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MSE News: 'Value' supermarket brands as good as standard – study
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Former_MSE_Guy
Posts: 1,650 Forumite
This is the discussion thread for the following MSE News Story:
"Some basic products are virtually identical to their more expensive supermarket-own brand equivalents ..."
"Some basic products are virtually identical to their more expensive supermarket-own brand equivalents ..."
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Comments
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Totally misleading article! Of course nutritionally and compositionally the products are very similar but people buy based on taste and quality. The "Value" lines are lower quality and also variable in quality. The branded and non-value items are better quality and also more consistent. I'm not sure why the big push by Martyn Lewis to get people to buy "value" or "basics", he knows a lot about money, but not much about food.
YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR!0 -
Totally misleading article!
I agreeOf course nutritionally and compositionally the products are very similar
The article says "there were no nutritional differences compared to basic brands in almost half those products sampled." So, presumable there was a difference in more than half the products sampled.I'm not sure why the big push by Martyn Lewis to get people to buy "value" or "basics",
Because he makes money by telling others how to save money, and if you buy cheaper products you save money.he knows a lot about money, but not much about food.
YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR!
Oh he'll know a lot about food, but not the sort of food you and I can afford.0 -
I tend to stay well clear of supermarkets own brand food because quite simply.. it tastes vile. I've tried swapping my normal brand food for Tesco value but the taste difference is just too huge to stick with it. Almost sickening.
I wonder if Martin practice what he preaches and feeds himself and his wife with Tesco value garbage and brushes his teeth with 8p Tesco value crap they call toothpaste. He seems happy enough to tell everyone else to do it, but does he do it himself?We’ve had to remove your signature. Please check the Forum Rules if you’re unsure why it’s been removed and, if still unsure, email forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com0 -
Tesco Value - no, I don't generally buy (not out of snobbery; I have tried it but don't find most of it much cop). Tesco own brand stuff - yes, I will buy.
I do buy Value sweetcorn in a tin, actually - can't tell any difference.******** Never be a spectator of unfairness or stupidity *******"Always be calm and polite, and have the materials to make a bomb"0 -
I have always been a brand snob so it would be a big move to fill my trolley with lots of green and white value products (I mostly use Asda) on the other hand I have ventured lately into 18p lemonade and 20p kidney beans/chick peas and cant tell the difference.
I suppose for people who really need to cut back this does show there is often (50% of the time) little difference. I wouldnt imagine Martin needs to buy value products for himself and his wife but his job is to help people who do need to.
Maybe I will try some different ones and see which ones I like. surely it is foolish to just pay more for something because it has a brand name.0 -
Im Trying this at the moment and its working really well for me tesco savers baked beans taste nicer than heinz (in my oppinion) the basic coffee is a little worse than my regular brand (not much but a little) but costs loads less. there are a few im putting off trying but if this success continues i might just consider the 9p curry sauce.0
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Im Trying this at the moment and its working really well for me tesco savers baked beans taste nicer than heinz (in my oppinion) the basic coffee is a little worse than my regular brand (not much but a little) but costs loads less. there are a few im putting off trying but if this success continues i might just consider the 9p curry sauce.
It's not bad, that curry sauce. You'll need to add veg etc. to make it nice, but as a base, it's ok. Not sure how good for you it is though
******** Never be a spectator of unfairness or stupidity *******"Always be calm and polite, and have the materials to make a bomb"0 -
Newbie ... NEBO...... "Totally misleading article "
How wrong you are !!
With 30 years experience sourcing own brand products in the supermarket business .... i can tell you every word of that report is accurate ...
I think you can all be very confident that Suffolk Trading standards conducting thorough research as they have done .. will not be telling fibs !!
The bottom line is always ... that just because something is better quality .. better for you... more expensive etc .. it might not always be your favoured taste.
There is no simple rule..as the thousands of posts on here always show there can be a huge variance between qualities & prices .. and whilst Heinz beans are the same everywhere .. own label isn't .. the supermarkets often have different suppliers , differrent specifications . Many people comment , rightly, that many Sainsbury Basic products seem to be a better spec than say Tesco Value.
Martins' philosophy is absolutely right .... and i'd absolutely recommend that everyone tries it on as many products as possible... as Martins' figures show .. the ££ savings that can be made ... every week .. for years & years .. is huge .. clearly this is one of everyones' biggest moneysaving opportunities.
"Everyone should try the downshift challenge: swap one brand lower on everything and see if you notice the difference. If you don't, great. If you do, swap back. It's a no-brainer."
That really says it all . Everyones' taste buds are differrrent so everyone will always have their likes & dislikes .. but every downshift you can do .. saves money !!. .. isn't that what it's all about ?0 -
Nutritionally speaking they are not as good though
cracker_jack wrote: »Some of the value stuff is pretty bad especially the tesco value cereal, that is just plain awful.
The sainsburys own brand stuff is pretty good, I buy Sainsburys own brand weetabix and crunchy nut, which tastes the same.
Also sainsburys basic toilet rolls £1.29 for 12, far softer and better quality than the Tesco and Asda value range toilet rolls. Used to buy Andrex all the time but seriously £4.49 for 9 rolls?Ellie :cool:
"man is born free but everywhere he is in chains"
J-J Rousseau0 -
When I was a student, we got tours of food and non-food packaging factories and it really struck me how the same stuff went into half a dozen different brands of packaging including 'own brand' labels. So I always try 'own brand' labels at least once - there's a good chance it is identical to the branded stuff. However sometimes it just isn't as good, in which case I don't buy that own brand again. I do mostly shop at Sainsbury's and Asda and find their own brands good in general. I rarely shop at Tesco anyway (there isn't one near me), but I find their 'Value' range poor quality / low spec as other have said. There are very few items now where I always buy the brand - Heinz beans and Colgate toothpaste being the only two examples I can think of right now.0
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