Good and Bad Buys at Lidl and Aldi stores (***Please don't expire***)

maman

Pollycat said:

I batch cook and cook most meals from scratch.
I enjoy the planning of menus, I enjoy the prepping and cooking.
So the eating is also enjoyment.
It is my bag.

There really would be no point in me buying cheaper ingredients to cook a meal that doesn't taste as good as it does with the branded items that I've tested against cheaper alternatives.

I do occasionally check the quality of cheaper items against the few branded ones I buy.

I think that's good practice @pollycat. You've tried and made an informed decision that the branded goods taste better to you. 

I think that proves that, while the thread is really useful in recommending things from Aldi and Lidl, we all have different tastes, It's keeping an open mind that matters. 

sammyjammy

Anyone know whats happened to the Crumble and custard tarts in Aldi?  Nothing in my store for the last few weeks.

maman

Sorry, don't know about custard tarts @sammyjammy but I'm assuming a supply issue. I've had freezer bags and own brand Lazy Garlic on my list for a few weeks but none on the shelves. ☹️

p00hsticks

briskbeats said:

Doc_N said:

Kernow666 said:

over the last couple of months i have swapped from branded biscuits to Lidl's own 

Ginger nuts
Rich Tea
Oaties
Digestives
Malted Milk 
Chocolate chip cookies

i wouldn't ever go back to McVities even if they were on offer 

I struggle to understand why anyone buys at least 90% of branded groceries.  With a few exceptions, almost all of them can be replaced at a much lower price, with just a little open mindedness.

In Aldi, Holly Lane cakes are made by Mr Kipling as gut the same font for BB date and batch number. Best example is the Battenberg cake. In the past used the same blood red trays. Sometimes I have seen HL and MK cakes together and customers are buying the MK one which is about 50% more.

Just because a supermarket own brand is made by a name manufacturer, it doesn't necessarily mean that the product is identical though. The manufacturer will be given a price point to meet for the product by the individual supermarket and will adjust the recipe and ingredient quality accordingly.

Cornucopia

p00hsticks said:

briskbeats said:

Doc_N said:

Kernow666 said:

over the last couple of months i have swapped from branded biscuits to Lidl's own 

Ginger nuts
Rich Tea
Oaties
Digestives
Malted Milk 
Chocolate chip cookies

i wouldn't ever go back to McVities even if they were on offer 

I struggle to understand why anyone buys at least 90% of branded groceries.  With a few exceptions, almost all of them can be replaced at a much lower price, with just a little open mindedness.

In Aldi, Holly Lane cakes are made by Mr Kipling as gut the same font for BB date and batch number. Best example is the Battenberg cake. In the past used the same blood red trays. Sometimes I have seen HL and MK cakes together and customers are buying the MK one which is about 50% more.

Just because a supermarket own brand is made by a name manufacturer, it doesn't necessarily mean that the product is identical though. The manufacturer will be given a price point to meet for the product by the individual supermarket and will adjust the recipe and ingredient quality accordingly.

Yes... although varying the ingredients of an existing product range will entail costs in repeating product evaluation and trialing.

Personally, if a product from a supermarket is good enough to be largely indistinguishable from a branded item without head-to-head comparison, that's good enough for me.

Doc_N

p00hsticks said:

briskbeats said:

Doc_N said:

Kernow666 said:

over the last couple of months i have swapped from branded biscuits to Lidl's own 

Ginger nuts
Rich Tea
Oaties
Digestives
Malted Milk 
Chocolate chip cookies

i wouldn't ever go back to McVities even if they were on offer 

I struggle to understand why anyone buys at least 90% of branded groceries.  With a few exceptions, almost all of them can be replaced at a much lower price, with just a little open mindedness.

In Aldi, Holly Lane cakes are made by Mr Kipling as gut the same font for BB date and batch number. Best example is the Battenberg cake. In the past used the same blood red trays. Sometimes I have seen HL and MK cakes together and customers are buying the MK one which is about 50% more.

Just because a supermarket own brand is made by a name manufacturer, it doesn't necessarily mean that the product is identical though. The manufacturer will be given a price point to meet for the product by the individual supermarket and will adjust the recipe and ingredient quality accordingly.

Equally well, though, the assumption that a brand name will provide a better product and a better specification is flawed.  There are plenty of examples of brands providing inferior products.

Here's just two at random:

Tesco Cranberry Sauce 200G  50p

INGREDIENTS: Cranberry (47%), Sugar, Glucose-Fructose Syrup, Gelling Agent (Pectins), Acidity Regulator (Sodium Citrate), Citric Acid.

Colman's Cranberry Sauce 165g  £1

Cranberries (45%), sugar, water, thickener (pectin), lemon juice concentrate, preservative (potassium sorbate)

Sainsbury's Cod Fish Fingers x12 360g £2.25

INGREDIENTS:MSC Certified Atlantic Cod (Gadus Morhua) (Fish) (64%), Country Ground™ Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Nutritional Supplements:Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin)), Sunflower Oil, Water, Salt, Turmeric, Yeast, Spice Extract.

Birds Eye Cod Fish Fingers x10 280g  £3

Ingredients: Cod (Fish) (58%), Breadcrumb Coating*, Rapeseed Oil, *Breadcrumb Coating (Wheat Flour, Water, Potato Starch, Salt, Paprika, Yeast, Turmeric)

Brands (as here) trade on their names and frequently provide inferior products to the own-labels, because so many customers are gullible and assume that the brand is everything.

