EXCLUSIVE Are you paying a premium for your essentials? From Nescafé coffee to Heinz ketchup and Cadbury cakes, how supermarkets are charging up to £3 more for exactly the same items… so where should you buy your favourite brands?

Supermarkets are charging up to 100 per cent more than rivals for exactly the same items from Mr Kipling cakes to Pizza Express pizzas, it can be revealed today.

Other products found to have large price differences between retailers such as Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Asda include Nescafe coffee jars and Cadbury mini rolls.

The data puts the emphasis on consumers to shop around for the best deals and sign up to grocers’ loyalty schemes such as Nectar and Clubcard for cheaper prices.

It comes after shoppers found a £2.17 difference for the same pack of Mr Kipling Angel Slices which cost £4.15 at Waitrose but £1.98 Asda, where they are on sale.

Research by MailOnline looked at a further handful of products – some of which have been highlighted by social media users amazed by the price differences.

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Waitrose is charging £4.15 for an eight-pack of Mr Kipling Angel Slices, a shopper revealed

Asda, which is running an offer, is charging £1.98 for the same product – reduced from £3.95

One of the biggest variations can be found with the Pizza Express margarita pizza (245g). This is on sale at Sainsbury’s for £6, or £3 with a Nectar card; £5.50 at Tesco, or £2.75 with Clubcard; and £3 at Waitrose to all shoppers.

Meanwhile a 200g jar of Nescafe Gold Blend Coffee is available at Sainsbury’s for £8.10, or at Asda for £6.

And a ten-pack of Cadbury Milk Chocolate Mini Rolls (x10) is £3.95 at Sainsbury’s or £2.95 at Co-Op.

A six-pack of Mr Kipling Cherry Bakewells are £3 at Sainsbury’s compared to £1.99 at Tesco, or £1.50 with a Clubcard.

And an 880g bottle of Heinz Ketchup, marketed as ’50 per cent Less Salt and Sugar’ is £4.50 at Waitrose or £4.25 at Tesco.

MailOnline contacted the supermarkets with the higher prices for comment.

A Tesco spokesman said: ‘With household budgets under continued pressure, we remain absolutely focused on providing great value for our customers. 

‘Wherever there are opportunities to pass on savings to our customers we will do so, and earlier this month we cut the price of more than 500 household essentials.’

Last month, food inflation slowed in June as price rises for everyday staples such as cheese, bread and pasta eased back.

The Office for National Statistics said last week that the annual rate of inflation for food and non-alcoholic drinks slowed last month to 17.3 per cent from 18.7 per cent in May, but still remains very high.

The rate of grocery price inflation is shown over the past four years in this data from Kantar

Kantar data over the 12 weeks to July 9 shows the current market share of UK supermarkets

Figures from Trolley.co.uk show how prices of essentials have been soaring over the past year

It represented the third month in a row where food inflation has reduced as many supermarkets kept prices steady or launched price cuts.

Bosses at chains including Tesco and Sainsbury’s have told their hard-pressed shoppers that peak inflation has passed as wholesale costs begin to fall again.

But there certain products such as coffee, chocolate and margarine which saw the rate of inflation accelerate last month, according to the ONS.

The ONS also said the overall rate of Consumer Prices Index inflation was 7.9 per cent for the 12 months to June 2023, which was down from 8.7 per cent in May.