GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Perhaps one of the most obvious places that inflation is hitting Americans is at the grocery store. 13 is ON YOUR SIDE with an easy way to save a full 25 to 60 percent or more.
You've heard of outlet shopping for clothing and shoes...but how about outlet shopping for food? 13 ON YOUR SIDE's Meredith TerHaar checked out two different options in West Michigan, both with multiple locations. The deals were impressive.
The first stop, Grocery Outlet in Hudsonville, where you'll save "generally 25 to 30 percent, up to 60 percent off as a general rule from normal prices," said co-owner Jim Hocking.
How do they offer prices this low? They purchase items from the secondary market.
"A lot of the products that get sent out of the main warehouse are either package changes, surplus, overruns, close to or past best buy dates, there is quite a list of why they might go to the secondary market," Hocking said. "There was a day, years ago, when most of this food would have gone to the landfill, and it's perfectly good food."
A quick spin around the store and you'll see why people love to save here. From the large selection of pork loins at $2.99 a pound to the chicken products and even ground beef, it's a great place to buy your frozen protein.
Another way they save you money: Repackaging from bulk bags into much smaller quantities. The Grocery Outlet has several examples of that, from chocolate to gourmet cheese.
"So the price per pound is way less than you would pay in a normal store," Hocking said. "We get a lot of specialty cheeses in."
It's a great place to shop if you are looking for holiday charcuterie items.
And that is not all. If you use a Keurig, the K Cup selection includes brands like Caribou, Peets and Green Mountain at affordable prices.
From coffee to creamer, the 13 ON YOUR SIDE crew found a great selection at the Daily Deals in Comstock Park where customers can save 30 to 50 percent or more.
Daily Deals manager Katie Anderson suggests this strategy: "It's definitely worth shopping us first and then going to other retailers. I hear people talk about it all the time. They are always impressed with how much they have in their cart compared to when they go to other stores. We specialize in frozen proteins which is what most people plan their meals around."
Director Kimberly Jones showed us around the store. "We are able to offer $2.49 a pound (for chicken) because it was previously fresh and we froze it."
Another great source of protein: Chobani Greek yogurt.
"This is a product, when it comes on a short shelf life, consumers don't always draw to it, so we come in and we buy it," Jones said. "This still has over a week of shelf life, generally if I'm going buy it I’m going to use it in a week anyway."
Deals upon deals, like Babybel cheese—usually offered at $6.49, it's discounted to $3.99 at the food outlet store.
Repackaging is a strategy Daily Deals uses as well.
"We had these hash browns inspected, we repackaged them with our private label and are able to sell them at a deep discount,” Jones said.
It's also a great place to shop for Michigan-made snacks.
They might be no frills on the outside, but the deals you can find inside both of these food outlets are sure to help feed your family for less.
Daily Deals has five West Michigan locations. We visited the one in Comstock Park, but they are also located in Wyoming, Allendale, Greenville and Muskegon.
Grocery Outlet has two. We visited the location in Hudsonville. They have another in Allegan.
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