If you’ve not heard of Don Don Donki, you’re missing out on a Japanese grocery paradise. It opened its doors at Orchard Central in December 2017 and has created quite a buzz about the unconventional things that we can find at the store. Other than promising that you can find anything and everything there, the Japanese grocery store also promises to be a discount store! When we heard this, we were skeptical. How can Japanese imported goods be cheaper than our supermarkets?
Because Don Don Donki has an online retail platform, we decided to compare it to stores with online platforms as well – Red Mart and honestbee (Fairprice Finest). We wanted to include more supermarkets, like Cold Storage and Giant, but most of the products on this list were not available on their online sites.
We mainly focused on Japanese brands and goods but also sneaked in a few brands that are commonplace in our supermarkets, like Pokka and Kirei Kirei to get a better sense of its pricing.
Here’s a table comparing the common products we found across the stores!
 |
 |
 |
Is Don Don Donki the cheapest? | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
*Tahoto Caramel Corn |
$1.70 | $2.50 Current promotion: 3 for $6 |
Not Available | Yes! Even cheaper than Daiso. | |
*Nissin Instant Cup Noodle Seafood |
104g for $2.90 | 74g for $4.50 | 75g for $3.80 | Yes, and it even comes in a bigger size! | |
*Morinaga Moonlight Cookie |
$3.30 | $3.80 Current promotion: $3.05 |
$4.15 | Yes but only if you look at original prices | |
*Hikari Miso Matured Koji Miso 750g |
$4.90 | $8.50 Current promotion: $7.25 |
Not Available | Yes! Almost half the price! | |
Meiji Milk 2L |
In store: $6.40 | $6.35 Current promotion: $5.70 |
$6.35 Current promotion: $5.70 |
No but the price difference is only $0.05 | |
Pokka Jasmine Green Tea 500ml
| In store: $1.40 |
Not Available (they only have 1.5L) |
$1.30 Current promotion: $1.05 |
No but they’re both cheaper than 7/11 | |
*Calpis Carbonated Soda 500ml |
$1.90 | $2.90 Current promotion: $2.45 |
$2.90 | Yes and even with an exclusive deal! | |
*Kool Fever Gel Patch For Kids |
12+4 sheets for $9.90 | Not Available (they only have the gel patches for the body and not forehead) |
6 sheets for $6.15 | Yes and even with an exclusive deal! | |
Kirei Kirei Moisturizing Peach Anti-Bacterial Foaming Hand Soap 250ml |
In store: $4 | $3.95 | $3.95 | No but the price difference is only $0.05 | |
MamyPoko Open Air Fit |
In store: 84 pieces for $20.90 | 84 pieces for $26.95 | 64 pieces for $28.60 Current promotion: $23.30 |
Yes, even cheaper than the promotion price! | |
| *Delivery Service | $10 for orders below $100 Free delivery with $80 min. purchase online Free delivery with $100 min. purchase in-store |
$5.99 for orders below $40 Free for orders above $40 for LiveUp Members $3.99 for orders $40-$100 for non LiveUp Members Free for orders above $100 for LiveUp Members |
$4.99 for orders below $50 | No, it’s the most expensive! |
*Available online at Dondondonki.sg
As we collated the results, we were amazed at how low some of the prices at Don Don Donki were, especially compared to the other supermarkets. It’s even more interesting that the imported Japanese goods (like the miso paste) are cheaper than the ones at the supermarkets, if they even carried the products at all.
The only qualm we have about Don Don Donki is that its online range is far more limited than its range at the physical store so we had to make a trip down to Orchard Central to check out the prices because the website did no justice to the range that the store has. The shelves were stocked high with makeup, food, snacks, alcohol, stationery, clothes, household items and more! You will also get to shop along to the Don Don Donki theme song – an experience you won’t get online. We assure that you will be unknowingly humming the tune for the next few days.
If you’re in the area and need to do some grocery shopping, we highly recommend going down to Don Don Donki and checking it out for yourself. There are so many Japanese goodies that you can buy without paying a premium price. It’s definitely the go-to stop for all things Japanese.
Images: Don Don Donki, Red Mart, honestbee
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