned foods.
“While there is a good range of products, Iceland doesn’t sell affordable own-brand alternatives like all of the other supermarkets do, so if you’re looking to test out cheaper ranges to save on your weekly shop, you’re not going to be able to do that here.”
The shopping expert said he would recommend visiting Iceland from time to time to restock your freezer, but doing the rest of your grocery shopping elsewhere.
Meanwhile, Iceland is also slashing the price of almost a dozen products to just 1p, including big brands like KitKat.
Plus, three things to buy at Iceland’s Food Warehouse – and what to avoid.
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