Have we had an "items where own brand is better" Thread?

[Sammo123]

skinny said:

supermarket baked beans are nicer than Heinz

I 100% agree with you on this. Can't stand Heinz beans. I like either Tesco or Lidl own brand.

[ambuletz]

Really like LIDL/ALDI's 'Freeway' cola. 42p for 2litres. bargain. their sugar free version that's equivalent to Pepsi max/coke zero tastes just as good as them.

[CubanPete]

Lidl alcoholic ginger beer.

Considerably better than crabbies

[CubanPete]

2Btoo said:

mi1ne said:

I think most of Lidl own brand stuff is just as good if not better in some cases. (Waiting for the wrath of PH powerfully build directors)

Maybe of the exception of the butter (lurpack rip off), its not very good.

Disagree - the Lidl butter is excellent!

My wife works for a butter distributor.

You don't get anything different when you spend more money

[souper]

omniflow said:

Are you sure?

I'm quite happy to shop in M&S for quite a few food items, but a significant percentage of what they sell is dire. I never buy chicken from M&S, and their ketchup is not a patch on Stokes. It's also worth noting that 20 years ago, the only things you could buy in an M&S foodhall was branded "St Michael" and now you can buy pretty much any major brand.

Yum, Stokes brown sauce, love it used to get in Tesco can't find it in Sainsburys, Asda, tried Waitrose only had Stokes chipotle sauce.

[2Btoo]

CubanPete said:

My wife works for a butter distributor.

You don't get anything different when you spend more money

Interesting - I have long suspected that to be the case, thanks for confirming it!

[talksthetorque]

Sammo123 said:

I 100% agree with you on this. Can't stand Heinz beans. I like either Tesco or Lidl own brand.

Branston Beans is where it's at.
Don't judge own brand beans until you have tried Branston Beans.

[castex]

Fortnum & Mason's loose leaf Earl Grey knocks Twining's into a cocked hat.

[TwigtheWonderkid]

talksthetorque said:

Branston Beans is where it's at.
Don't judge own brand beans until you have tried Branston Beans.

Agree with that. Tesco wine gums and midget gems are better that Maynards and the like. Co op posh ice cream is better than branded posh ice creams. Lidl's muesli is my favourite.

But the winner is....Sainsbury's tinned chilli con carne. Just perfect.

[MorganP104]

I've shopped in all the major supermarkets, and have settled on Waitrose.

I very rarely buy any branded products, and only do if there isn't an "Essential Waitrose" equivalent.

My (demanding) family haven't complained yet!

ETA: Tell a lie, my kids hated the Essential Waitrose hazelnut chocolate spread, and insisted I went back to buying Nutella.

[sl0wlane]

2Btoo said:

CubanPete said:

My wife works for a butter distributor.

You don't get anything different when you spend more money

Interesting - I have long suspected that to be the case, thanks for confirming it!

Same with cheese, many of the cheddar brands are the same as the own brands with different wrappers (cathedral city etc)

[Eddie Strohacker]

talksthetorque said:

Branston Beans is where it's at.
Don't judge own brand beans until you have tried Branston Beans.

Way better than Heinz.

[castex]

sl0wlane said:

2Btoo said:

CubanPete said:

My wife works for a butter distributor.

You don't get anything different when you spend more money

Interesting - I have long suspected that to be the case, thanks for confirming it!

Same with cheese, many of the cheddar brands are the same as the own brands with different wrappers (cathedral city etc)

Arrant bosh.

[vournikas]

castex said:

Fortnum & Mason's loose leaf Earl Grey knocks Twining's into a cocked hat.

Only on PH would Fortnum & Mason be considered "own brand"

I suppose it is, by definition, their "own brand" but not in the spirit of the OP

[Some Gump]

ambuletz said:

Really like LIDL/ALDI's 'Freeway' cola. 42p for 2litres. bargain. their sugar free version that's equivalent to Pepsi max/coke zero tastes just as good as them.

That'll be zhit then. Want coke? Accept sugar. Want a diet? Water. There is no fun in sorbitol or aspartame.

[12TS]

Waitrose chocolate ring biscuits. Nicer than Fox's. (I'll bet they're the same, but there does seem to be more chocolate on the Waitrose ones)

[Sy1441]

Lidl Sweet Chilli Sauce is better than Blue Dragon.

Aldi Bourbon BBQ sauce is outstanding, not sure what to compare it to though.

Lidl Sea Salt & Balsamic crips are on par with Kettle Chips.

I do agree that the Danpak (Lidl) and Norpack (Aldi) butter isn't as good as Lurpak though. Lidl do however have an excellent sea salt butter block.

[Kermit power]

Some Gump said:

That'll be zhit then. Want coke? Accept sugar. Want a diet? Water. There is no fun in sorbitol or aspartame.

I've seen this sort of statement made many times, but I'm not sure why?

If you look a little further into it, it seems that there were a couple of lab tests in the 60s and 70s that linked some artificial sweeteners to possibly elevated levels of cancer in lab rats, but one was subsequently shown to only cause bladder cancer in the rats in conjunction with a bodily process in rats that humans do not have, and the other was later dismissed as being completely flawed in its procedural approach, and utterly useless as a result.

This seems to have just become one of those urban myths that persists, but has absolutely no truth to it.

[Pistom]

Sammo123 said:

skinny said:

supermarket baked beans are nicer than Heinz

I 100% agree with you on this. Can't stand Heinz beans. I like either Tesco or Lidl own brand.

Heinz - very sweet, taste quite unsophisticated.
Tesco - great improvement on Heinz as less sugar, probably uses wider range of ingredients as taste is more sophisticated with good after taste.
Lidl and Aldi beans. I can't tell the difference between them but are equal best in my opinion. Rich smooth sauce, the beans taste like they've been steamed as they retain their flavour but not overly hard.

[Bonefish Blues]

2Btoo said:

mi1ne said:

I think most of Lidl own brand stuff is just as good if not better in some cases. (Waiting for the wrath of PH powerfully build directors)

Maybe of the exception of the butter (lurpack rip off), its not very good.

Disagree - the Lidl butter is excellent!

The sea salt one