Valentine’s Day 2016: Morrisons is selling oysters for 25p each ahead of Valentine’s Day – the same price as a Cadbury Freddo
Lidl may be famous for its champagne, but one of the big four supermarkets appears to be fighting the competition by slashing the price of oysters ahead of Valentine's Day this year.
Morrisons is to sell fresh British oysters for just 25p each – the price of an average Cadbury Freddo in a move to try to outshine its German supermarket rivals when it comes to affordable luxury.
The supermarket’s oyster price is believed to be the lowest retail price in the UK for 25 years, and Morrisons is only one of two firms in the big four that sell them. Morrisons has undercut the price of oysters at Tesco, which retail at 50p apiece.
Morrisons will be stocking live Pacific Oysters, which are cultivated on the west coast of Scotland and Ireland, and are available either individually at the fish counter or in packs of six. Morrisons' fishmongers will be on-hand for shucking duty.
Morrisons announced the news alongside a table conveniently explaining that Lidl's oysters are almost twice as expensive at 47p each, while Aldi doesn't sell them at all.
Perhaps the grocer is trying to keep up with its German rivals, after both Lidl and Aldi impressed customers last Christmas. Lidl's bargain £11.99 Comte De Senneval champagne became the store's bestseller last year, even outselling semi-skimmed milk.
Meanwhile, Aldi was praised for its poultry, selling over one million turkeys in the run up to the festive season.
The real question, however, is if consumers are willing to buy usually very pricey shellfish if it's this cheap. Won't they be squeamish?
Adam Cotton, seafood buyer for Morrisons, reassured us that "fishmongers are ready to help customers who are worried about how to serve and eat them."