Sobeys’ chicken is more expensive than Loblaws’ but no one is mad at them

Chicken breast prices have been the talk of Toronto recently after Loblaws was caught selling a pack of four for a ridiculous price of $40.

Of course, all hell broke loose, with people vowing to never shop at – although they might steal from – anything related to Galen Weston Jr. and looking for poultry alternatives.

But one grocery store is alleged to be selling these skinless, boneless breasts at an even higher price point – without the blowback.

A Tweet recently pointed out the price discrepancy between Sobeys and Loblaws and I had to check it out.

Sobeys must be laughing right now – their chicken is priced even higher than Loblaws, but because they don’t have Galen Weston Jr. on TV as the face of the company, they avoided the outrage aimed at the Westons. pic.twitter.com/PBDW8DLYBX

— T.O. Resident (@TO_Resident) January 8, 2023

Head to Sobeys online retailer Voila! And you’ll see the Compliments Naturally Simple Chicken Breasts Boneless Skinless Value Pack of four pieces priced at an astonishing $27.54/kilogram.

Compliments is Sobeys’ private label and the website says this is the “typical” price for those breasts.

Of course, you can find a cheaper option, a value pack of 3 to 6 skinless, boneless breasts is typically priced at $19.82/kilogram – but it appears these aren’t free from hormones or antibiotics.

Interestingly, when we visited the Sobeys on Laird Dr., we noticed the family-size package was on sale this week for $15.51/kilogram (while it’s normally priced at 23.13/kilogram).

If you look at the price on the shelf tag for Sobeys’ boneless, skinless, air-chilled, antibiotic-free chicken breasts, you’ll notice its regular price is $23.13/kilogram. 

Check back with Loblaws’ website and you’ll find a similar equivalent, President’s Choice four skinless, boneless chicken breasts raised without antibiotics or hormones priced at $22.91/kilogram.

A club-sized package of the product was found at the Loblaws location on Redway Road for the same price.

Zooming in, you can see that a package of boneless, skinless, air-chilled, antibiotic-free chicken breasts at Loblaws is still $22.91/kilogram when you purchase it in-store. 

Now if my math serves me right – and if we aren’t considering any short-lived specials, this is an approximate $4.63 difference per kilogram when you shop online (or $0.22, if you shop in person), for the same product.

But nobody is boycotting Sobeys – yet.

Another unbelievable find recently saw the Nova Scotia-based retailer selling a party-size container of Caesar salad for a gob-smacking $41.99 in Kitchener.

blogTO tried to reach out to Sobeys on multiple occasions, including three phone calls to their media hotline, looking for comments on these chicken prices but did not hear back.

Is there a shortage of chicken? Why is chicken so expensive these days? Will Sobeys face an incredible amount of hate when this week’s in-store price special ends?

In today’s world, who knows?