The Real Atlantic Superstore has lowered prices on more than 4,000 grocery and household products, a move the company says will save a family of four up to $300 annually.
District manager Ken Chapdelaine says customers can identify discounted items by looking for “New Lower Price” stickers in store aisles and on shelves.
“Everybody’s trying to eat healthier, especially this time of year going back to school. Saving $2 on every pack of naval oranges going forward is absolutely fantastic,” adding, “Who doesn’t eat Kraft Peanut Butter? You know, everybody’s getting into the snacks.”
Among the thousands of newly lowered prices are select chicken breasts, Hellmann’s mayonnaise, McCain fries, No Name frozen green peas, and Children’s Tylenol Cold & Cough.
Chapdelaine says the lower prices are being offered on top of weekly flyer specials, PC Optimum offers and other in-store promotions, with no plans to end the initiative anytime soon.
“It’s week after week after week on top of your flyer, on top of your digital offers that you have for PC Optimum, on top of all the deals that we have each and every week and each and every day inside our store.”
Food analyst says discounts may offer only temporary relief
Sylvain Charlebois, director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University, says consumers should temper their expectations, explaining that the discounts are unlikely to provide long-term relief from rising food costs.
“There’s a price freeze period between November to end of February every year. So suppliers are not allowed to increase prices. My guess is that the campaign is going to last several months, well into 2027, and they’re basically going to be reducing or freezing prices for many products, granting immunity to consumers against food inflation.”
Charlebois says increased competition may also be playing a role in the discounts.
FreshCo – Sobeys’ discount grocery chain and a direct competitor to Loblaws’ No Frills – is expanding into Atlantic Canada, increasing pressure on established grocers.
“Whenever we have new stores in a market, it tends to make things easier for everyone, even if you’re not planning to shop at new stores. It typically will push other contenders to bring down prices for a while.”
He says his team has already seen prices soften across the region.
“We actually did notice that prices dropped in August by 2.1% generally in our region. So, we have already seen some price adjustments across the board without this campaign.”
Charlebois says some products in Superstore’s promotion do represent strong value, pointing to Kraft Peanut Butter as one example.
“The smooth one kilogram jar is typically around eight dollars, eight-fifty. That’s the regular price, and during the summer, of course, it’s not on sale but because kids are back in school, they’re being very aggressive with peanut butter in general. Anything south of six dollars for a kilo is not bad, especially since the Kraft brand dominates that category,” he explains.
“At that price, I can tell you it’s borderline loss leading. So, Loblaw’s is likely losing money selling a kilo of peanut butter under six bucks.”
Still, Charlebois says the broader impact may be limited. He tells Acadia Broadcasting grocery retailers often hold prices steady through what he calls a holiday “blackout period,” with prices expected to begin climbing again around March.
