Asda has rationed its hugely popular Just Essentials value range, limiting customers to a maximum of three of any of the low-cost lines.
The budget grocery range, which launched earlier this year as a replacement for Asda’s budget Smart Price offering, has seen huge demand as shoppers look to keep costs down amid the cost-of-living crisis and in the face of soaring inflation and increasing energy bills.
The demand for the initially controversial range has seen Asda put a limit in place to allow “as many customers as possible” to purchase products from the range while the company works to maintain stock levels across key stores.
Just Essentials is made up of more than 300 low-cost lines, with products ranging from tinned essentials and joints of beef to fresh fruit and vegetables, making it the largest value range in the UK grocery market.
Since its launch, Just Essentials has featured heavily on social media, with shoppers, bloggers and influencers sharing their hauls or highlighting the inexpensive meals they have made using the products available.
However, the high demand has meant that there have also been reports of shoppers struggling to get their hands on certain items, both online and in-store, which saw the supermarket deciding to ration purchases.
“Just Essentials is proving really popular at the moment and we’re working hard to get the out-of-stock products back on the shelves as quickly as we can,” said an Asda spokesperson.
“To make sure as many customers as possible can buy these products we are temporarily limiting purchases to a maximum of three of each product.
“This will be for a short period and we will let you know as soon these limits are removed. We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.”
The rationing has been met with a mixed response, with some shoppers pointing out that it doesn’t account for larger families while others have been applauding the move.
