Lidl is quietly trialling a budget range of groceries called Simply.

So far, the range consists of just a few products, with white bread for 50p, fruit jam for 29p and a 1kg bag of frozen chicken breasts for £3.99. A spokeswoman said Lidl plans to add minced beef and toilet roll.

The addition of an entry-level range means Lidl now has a good-better-best offering following the introduction of its Deluxe line in 2010.

Lidl’s prices match Asda’s Smart Price value range on both the bread and jam, and undercuts Asda’s £5 price-point for frozen chicken breasts.

A 1kg bag of frozen chicken breasts - again priced at £3.99 - is also among several new lines in Aldi’s Everyday Essentials range, which returned to shelves last month. Originally introduced in January last year, the discounter withdrew the range shortly after Tesco launched its similarly named Everyday Value range in April. The new packaging ditches the original red and white colour scheme for a multicoloured approach depending on the product.

As well as frozen chicken breasts, the widened range includes 15 frozen Yorkshire puddings for 49p, 500g of penne pasta for 29p and jam for 29p.

Tesco charges the same for Everyday Value jam but £4.75 for the chicken breasts and 39p for a 500g pack of penne.

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