The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has issued three rulings against convenience retailer Co-op after supermarket chain Aldi challenged a price-matching ad.

The rulings were against an ad that appeared on the retailer’s website. The marketing drive included a webpage for the grocer’s Aldi price match scheme.

Text on the advert read: “EVERYDAY ESSENTIALS, PRICE MATCHED TO ALDI” beside images of various groceries with a roundel and tick symbol with text that stated, “ALDI PRICE MATCH FOR MEMBERS”.

Below were hyperlinked tabs that said “Milk, butter cheese and eggs, Food cupboard, Meat, fish and poultry, Fruit, veg and salad, Bakery and cakes, Household and pet” with images of the items and their prices for members and non-members with “See more” headings below.

Further text on the advert read: “Terms and conditions” stated “[…] Co-op Member Prices on selected products matched pro rata vs comparable products at Aldi GB […] For full list of price matched products, see here”.

Text under the heading “FAQs” stated, “What is the Co-op Member Aldi Price Match? We have matched our Co-op Member Prices to Aldi prices on certain products.

The particular products available will vary, depending on the range of products usually stocked in that store or online. The full list of products that we price match is available here”. The word “here” was hyperlinked and took consumers to a spreadsheet listing the matched products.

The marketing drive was challenged by Aldi on the basis that the “everyday essentials” claim on the site was misleading, as it did not make it clear which products were included in the product line.

It also questioned whether all the grocery items shown in the banner had been price-matched, as they believed that was not the case.

The retailer also raised concerns that the ad was misleading as it did not compare the most “appropriate” products from Aldi.

The Co-op responded to the concerns, stating it defined its ‘Everyday Essential’ line as household staples and products which had been most frequently purchased by its customer base.

It added that a supplier conducted research on consumer purchasing behaviour to identify the products included in its price match.

The retailer said it ran multiple campaigns referring to its ‘Everyday Essentials’ line and therefore believed customers would be familiar with the term and that the ads were clear that only certain items were price-matched with the discount supermarket.

Co-op stated that all of the products featured in the banner at the top of the Aldi price match landing page were priced matched to the retailer. It added that if any of the items were removed from the campaign, they were removed from the banner and from the webpage.

The retailer showed the regulator a breakdown of its prices for its chopped tomatoes 400g, lemon washing-up liquid 450ml, and carrots 500g as Aldi believed they were not included in the Aldi price match.

The company also provided the ASA with details of six different bread products included in its campaign. It believed the products matched identical Aldi products, except for a wholemeal farmhouse loaf, which was matched to a white farmhouse loaf because Aldi did not stock a wholemeal farmhouse loaf.

It added its ad had terms and conditions and featured a link to a landing page, which stated it had price-matched comparable products.

The ASA did not uphold the first ruling, explaining that the average consumer would understand the “Everyday Essentials price matched to Aldi” claims to mean that Co-op had price-matched items that shoppers used every day.

Regarding Aldi’s second concern, the ASA did not uphold it.

The watchdog did, however, uphold the third ruling, stating it breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 3.1 and 3.3 (Misleading advertising), 3.7 (Substantiation), 3.9 (Qualifications) 3.32, 3.34 and 3.38 (Comparisons with identifiable competitors).

It told the supermarket that the ad must not appear again in the form complained of.

An Aldi spokesperson said: “We believe customers deserve clear, honest information when comparing prices and we’re pleased that the ASA has upheld this principle.

“Customers trust Aldi because we offer great value, high-quality products at an everyday low price, and that’s why today we’ve been named Which? Cheapest Supermarket for January 2026, as well as for the last five years running – even when you include loyalty pricing and selective price matches at other supermarkets.”

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