I over in UK from New Zealand and surprised how good the sandwiches  are in these small supermarkets.  Much better than Macdonalds

When I worked in central London I often bought a custom designed sandwich from a nearby shop. One often had to wait in a queue and there was no time to see and understand all the options. I am now retired but have never had a 'meal deal'. You have inspired me to investigate, instead of making a lunchtime snack that is far less adventurous than those you describe. Thank You Olivia.

In these islands, ( the Irish phrase for the British Isles), we don't csll them "retail clerks" they are 'shop assistants'.

Strangely enough, supermarkets are not just places to make profits they also exist to bring food into the city to feed people. People often sit together for alfresco lunches and in school children have breakfast clubs where they eat toast and cereal. Poor children often get free school lunches. This  kind of food policy dates back to war time rationing with the idea that everybody should get enough to eat.

Your videos are a breath of fresh air!
I've not been commenting lately due to hospital stay, but I'm well and catching up 😊
All the best ⭐

I normally make my own sandwiches, and bring them to work with me. This is the cheapest option, for the same thing.   I also take a Flask of hot water, tea bags, milk, and cup a Soup sachets.  That way I can have something hot.

People who I have worked with, were surprised that I can have hot drinks, and food, for less than the cost that they were paying for their lunch.

Egg sandwiches and food hygiene in general. It's worth pointing out that most of those small stores you mention belong to the four big players in the highly-competitive UK supermarket field (five if you include Marks and Spencer, which I certainly would in this context). If Waitrose, say, were to trigger an outbreak of food poisoning because of problems such as poor hygiene in its food chain, not only would it be big national news, but it would also likely make a SIGNIFICANT dent in the company's market share. They simply can't afford to get it wrong.

No, when I buy a meal-deal, I really DON'T look at the relative financial costs of the components. I look for a meal I'm going to enjoy. I'm confident that it's going to be cheaper than it would be to buy the individual items, but that's secondary. Seriously - what sort of person buys their third- or fourth-choice of food just because it's a better "saving"? You're not actually saving anything; you're paying the exact same price price at the checkout whatever you choose. You might as well enjoy what you get.

I shop at Tesco because I have a clubcard. Not only do I get a meal deal but get it discounted as well because of my clubcard. In fact I use my card to pick up a scanner when I go in so any items I buy are scanned directly into my shopping bag. All I do at checkout is scan a code on tbe till and the bill is transferred to the till and I just pay it.

Wait until she realises a large red bull is included in the meal deal and costs nearly as much when bought on its own. 😂

Snacks include chocolate bars as well🙂

I'd guess it's cheap because British supermarkets sell the drink at cost price when bought with the 2 other items, making sure the sandwich is tasty and fresh. Taking a hit on one item and keeping quality high is the key to profitable 'meal deals'. It was invented, oddly, by the 'Boots the Chemist' store in 1999, not known for food shopping.

Dear Olivia, great analysis again.  Suggest you review food and snacks in Thailand.  I would suggest not the biggest cities like Chiang Mai and Bangkok but instead Chiang Rai, Pukhet, Koh Samui or Koh Samet.

For a start it's not really a meal. It's just a sandwich with a packet of crisps and a drink. It's designed for people on the go. It's more like a substantial snack that you can eat at the office or in the park if the weather is good. It is reasonable value.

This misses an important part of the story. As far back as I can remember, central London was full of well-patronaged sandwich bars with a vast array of reasonably-priced variants and, of course, soft drinks.The idea that Marks & Spencer invented the sandwich-based lunch is bollocks of the first order.

It's not always about getting the best value for your choices though - the humble cheese and onion sandwich is by far the best main choice

I love you talking about subway maps over an image of Bath...

Before covid, the meal deals used to be excellent value.

I live in the FOD and never had a Meal Deal

ASDA do a sort of meal deal, it's buy 3 items and get the cheapest free, I prefer a pork pie and two drinks

Coffee sandwich and snack £3:85 Tesco club card  , and it’s a Costa coffee so sandwich and crisps basically 75 pence woo hoo