About
About NI Food Compass
NI Food Compass began as a simple family problem: grocery prices were rising, offers were scattered across different shops, and the weekly shop needed clearer answers.
Support the project monthly Read how support is used
The story
This project came from our own kitchen table. As a family, we were trying to make sensible choices while food, household products, petrol, subscriptions, and everyday bills all seemed to move upward at the same time.
The hard part was not just the price of one product. It was the time and headspace needed to compare Tesco, Sainsbury's, ASDA, Iceland, loyalty prices, unit prices, frozen versus fresh, family-size packs, and household items like washing capsules or bin bags.
NI Food Compass is our attempt to make that job feel calmer. It gathers public price and offer information, normalises it as best as possible, and shows it in a way ordinary households can use before they leave home.
Why it matters
A comparison tool should not feel like a data platform. It should help someone quickly answer: is this offer worth it, where should I shop today, what is cheaper per kg, and what is the better choice for my family?
Better planning can also mean fewer wasted trips, fewer impulse buys, and less food or cupboard stock bought only because a deal looked good in the moment.
What it covers today
The first public version focuses on supermarket offer pages, loyalty deals, product categories, diet filters, meat and fish types, household per-wash or per-bag comparisons, brands, and a basic basket tool.
It is still young, and some rows will need correction as retailer sites change. Every row links back to the retailer so people can check final price and availability before buying.
Why support helps
The site has real costs: the public server, backups, monitoring, email, data capture runs, quality checks, development time, and AI/data tools used to clean and organise the information.
For now, support is monthly only. We are not offering annual commitments because the project is still growing and retailer/data-access rules may force changes over time.
If the site saves you time, helps you plan a shop, or gives you a clearer view of prices in Northern Ireland, monthly support helps keep it available for everyone.
The aim
The aim is not to replace retailers or tell people where they must shop. It is to give households a clearer compass: factual prices, better unit comparison, practical filters, and a bit less stress before the weekly shop.