Bulk Buying on a Budget
I recently shared on Instagram how our grocery budget seems to be the hardest thing for me to get a handle on. I just can’t bring myself to sacrifice quality to save some money. Thankfully, Scoop Wholefoods and its bulk bins have helped me keep the quality and save money. You just have to be smart on what you’re getting!
I hate to admit it but I was never into bulk bins before I discovered Scoop about a year ago. It was brand new to Singapore and the quality was beyond anything I had found for spices, flours, nuts and toxin-free household items. I went a bit crazy on my first visit and grabbed everything that caught my eye. I walked up to the check out with a cart full of nuts, sodium-free canned goods, pasta, flours, nut butters - all the things I could only dream of while living in Vietnam. The cashier rang up my goods and it was almost S$200!!! I tapped my card to pay and immediately pulled out the receipt so I could try to understand how that had just happened.
I can’t remember the specifics now but there were a few items I had grabbed - cashews, for one - where the 1 bag was S$30! I made it my mission to figure out what made sense to buy there and what I needed to avoid for the sake of my bank account.
Paying off debt deliberately takes a lot of patience, dedication and discipline. I’ll do another post soon about our debt free journey so far but let’s just say, you have to learn to say no. Even if you really, really want that one thing that is going to break the bank.
So besides cost savings, what are the benefits of buying bulk?
Less waste. We save all glass jars in our house so we can use them in the future. I can bring along the jars, weigh them and then fill them up with spices, flours, etc. No plastic or waste coming home with me!
Buy an exact amount. Have you ever had a recipe call for an obscure ingredient? For me it’s usually spices. When you buy a prepackaged spice, you have no control over how much you get. With bulk buying, you can get exactly what you need and your ingredients will always be fresh.
Experiment with new ingredients. I guess this is an offshoot of reason #2 but you can try that random paleo banana bread recipe that uses 1/4 cassava flour without the committing to a huge quantity of cassava flour.
Below, I am sharing what I stock up on when I go to Scoop. Not every item is necessarily the cheaper option than ordering at Redmart (our online grocer in Singapore) or at Cold Storage/NTUC (our local grocery stores). However, if the cost difference is minimal but the quality is far superior, I’ll get it at Scoop.
Here are the things I always get:
Spices - you are able to bring your own container and fill up what you need OR you can buy Scoop’s pre-weighed spices in glass jars. The pre-weighed jars are anywhere from 60-75g and cost between S$6-8. A lesson I learned the hard way - not all spices are cheaper this way. These are the ones I get when I make a visit.
Oregano:
S$2.25/100g at Scoop
S$8.80 for 70g Arogaia Organic Greek Oregano In A Re-Sealable Bag on Redmart (S$12.50/100g)
Thyme:
$2.75/100g at Scoop
S$5.80 for 30g Absolute Organic Thyme on Redmart (S$19.33/100g)
Paprika:
S$6.50 for 75g at Scoop (S$8.66/100g)
S$5.50 for 60g McCormick Paprika on Redmart (S$9.16/100g)
Bay Leaves:
S$2.80/100g at Scoop
S$1.00 for 25g Taste Of India Bay Leaves on Redmart ($4.00/100g)
Onion Powder:
S$6.45 for 65g at Scoop (S$9.92/100g)
$3.95 for 40g Masterfoods Onion Powder (S$9.86/100g)
Chili Powder -
S$3.50 for 65g at Scoop (S$5.38/100g)
S$3.85 for 70g McCormick Chili Powder on Redmart (S$5.50/100g)
Salt - the quality of salt varies significantly and different salts offer different benefits to our bodies. I personally love to keep Pink Himalayan Salt and Celtic Salt at home. The “saltiness” varies so you do have to be careful when you start using these salts. I love them both because of all the trace minerals they add to our diets with minimal effort.
