You’ve probably come across contests at supermarkets — those little tags below an item that say “buy S$X worth of products and win *insert insane prize*”.
These big prizes can range from an all-expenses paid holiday to iPhones or just cold, hard cash.
But I’ve got to admit — while I’ve seen a ton of such contests, I have never joined them because… What are the chances of winning???
I mean, have you actually heard of anyone winning prizes from supermarket competitions?
I haven't.
So, I went on a mission to participate in one of these contests, to see if it is all really legit.
Buy S$15 worth of sunshine loaves, stand a chance to win iPhone 14 Pro
I set my sights on Sunshine’s biggest nationwide campaign, which is currently happening in lieu of their 92nd anniversary.
All I had to do was accumulate a spend of S$15 on Sunshine loaves to redeem grocery vouchers and stand a chance to win an iPhone 14 Pro (128 GB) worth S$1,649.
In a span of three months, Sunshine will be giving away a total of S$1,000,000 worth of vouchers and 24 iPhones 14 Pro.
That’s eight iPhone winners each month!
Even if you don't emerge as an iPhone winner, you can still get a S$5 voucher (limited to 200,000 vouchers).
With the campaign happening from now to Jan. 31, 2023, this gave me ample time to buy S$15 worth of Sunshine loaves.
The best thing is, Sunshine allows accumulated spends in multiple receipts, meaning I didn’t have to spend S$15 at one go.
There was also no limit to the number of receipts I could submit, which meant I could buy Sunshine loaves from anywhere in Singapore, as long as there was proof of purchase.
Let’s get that bread
Before you go around buying any Sunshine brand bread, do take note that only specific types of Sunshine bread qualify for the promotion.
What I bought
If you’re keen on joining the contest, here’s an idea on how you can spend S$15 on Sunshine loaves in a week. Because let’s just face it - S$15 is indeed A LOT of bread.
Nov. 29, 2022
On Nov. 29, I bought Sunshine’s 100 per cent Whole Grains Ultra Fine 400g (S$2.90) for my family's regular consumption.
Photo by Le Wen Tan
Total spent so far: S$2.90.
Nov. 30, 2022
I then bought two loaves of Sunshine bread the next day and treated my colleagues to a simple breakfast.
Photo by Le Wen Tan
The two loaves I purchased were Sunshine’s Hokkaido Milk Toast 400g (S$3.10) and Australian Oat Soft Grain 400g (S$3).
Total spent so far: S$9.
Dec. 4, 2022
My mum suffered from FOMO (fear of missing out) after hearing I made breakfast for my colleagues.
She immediately ordered me to buy Sunshine’s Hokkaido Milk Toast 400g (S$3.10) for her to try out, as she was curious what it would taste like.
Photo by Le Wen Tan
Total spent so far: S$12.10.
Dec. 7, 2022
I bought a loaf of Sunshine’s 100 per cent Whole Grains Ultra Fine 400g (S$2.90) once again, this time for my grandparents who love their high fibre wholemeal bread and butter.
Total spend over a week: S$15.
Receipt submission
TL;DR: It’s a pretty simple and easy process - just don't forget to keep your receipt from each purchase.
- Scan the QR code on the bread banner. Alternatively, you can visit this link.
- Register with your mobile number
- Take a photo of your receipt and submit
- Upon registering, you will receive a unique link where you can submit more receipts to reach the accumulated S$15 spent
You can also go back to the link to check the submission status of your previous receipts.
Unexpected reminder from Sunshine staff
Two days after I submitted my third receipt, I received a call from Sunshine reminding me to submit my last receipt as I was merely S$2.90 away from getting the S$5 voucher.
According to the caller, there are dedicated staff personally checking and approving each receipt.
This is the first time I received calls from a contest reminding me to submit my receipts, and I was pleasantly surprised.
I guess Sunshine really is sincere about giving back to their loyal customers. However, this call service will be done on a case-by-case basis, at the discretion of Sunshine.
Redeeming the S$5 voucher
Screenshot by Le Wen Tan
My last receipt was approved shortly after I uploaded it, and I finally was able to redeem the S$5 grocery voucher.
The voucher, which was delivered to my registered address, is a physical gift voucher that can be used at FairPrice.
After taking a closer look at the contest’s terms and conditions, I found out that the S$5 grocery voucher varies from merchants such as FairPrice, Sheng Siong and Dairy Farm Group.
They will be given out on a first-come-first-serve basis.
As there are only 200,000 vouchers available, quickly get them while stocks last.
And now, we wait (to be crowned iPhone 14 Pro winner)
But were there any real winners from the competition? And who were they?
While the winner wasn’t me, a couple of people really did win an iPhone 14 Pro.
Photo by Sunshine Bakeries
This includes Ng Pei Fang, who won an iPhone 14 Pro after buying Sunshine Fine Softmeal® Wholemeal Bread six times in November.
Ng, who thought this was a “scam” at first, is now a Sunshine convert.
“(I will) buy more Sunshine bread!” she exclaimed.
“(Now that) I’ve won the phone, (I will) buy more bread, eat healthy, and perhaps win more phones!”
I guess this answers my question: Do people actually win prizes from supermarket contests?
Yes, they do.
This is a sponsored article by Sunshine Bakeries.
Top image via Berlinda Ang