Bargain buys at Oz's discount grocery store

At Australian retailer Cheaper Buy Miles, snacks, frozen meats and sauces cost half of what they do at supermarket chains - or even less

- Sarah Stanley

MELBOURNE - In the trendy inner-city suburb of Fitzroy, where charming cafes and offbeat boutiques line the streets, discount grocer Cheaper Buy Miles wears the ultimate disguise.

Its dark grey storefront is unassuming, but the store, and its three other outlets around Melbourne, is a bargain hunter's haven.

Inside, shelves and fridges are packed with goods like cheeses, crackers, frozen meats and cooking sauces — all typically sold at half the price, or less, compared with local supermarkets.

Cheaper Buy Miles buys products at steep discounts from supermarkets, mom-and-pop grocers and other stores to resell.

These products may be overproduced, mislabelled or approaching or just past their best-before date.

As inventory depends on what suppliers are offloading, the store's offerings change frequently.

For example, a litre of unsweetened oat milk from Australian brand Inside Out sold for A$1 (84 Singapore cents) in late July, compared with A$4.50 at local supermarket Woolworths.

A 190g tub of vegetable dip from Australian brand Red Rock Deli, usually priced at A$4.80, went for A$2.