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Food

Own brand versions that are at least as good as the market leaders.

(128 Posts)
Elegran Tue 04-Jul-23 10:45:56

I bought Tesco's own "Wheat Biscuits" in mistake for Weetabix, and discovered that they are so like the "real thing" that they could have been made in the same factory. What is more they are almost exactly half the price! Does anyone else have any favourites which match the market leaders in quality and beat them hands down on price?

knspol Wed 05-Jul-23 22:11:26

Definitely Waitrose own brand baked beans.

Kate1949 Wed 05-Jul-23 19:53:50

We've just collected a bag of Aldi stuff booked through Too Good To Go. Loads of stuff - bread rolls, fresh fruit, coleslaw, chicken escalopes, bami goreng fresh soup and quite a bit more for £3.30. That'll do us.

margauxbordeaux Wed 05-Jul-23 19:50:30

I think it depends on the product.

For example: I definitely prefer Italian Pasta De Cecchio verses other Italian brands. I do not purchase non - Italian Pasta.

GrannySquare Wed 05-Jul-23 19:33:50

Not fussed about own branded coffee as long as it is ground Peruvian.

GrannySquare Wed 05-Jul-23 19:33:06

Migrated to Branston beans from Heinz, well worth the extra £ & use a half tin to offset the extra spends. Will try M&S based upon comments here.

Also moved from Heinz Ketchup to Mutti brand ketchup - a bit £ but far far more tomato & flavour.

Neilspurgeon0 Wed 05-Jul-23 19:27:45

Asda Fruit and Fibre cereal, and their essentials mixed dried fruit, my morning starter for ten plus a few chopped mixed nuts and any fruit that happens to be in season to boost it up

Their instant coffee is pretty passable too and pounds cheaper than Nescafé

readsalot Wed 05-Jul-23 19:20:48

Sainsbury’s lime cordial. Much nicer than Rose’s which I find too sweet.

grannybuy Wed 05-Jul-23 18:11:25

Aldi’s no sugar added Swiss style muesli is very good, and low priced.

varian Wed 05-Jul-23 18:06:43

Lidl own brand "Batts" tomato ketchup - delicious and about a quarter the price of the leading brand.

Kate1949 Wed 05-Jul-23 18:03:44

That's interesting Blondiescot. We used to buy our ground coffee from Aldi or Lidl and it was great. We don't drink much coffee but like the idd cup of instant.

Soroptimum Wed 05-Jul-23 17:51:53

Morrisons own brand baked beans are really good, not as much juice as Heinz! Never thought I’d switch.
Highly recommend Aldi sunscreen with moisturiser, not sticky and covers well.
Also, Aldi cup a soup, box of 4 for 49p! The minestrone is particularly good.
Also a lot cheaper are ALDIs Parmesan and chorizo.

saltnshake Wed 05-Jul-23 17:31:19

I prefer Sainsbury's Real Mayo to Hellman's Mayonnaise.

MaggsMcG Wed 05-Jul-23 17:21:43

Aldi and Tescos versions of Lurpak type butter are good. Aldi is best.

Deedaa Wed 05-Jul-23 17:21:16

I rarely buy much branded stuff. Exceptions are Yorkshire Tea, bronze die pasta, Mutti tinned tomatoes and tomato puree, and Mrs Ball's Chutney from Sainsbury. Aldi were selling a very nice French butter with salt crystals but that seems to have disappeared. My favourite risotto rice is all but unobtainable and unbelievably expensive when I track it down on line.

Nannan2 Wed 05-Jul-23 17:09:06

Waitrose toastie loaf is nice and even better than warburtons.Also Aldi Assam teabags and the Earl Grey teabags are lovely.Really flavourful.

Eskay10 Wed 05-Jul-23 17:05:24

Tescos fruit and fibre cereal, absolutely full of raisins and nuts. Can’t beat it. Also their Rich Tea biscuits are more than half the price of McVities. How do McVities justify what they now charge for their plainest biscuit?
It’s really good to see all the other recommendations which I will be working my way through.

Nansypansy Wed 05-Jul-23 16:42:57

I think that Lidls mayonnaise is by far the best, especially if you can get the jar rather than the squeezy bottle. Their tomato sauce is excellent according to my grandchildren and they prefer Lidls sugar free coke to Coca Cola. My naughty favourite is their chocolate digestives and the smaller bar of whole nut chocolate which is stacked with nuts. Other favourites are their jam, lactose free milk, cat biscuits to name just a few.

Blondiescot Wed 05-Jul-23 16:22:44

4allweknow

I like Aldi tinned tomatoes(not their cheapest) as they have 65 /70% content tomatoes. Most others just give you 60%. Aldi's is about a half the price of Napolino's.

I buy them too. I love Mutti tinned tomatoes, but just can't justify the price when the Aldi ones are so much cheaper. And if you're putting them in something like chilli or bolognese, who's really going to notice the difference?

Mirren Wed 05-Jul-23 15:43:31

I agree with Dee1012 about Aldi for laundry liquid. I have tried this and found it very favourable but I have used the Aldi washing powder for many, many years now. It's cheaper than own brands by far , works wonderfully well , smells lovely and comes in small , recyclable cardboard boxes which enables me to persuade myself I am being environmentally friendly ( although that's probably a day dream )
I have tried the eco friendly laundry detergents and use an Ecoegg for things like blankets and towels but still come back to Aldi washing powder for most things.

4allweknow Wed 05-Jul-23 15:18:20

I like Aldi tinned tomatoes(not their cheapest) as they have 65 /70% content tomatoes. Most others just give you 60%. Aldi's is about a half the price of Napolino's.

timetogo2016 Wed 05-Jul-23 14:57:31

M n S wholemeal bread is cheaper than the known brands and just as tasty.
And they sell a bag of potatoes for £1 and they last for at least 2 weeks.
Asda baked beans are the best even though they have shot up in price by 50%.

cc Wed 05-Jul-23 14:56:19

I can't get to an Aldi or Lidl easily here but really miss both. We switched to Branston's baked beans ages ago, I don't think I buy anything Heinz now, we're not that fussy about ketchup and rarely eat tinned soup.
The one thing I never buy is "own brand" is pasta, De Cecco and Garafolo are our favourites, we just like the taste and texture better and I stock up when they're on offer. Waitrose Fusilli Bucati is lovely too, the grandchildren and I find the twirly shape is very easy to eat, avoiding tipping sauce down our clothes!

lizzypopbottle Wed 05-Jul-23 14:41:18

TerriBull You might try saving the Heinz bottle and refilling it with Sainsbury's ketchup. Their ketchup came out best in a Which comparison.

Saggi Wed 05-Jul-23 14:37:01

Always bought them …. no difference in taste. ! And as you say half price ….sainsburys beans same taste as Heinz as well ….must try these things before poo-pooing them!

Milest0ne Wed 05-Jul-23 14:30:12

I have just been shopping in Lidl. On my list were Chocolate covered digestives, choc chip cookies , chopped tomatoes. toothpaste. paracetamol, frozen peas, porridge oats. fruit & nut muesli, milk chocolate bars, ready salted crisps. Rather a lot of things we don't normally buy but to tempt temporary invalid All good replacement brands
Of the other things I bought ,I don't know of other brands to compare. They were out of stock of the KitKat equivalent