MSE Forum Poll: Do you usually buy supermarket own brand, branded or a mix?

MSE_JC

At MSE we're big proponents of 'downshifting' on your grocery shop - swapping out premium / branded products for the store's own offerings.

While it should work out better for your wallet, how many of us actually do regularly pick the supermarket versions over big name items?

Vote in our poll, and let us know in the thread if there are any particular items you won't downshift on.

itsthelittlethings

The only branded thing I think I buy is Heinz tomato ketchup and occasionally branded oat milk.

pmduk

It's very rare I'll buy anything branded.

fatbelly

Branded chocolate, biscuits, butter, cheese - all from Farm Foods

Own brand tinned goods, coffee, eggs, milk - from Morrisons/Lidl

A fairly even mix

Gaberdeen

Honestly? Whatever is cheapest, usually.

Most of the time this is supermarket own brands but occasionally you'll see a branded equivalent at a similar price point.

The only things I tend to buy branded goods of are:

Beer / Cider / Spirits (with exception of own-brand cheap rums etc for cocktails)

Cleaning products (i.e. Fairy Liquid / cillit bang have no performance equivalents in own-brand products)

ButterCheese

It depends where I'm shopping but mostly own brand. Lidl for example has unknown brands that are cheaper, but they aren't own brand by Lidl.

Morrisons own bread is abysmal compared to branded.

Tescos Mayo is disgusting, whereas Lidls is quite nice.

So in summary, I'm a discerning shopper and it takes some trial and error to make that taste/price decision

twopenny

I learned long ago that the things I eat taste better by choosing the branded but I buy more locally when I can because I can have the amount I need so it works out as cheap and better flavour because I don't throw stuff away.

I do wait and shop for the offers on branded and store a small amount to tide me over between offers.

I also grow a lot of my own veg and fruit which is even cheaper.

But I'm cooking for one so that's different from cooking for a family.

goldfinches

I tend to pick and choose depending on how I plan to use whatever the ingredient is. If something is one of a very few ingredients in a recipe then I choose whatever is going to taste best but if it's only going to be 1tbsp among 20 or more other ingredients then price and quantity in the packet/jar is the determining factor.

Suffolk_lass

Only digestives because they are wheatmeal whereas OB are sweetmeal

TurbulentCourage

If the first purchase of an own brand item is good enough compared to the branded version, my wife and I will continue to buy the own brand version.

Being (mainly) Lidl shoppers we have found that most of their own (or not well known) brand items are easily good enough.

Sometimes, if the own brand food was not quite good enough we would add dried herbs/spices when cooking, then if that made it good enough it would be a future purchase.

subjecttocontract

For me it depends entirely on the product. Some is branded some supermarket brand. I've been very disappointed by both at some time in the past. If I try supermarket branded and don't like it I'll never buy it again but I'm not one to usually buy and try. I'm fortunate that I don't have a budget so paying more for branded isn't an issue.