Pollycat

Doc_N said:

p00hsticks said:

briskbeats said:

Doc_N said:

Kernow666 said:

over the last couple of months i have swapped from branded biscuits to Lidl's own 

Ginger nuts
Rich Tea
Oaties
Digestives
Malted Milk 
Chocolate chip cookies

i wouldn't ever go back to McVities even if they were on offer 

I struggle to understand why anyone buys at least 90% of branded groceries.  With a few exceptions, almost all of them can be replaced at a much lower price, with just a little open mindedness.

In Aldi, Holly Lane cakes are made by Mr Kipling as gut the same font for BB date and batch number. Best example is the Battenberg cake. In the past used the same blood red trays. Sometimes I have seen HL and MK cakes together and customers are buying the MK one which is about 50% more.

Just because a supermarket own brand is made by a name manufacturer, it doesn't necessarily mean that the product is identical though. The manufacturer will be given a price point to meet for the product by the individual supermarket and will adjust the recipe and ingredient quality accordingly.

Equally well, though, the assumption that a brand name will provide a better product and a better specification is flawed.  There are plenty of examples of brands providing inferior products.

Here's just two at random:

Tesco Cranberry Sauce 200G  50p

INGREDIENTS: Cranberry (47%), Sugar, Glucose-Fructose Syrup, Gelling Agent (Pectins), Acidity Regulator (Sodium Citrate), Citric Acid.

Colman's Cranberry Sauce 165g  £1

Cranberries (45%), sugar, water, thickener (pectin), lemon juice concentrate, preservative (potassium sorbate)

Sainsbury's Cod Fish Fingers x12 360g £2.25

INGREDIENTS:MSC Certified Atlantic Cod (Gadus Morhua) (Fish) (64%), Country Ground™ Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Nutritional Supplements:Calcium Carbonate, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin)), Sunflower Oil, Water, Salt, Turmeric, Yeast, Spice Extract.

Birds Eye Cod Fish Fingers x10 280g  £3

Ingredients: Cod (Fish) (58%), Breadcrumb Coating*, Rapeseed Oil, *Breadcrumb Coating (Wheat Flour, Water, Potato Starch, Salt, Paprika, Yeast, Turmeric)

Brands (as here) trade on their names and frequently provide inferior products to the own-labels, because so many customers are gullible and assume that the brand is everything.

I don't automatically assume a branded item is better.

It may be that someone prefers the taste of Coleman's cranberry sauce to that of Tesco and the taste of Bird's Eye fish fingers to those from Sainsburys.

The other ingredients may make that difference - such as breadcrumbs on the fish fingers.
Or maybe Coleman's use a better quality cranberry than Tesco does.

The importance things is to try supermarket own brands (and even their saver range) and make the decision for yourself.

maman said:

Pollycat said:

I batch cook and cook most meals from scratch.
I enjoy the planning of menus, I enjoy the prepping and cooking.
So the eating is also enjoyment.
It is my bag.

There really would be no point in me buying cheaper ingredients to cook a meal that doesn't taste as good as it does with the branded items that I've tested against cheaper alternatives.

I do occasionally check the quality of cheaper items against the few branded ones I buy.

I think that's good practice @pollycat. You've tried and made an informed decision that the branded goods taste better to you. 

I think that proves that, while the thread is really useful in recommending things from Aldi and Lidl, we all have different tastes, It's keeping an open mind that matters. 

pumpkin89

Doc_N said:

Equally well, though, the assumption that a brand name will provide a better product and a better specification is flawed.  There are plenty of examples of brands providing inferior products.

...

Tesco Cranberry Sauce 200G  50p

INGREDIENTS: Cranberry (47%), Sugar, Glucose-Fructose Syrup, Gelling Agent (Pectins), Acidity Regulator (Sodium Citrate), Citric Acid.

Colman's Cranberry Sauce 165g  £1

Cranberries (45%), sugar, water, thickener (pectin), lemon juice concentrate, preservative (potassium sorbate)

Brands (as here) trade on their names and frequently provide inferior products to the own-labels, because so many customers are gullible and assume that the brand is everything.

You've really picked a bad example there.  A marginally lower percentage of cranberry is more than made up for by the lack of glucose-fructose syrup (this is the European name for HFCS - Google it) and the real lemon juice.  Given the choice of those two, it's well worth the extra 50p for Colman's (although there are other brands I think are better).

briskbeats

p00hsticks said:

briskbeats said:

Doc_N said:

Kernow666 said:

over the last couple of months i have swapped from branded biscuits to Lidl's own 

Ginger nuts
Rich Tea
Oaties
Digestives
Malted Milk 
Chocolate chip cookies

i wouldn't ever go back to McVities even if they were on offer 

I struggle to understand why anyone buys at least 90% of branded groceries.  With a few exceptions, almost all of them can be replaced at a much lower price, with just a little open mindedness.

In Aldi, Holly Lane cakes are made by Mr Kipling as gut the same font for BB date and batch number. Best example is the Battenberg cake. In the past used the same blood red trays. Sometimes I have seen HL and MK cakes together and customers are buying the MK one which is about 50% more.

Just because a supermarket own brand is made by a name manufacturer, it doesn't necessarily mean that the product is identical though. The manufacturer will be given a price point to meet for the product by the individual supermarket and will adjust the recipe and ingredient quality accordingly.

Funny how the Nutritional Info is identical!

Brie

I like Heinz ketchup and mayo but dislike their soups.  But here at Chez Brie it must by Heinz Tomato or Cream of Chicken!  And generally bought in bulk from Tesco.

I would never willingly eat those myself much preferring what I can get at the local Polish shops - they tend to have much less salt and sugar in theirs so always taste fresher.  And they sell borscht cuppa soup! About £1.50 for 20 portions!  A great thing to have in the cupboard when a glass of water just won't do!!