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

p00hsticks

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.

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)

 I take your point, but I suspect - for example - that there are 'good' and 'bad' quality bits of cod in the same way that there are for other meats such as chicken, pork or beef

Doc_N

p00hsticks said:

UDoc_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.

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)

 I take your point, but I suspect - for example - that there are 'good' and 'bad' quality bits of cod in the same way that there are for other meats such as chicken, pork or beef

Possibly, though there’s no reason whatever to suppose that brands use them. You’re paying for all the advertising, the brand name and the additional profits - not the food ingredients. It’s all a clever con trick, which consumers swallow because of all the advertising.

That’s not to say that brands are always poor quality and overpriced, but in many cases that’s exactly what they are. I was amused to see a can of Heinz soup in a case of Lidl own brand soup. Identical ingredients too, but half the price.

Cornucopia

Weird one, this...

Lidl Chicken Goujons (chilled).  

I've bought these several times over the past months, and each time there have been 11 goujons instead of the stated 12.   They're still nice, and very good value at £1.05, but I would like my missing goujon.  

If it happens the next time I get them, I will be complaining.

Farway

Cornucopia said:

Weird one, this...

Lidl Chicken Goujons (chilled).  

I've bought these several times over the past months, and each time there have been 11 goujons instead of the stated 12.   They're still nice, and very good value at £1.05, but I would like my missing goujon.  

If it happens the next time I get them, I will be complaining.

Are they sold by weight? Is there a weight on the packet and does the pack weigh whatt it is supposed to?, ignore the numbers

Cornucopia

Farway said:

Cornucopia said:

Weird one, this...

Lidl Chicken Goujons (chilled).  

I've bought these several times over the past months, and each time there have been 11 goujons instead of the stated 12.   They're still nice, and very good value at £1.05, but I would like my missing goujon.  

If it happens the next time I get them, I will be complaining.

Are they sold by weight? Is there a weight on the packet and does the pack weigh whatt it is supposed to?, ignore the numbers

That's a fair point - half (well, 45%) of them are gone now, so I'll have to wait for the next purchase to find out...

Brie

Cornucopia said:

Farway said:

Are they sold by weight? Is there a weight on the packet and does the pack weigh whatt it is supposed to?, ignore the numbers

That's a fair point - half (well, 45%) of them are gone now, so I'll have to wait for the next purchase to find out...

I would have thought they might say "up to" or "approximately" 12.  I've seen some packages of things that will say "10 to 12 dependent on the weight".  

I'm assuming that you enjoy them if they are a repeat purchase and at that price an easy and affordable lunch option.

Rosa_Damascena

Rosa_Damascena said:

My latest Lidl find: the kefir yoghurt seems to be an answer to Yeo Valley, and nowhere near as sweet as the usual offerings.

I've just tried the Onken Super Kefir Lemon & Ginger, and am not impressed. I could do better with bog standard 45p / 500g pot and stirring a teaspoon of the cheapest lemon curd into the mix. Neither will compare with Lidl's thick coconut yoghurt though!

pumpkin89

Rosa_Damascena said:

I've just tried the Onken Super Kefir Lemon & Ginger, and am not impressed. I could do better with bog standard 45p / 500g pot and stirring a teaspoon of the cheapest lemon curd into the mix. Neither will compare with Lidl's thick coconut yoghurt though!

But the whole point of kefir is the health benefits.  They add flavours to make it somewhat palatable but it's never going to be the best tasting option.

Rosa_Damascena

pumpkin89 said:

Rosa_Damascena said:

I've just tried the Onken Super Kefir Lemon & Ginger, and am not impressed. I could do better with bog standard 45p / 500g pot and stirring a teaspoon of the cheapest lemon curd into the mix. Neither will compare with Lidl's thick coconut yoghurt though!

But the whole point of kefir is the health benefits.  They add flavours to make it somewhat palatable but it's never going to be the best tasting option.

I think the health "benefits" of kefir over bog standard yoghurt are overstated and marginal. 

pumpkin89

Rosa_Damascena said:

I think the health "benefits" of kefir over bog standard yoghurt are overstated and marginal. 

Then why are you paying a premium for it?