Brand ‘Snobbery’?

I'm going to definitely give asda baked beans a try, next time I shop.

I shop with Waitrose and buy a lot of there own brand.
There baked beans are excellent and cheaper, the tinned soups and tin rice pudding is nice not as sweet as ambrosia.
There very fair prices on other Waitrose food too.

For me brands are not important. It's what's in the product that counts. Any brand with 'nasties' in it gets the thumbs down from me, and if the contents are all good then I don't care what the brand is. However, I do also consider supermarket policies towards their growers and suppliers because if they use their might to squeeze every last bit of energy out of these people, then even if the product is good I won't buy it. Sometimes I think own brands and their inevitable cheaper price tag encourage us all to expect our food for next to nothing.

Definitely generic painkillers and cough medicines. Used to be a Lurpak Spreadable only buyer but now I have found out that Aldi's version is the exact same recipe at a much lower price.

Has anyone found the cheapest 'Scratch' for sale?

Seeing as most of the own brands are manufactured at the same factory and often to the same recipe as the branded, just the packaging that differs!
I often do a big shop and only choose own brands! The only disappointment is the Stockwell baked beans from Tesco - they are a bit watery ! Oh and the Stockwell tea bags are weak!

Worked as a student packing biscuits one summer into tins, boxes etc. Amazing how many different packages there were for the different outlets but still the same biscuits came through

I was told that cheese for different supermarkets was made and packed in the same factories but that M&S cheese had the shortest sell by dates on it.

I also love Aldi baked beans Grey Duster. They seem to have a lot less sugar in them. The only thing I don't like of there's is evaporated milk.

Tizliz

At a friend’s for dinner I praised the green beans because they are often tough and these were perfect - they were Tesco’s frozen!

Shock horruer!!! Really? Are you for real? Do you think there are special crops/factories/cows/etc set up specifically for 'own brand' products?! Ha haaaa! Never heard such a load of codswallop! It ALL comes out of the same place, a spur is a spud flour is flour(same mills) drinking choc is same, difference usually may be down to packaging advertising and the strongest difference of all- psychological influence! Taste test. Do it. See?

Tough stringy beand- you're overcooking them/not cooking enough/a rubbish cook.......

I stick with the same tea and instant coffee, Yorkshire gold, and Kenko really rich. I prefer the cheapest condiments, tomato sauce, etc as they are more vinegary which I prefer.

We were surprised how good Aldi Beans were too. Didn,t like Waitrose own brand though.

Mummer can you explain then why Birds Eye frozen peas don’t taste like any other frozen peas?

Mummer my GC can tell the difference on a blind taste test on the following: Aldi cereal versus Kellogg and Nestlé (though Nestlé comes with a lecture from DGS) Lidl or Aldi versus Lurpack, any tomato soup versus Heinz and tomato and HP sauces versus any other brand. On the other hand they like Lidl hash browns better than Birds Eye and any brand of fresh food if I home cook it. FarmFoods always have such great discounts on branded cereals that the ones they like are cheaper than either Aldi or Lidl.
Drinking chocolate? Well I can tell the difference between the brand I like and others, but if you can’t, lucky you. You can go with the cheap stuff.

I but Asda's soap powder, cleaning stuff, toilet rolls, butter and cereals. The only things we buy that's branded are cat food (Purina) and baked beans (Branston)

Gave up on The Brand baked beans quite some time ago. Took to Branston and then after reading in the well known consumer magazine the results of tests eg quality, levels of additions like sugar changed to Asda. Much prefer the Asda too, more taste and thicker sauce.Much cheaper than the other two. Tinned chopped tomatoes is another one. Loads of own labels have only 60% content tomatoes. The Napolina range has 65% but is usually expensive in comparison to Aldi, now 38p and has 65% tomato. I am currently trying butter spread not manufactured in EU and imported. Quite a few made in UK that seem equally good and sometimes cheaper.

Kim19. You say you have had success with hot chocolate, do you mind telling me which brand you now buy? I ask because I have a cup every night before bed and it's always Cadbury. I have tried quite a few other cheaper brands, Sainsbury's own brand, Asda's own, Lidl and a couple of others but have never found anything to match the taste of Cadbury, so your opinion would be very helpful.

I’m an ingredients reader and am not convinced that some own brands don’t use cheaper ingredients. Not all of course but a friend was extolling the taste some cheap supermarket own brand jam but on reading label it had far less fruit content than some more expensive jams.

I think aldi ketchup has far more tomatoes in it than Heinz, of I remember rightly.

i buy supermarkets own brand and some value brands, only thing i won't change is my lurpak butter. i find that most own brand and a lot of the value ones are just as good and sometimes better.

Nothing other than Fairy liquid for me. Supermarket brands just don’t compare and you need to use twice as much to get a lather

Duvetdiva
I’m with you there, has to be Fairy

I haven't found a good substitute for dairy either.
There must be one!
Next best is morning fresh - cheap and cheerful.

Fairy. Not dairy!