Kifli.hu brings affordable free-from products from supermarkets & farm shops to your door

From October, 50 free-from products have been available at Kifli.hu at the same price or cheaper than regular ones in the same category. What's more, further 77 products will be reduced to market-leading prices by the end of the year. Kifli.hu has now set us the challenge of testing the free-from offer in practice to see what our experience is in terms of price, availability, and taste.

We appreciate that Kifli.hu communicates openly and directly with their customers, making us feel that our feedback matters. This is evidenced by the fact that they have asked clients extensively about the free-from or plant-based products they would add to their range,

and then put a price cap on free-from essentials until the end of the year, so that people with special diets don't have to dig deeper into their wallets.

The Great Kifli Challenge

The Kifli team asked us to test whether we had to compromise on price, availability, and taste when shopping with them, and whether we would really get the same value for money if we only chose free-from, reduced sugar, plant-based, or low-carb products.

We decided to put together two baskets and packed a week's worth of groceries in each, including breakfast, lunch, dinner, and naturally, snacks, then ordered and compared.

The difference between the two baskets was that in one, we only included free-from products listed in the promotion, and in the other, we included regular versions of the free-from goods. We tried to make sure that we put similar items in the basket in grams, which sometimes tipped to one side or the other, and we didn't obsessively hunt for the cheapest options, but we did make sensible choices. For example, we put plant-based and regular milk, lactose-free and regular cheese, gluten-free and sourdough bread. But we also packed both baskets with fresh fruit and vegetables, which are not listed in the promotion but are essential for a weekly meal.

We're not the biggest fans of online shopping, we prefer to run into the store and grab items off the shelf, and we are often spoilt for choice when purchasing online. However, if we take a little time at the beginning to browse the offerings and explore the many features and options Kifli has to offer, we will soon get a taste for online shopping. For example, we really liked the detailed information about each product, the fact that you can save your shopping cart so you don't have to pick it all up individually later, the flexible delivery options, and the easy way to browse the special discounts.

And the free-from range really does beat the selection at discount stores and supermarkets.

Where it's cheaper to shop free-from than regular

Finally, we tested 17 products and their free-from alternatives,

and, surprisingly, the free-from cart came out HUF 1,500 cheaper.

We were quite surprised, as our experience has been that the free-from option is always pricier, whether it's plant-based milk for your coffee in a café or a gluten-free scone at the grocery store. So at Kifli, you get both the selection and the prices, even if you don't just choose from the free-from range with a price cap, as you can get a lot of special offers, just like we did when purchasing fruit and vegetables.

Not to mention one of our favourite features, Save the Food, where buying groceries nearing their expiry date is not only a good way to save money, but can also help reduce waste.

The next aspect we looked at was availability. Many of us on the editorial team follow special diets and we all have difficulty getting all the ingredients for our meals from one place, but this is not a problem at Kifli, as they have an extensive range of free-from products, so we discovered specialties we don't find everywhere,

such as lactose-free camembert cheese, gluten-free tomato sauce, vegan rudi (the vegan version of the popular Hungarian sweet curd-based dessert, Túró Rudi), or salted caramel bonbon.

Breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks – all free-from

We've set ourselves the challenge to find alternatives for every meal in our range of free-from products with a price cap. For breakfast, gluten-free cocoa rolls are a great choice, as is granola with no added sugar, gluten, soy, dairy, colouring, or preservatives, combined with some oat drink and fresh fruit.

Furthermore, there is also a wide range of baked goods available, including gluten-free bread, low-carb loaves, and pre-packed gluten-free scones. What we missed a little was the products that could be added to the bread such as different spreads, hummus, or cold cuts. However, there are several options for sugar-free or reduced-sugar jams,

not to mention peanut butter and honey substitute syrup, which are rarely found on the shelves of your average supermarket.

Snacks were the easiest to find, with a variety of free-from options available, from crunchy gluten-free crackers, crisps, reduced sugar biscuits, chocolate bars, and even gummy bears or puddings. And sampling the product, you'll find out that you don't have to compromise on taste, either – it's a matter of getting used to it, but we've often found products that aren't dominated by sweet, sugary flavours, for example, to be more delicious. We were not a fan of vegan salted caramel, for example,

but we'd definitely pick the vegan rudi anytime, and the Oreo-like sugar-free cookies were also a big hit.

There are plenty of lunch or dinner options, and we opted for a packet of gluten-free and free-from spaghetti and gluten-free tomato sauce. There are also a couple of other gluten-free frozen products on offer, as well as vegan salmon– and frankfurter-like options if you're looking for a quick lunch or dinner.

Ingredients for a more substantial meal or multi-course feast are also available, with a wide range of essentials. For baking, there's a range of options, including a choice of free-from flour blends, gluten-free pudding powder, and organic keto pizza mixes.

All in all, we really enjoyed the Kifli challenge because it was a quick and easy way to shop for free-from products without breaking the bank. For those who follow a special diet, cooking requires a high degree of creativity, not to mention the time spent searching for free-from ingredients or even finding their favourite flavours. Kifli is trying to help us with this, while also seeking customer feedback, so don't be afraid to share your opinion on different platforms!

You can browse the full range of Kifli.hu's free-from products on this website.