Splurge & Save: High-Low Shopping is the Food and Drink Trend Influencing Brits’ Baskets this January

• Brits get savvy with grocery shopping this January as 70% want to prioritise value but don’t want to compromise on quality and taste, according to Ocado study*
• As a result, three in five are adopting High Low spending tactics – combining premium ingredients with store cupboard essentials for high quality, great value meals
• Premium eggs, olive oil and tomatoes are top of the list when it comes to ingredients Brits insist on splurging on
• Whether you’re splurging or saving, great value is guaranteed this January on Ocado 

This January, Brits are getting savvier with their food shop as new data from Ocado, the UK’s biggest online-only supermarket, shows 70% want to prioritise value without compromising on quality when it comes to groceries.

Enter High-Low shopping – the latest trend that’s sweeping the grocery aisle. Originating in the world of fashion, this consumer behaviour refers to the pairing of a premium item with lower cost choices to elevate the overall outcome. For time-poor shoppers, it also offers a practical solution, making it easier to build high-quality, great-value meals in one place, without compromising on taste or creativity.

Almost two thirds (63%) of UK shoppers already follow this approach when food shopping, regularly combining premium and everyday  ingredients to elevate otherwise simple meals. This number rises to three quarters (75%) of young Millennials looking to make the savviest use of their grocery budget.

According to Ocado’s study of 2,000 Brits, ingredients shoppers prefer to splurge on include extra virgin olive oil (35%), butter (34%) and eggs (32%). Premium Tomatoes (24%) also featured highly, as well as honey (21%), whilst proteins topped the overall list with fresh meat (58%) and fresh fish (37%) in first and second place.

On the other end of the spectrum, shoppers are happy to make savings on simple carbs, with pasta (42%), rice and grains (38%) and potatoes (36%) topping the value focused ingredients list. Sales of Ocado Own Range Basmati Rice are up 46% year on year** and Ocado Own Range Fusilli Pasta sales have risen by 63%. Sales of the latter more than doubled (up 110%)*** between December and January, a time when Brits become more value-focused.

Putting the High in High-Low, many of these premium ingredients have been influenced by social media, including Isle of Wight Tomatoes favoured by chefs like @tylerbutteats and Chris Babe, and Clarence Court Eggs, described by users in this recipe by @_eating_with_emily as ‘perfect’. Searches for Isle of Wight Tomatoes have risen on Ocado by 92% year on year, whilst sales of Clarence Court Leghorn Whites have more than quadrupled year on year, up 456%.

To give shoppers a dose of High-Low inspo this January, Ocado has partnered with home cook Saff Michaelis to release three recipes that splurge on hero ingredients whilst making savvy savings on others. As both a dinner party chef and home cook for a family of three, Saff is an expert in combining the elevated with the everyday. Her recipes include a rich and smoky Nduja Penne with Burrata, hearty Creamy Truffle Mash & Sausages and a deliciously original way to use up a seasonal winter star in a Brussels Sprout Caesar with Crispy Chicken Schnitzel.

Saff has also shared her top tips for High-Low shopping success:

When to splurge:

• Favour Fats: Fats like butter and olive oil impart and carry flavour – so if your fats are great quality, your flavour will be too. A good olive oil paired with a cheaper garlic will taste better than the other way around, so don’t be afraid to splurge a little here.
• Quality Through Colour: I always invest more in the ingredients that are giving colour and visual appeal to a dish. For example, if I’m making a Caesar salad dressing, I always use great quality eggs with richer coloured yolks, as if I don’t, the dressing could end up looking a little anaemic! 

When to save:

• Cost-Effective Carbs: Carbs should never be the most expensive thing on your shopping list. In my experience, cheaper own-brand pasta is often as good or even better than a premium brand, and equally, enough delicious butter or cream can make the humblest potato sing.
• Budget ‘Back-up Dancers’: Ingredients like soffritto mixes, tinned or jarred pulses, and stocks are all back-up dancers to your star ingredient(s). You layer these to create an overall flavour and therefore each one doesn’t necessarily need to be premium in isolation.

Dan Elton, Chief Customer Officer at Ocado Retail says “January has always been a prime time for savvier consumer spending, but we know customers don’t want to feel as though they’re having to make a trade off between quality and convenience. Customers want to know they can find everything they need in one place, without having to shop around. That’s why at Ocado, we make it easy to combine premium ingredients with great-value everyday staples, all while offering recipe inspiration that shows value-led cooking doesn’t have to be boring.” 

From splurging on Isle of Wight Tomatoes to saving on Ocado Own Range Pasta, Ocado’s vast range has something for everyone. Visit www.ocado.com to find out more and check out all three of Saff Michaelis’ High–Low recipes.

ENDS

Notes to editors

* Based on a survey of 2,009 respondents conducted, December 2025 by Clariti

** YoY sales data compares sales between 16th December 2023 – 16th December 2024 with 16th December 2024 and 16th December 2025

*** MoM sales data compares sales between 1st January 2025 – 31st January 2025 with 1st December 2024 – 31st December 2024

† Search data compares searches between 16th December 2023 – 16th December 2024 with 16th December 2024 and 16th December 2025

‡If you wish to publish one of these recipes in full, a link back to the original recipe must be included

Further Ocado data and consumer research statistics:

• Searches for ‘Ocado pasta’ up 36% YoY
• Searches for Isle of Wight Tomatoes up 92% YoY 
• Searches for All Things Butter up 71% YoY
• Sales of Ocado Basmati Rice up 46% YoY
• Sales of Ocado Spaghetti up 1567% YoY
• Sales of Ocado Fusilli up 63% YoY and 110% MoM
• Sales of Ocado British White Potatoes up 75% YoY and 13% MoM
• Sales of Ocado Organic Baking Potatoes up 36% YoY
• Sales of Clarence Court Leghorn Whites up 456% YoY
• Sales of Clarence Court Seabright Sage Eggs up 51% YoY
• Sales of Clarence Court Burford Browns up 30% YoY
• Sales of Citizens of Soil Organic Greek Extra Virgin Olive Oil up 610% YoY
• Sales of Il Casolare Unfiltered Extra Virgin Olive Oil up 84% YoY
• Sales of Daylesford Organic premium meat have risen in sales –
  • Quarter pounders up 78% YoY
  • Organic chicken drumsticks up 66% YoY
  • Organic chicken wings 23% YoY
  • Organic pasteurised British beef topside 38% YoY
  • Outdoor reared unsmoked back bacon 26% YoY
  • Organic lamb loin chops 45% YoY
  • Organic pasteured lamb mince 95%
  • Outdoor reared pork sausages 32%
• 57% think using one hero ingredient can make their meal taste restaurant standard
• 65% are more likely to cook something new if it involves value or low-cost ingredients
• 60% say the ideal home-cooked dish should blend the familiar with the fancy
• 72% want to reduce their total weekly grocery spend but don’t want to compromise on quality and taste

Brits’ top five ‘splurge’ ingredients list:

1. Fresh meat

2. Fresh fish

3. Cheese

4. Chocolate

5. Butter

6. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

7. Eggs

8. Fresh vegetables

9. Fresh fruit

10. Condiments and sauces