Pink Himalayan Fine Salt:
S$0.50/100g at Scoop
S$5.90 for 1kg (1000g) 24 Mantra Himalayan Pink Salt Powder on Redmart (S$0.59/100g)
something to note here - the cost difference isn’t huge but who needs 1kg of salt!? In Singapore, most of it would likely get ruined by moisture because it comes in a non-resealable plastic bag. I like to stock up 100-200g at a time.
Organic Puffed Buckwheat - this is a go-to snack for Charlie and something I explored thanks to my friend, Jenny, and her baby led weaning website. Rice puffs are not a great choice for babies because of the heavy metals and buckwheat is just as easy but packs a bigger nutritional punch. Rice snacks are also marketed towards babies and can be SO expensive! These do not weigh a lot at all - lots of bulk but not a high price!
Puffed Buckwheat:
S$5.00/100g at Scoop
S$6.90 for 40g Baby Natura Organic Riceberry Puff - Mixed Veggies on Redmart (S$17.25/100g)
Organic High Protein Baker’s Flour - I’ve fallen in love with old school, high gluten baking since we went into lockdown. I don’t handle gluten well but it is so worth it for me! It’s been a fun stress relief and it always tastes delicious. This is one of the cases where Scoop is not cheaper. However, I have not been able to find bread flour anywhere. Also, if you’re wanting to play with mixing different flours or you’re not baking often, buying exactly the amount you need can become a cost savings.
Organic High Protein Flour:
S$0.70/100g at Scoop
S$7.50 for 1.5kg (1500g) Doves Farm Organic Strong White Bread Flour on Redmart (S$0.50/100g)
Canned beans - I will say upfront, this is not about cost savings for me. It is about quality. My son loves beans and has them a few times a week in meals or for snacks. Quality matters and so does salt content! Scoop stocks sodium-free, organic and BPA-free canned beans. Most organic beans on Redmart are around S$3.00 but contain salt and chemicals in the can lining. The extra buck is worth it to me!
S$4.15/can at Scoop
~S$3.00/can on Redmart
Organic Passata - Tomatoes are on the “Dirty Dozen” list so I try to do organic as much as possible. Scoop carries a brand of passata (basically pasta sauce) called Honest to Goodess. The cost savings isn’t huge but I always grab a jar or two for the pantry when I’m there.
680g jar is only S$6.50 at Scoop (S$0.96/100g)
S$6.80 for a 680g jar Absolute Organic Absolute Organic Tomato Passata with Basil on Redmart (S$1.00/100g)
Carrier Oils - I use different carrier oils for different things in our home. Fractionated coconut oil is used for all my roller ball blends, whereas, jojoba oil is my go-to for my skin. I love getting these at Scoop not only for the price but because I can bring back my glass bottle and just refill it! This one really comes down to the fact that the iHerb one comes in a plastic bottle. The Scoop option is also cheaper than doTERRA, which is where I would buy it most regularly.
Fractionated Coconut Oil:
S$14.95 for 250ml at Scoop (S$5.98/100ml)
$19.16 for 473ml on iHerb.com (S$4.05/100ml)
S$20.00 for 115ml with doTERRA’s wholesale membership (S$17.39/100ml)
Organic Jojoba Oil:
S$21.00/100ml at Scoop
S$12.12 for 118ml on iHerb.com ($S10.27/100ml)
Again, plastic and carbon footprint to ship from the US.
How much do I love Scoop?
I was the very first customer through the door when its new outlet opened not far from where we live. You can see all my favorites on the counter along with my recycled jars from home! The owners snapped my photo and shared it on their Instagram!
I always go in with a list and do my absolute best to stick to it. Occasionally I will splurge on coconut milk yogurt, organic kimchi or sauerkraut and nut milks. That said, there are a few things I never buy at Scoop because the cost adds up SO quickly. Those things include:
Gluten free pasta
Nuts
Nut butters
Ghee
Granola
Marinades/Coconut Aminos
I can find these items for less money (by unit price) on Redmart, at the grocery store or on iHerb.com.
I hope this helps you on your next trip to Scoop so you get what you need and don’t break the bank!
