Thoughts on Lidl?

It's a pity they didn't include Aldi in their comparison, because I suspect that would have been marginally cheaper than Lidl.

There's nothing wrong with Lidl quality, and if you are already buying own-brand goods from another supermarket, Lidl "weird brand" goods won't be much different, in fact some of their ranges may actually be better (in particular Dairy, Breakfast Cereals, Chocolate, Bakery).

The only way, really, is to try for yourself. See what you like, see what is a big enough saving to justify odd pack sizes or weird brand names.

edit: Anyone doing a comparison at the moment should be aware that both Aldi & Lidl seem to be having on-going supply problems with Juice & Squash. Lidl is particularly badly affected with the range being smaller than usual, changing frequently, and shelves sometimes being completely empty (e.g. of squash) as customers swap between types in order to get anything at all.

It's sad as Lidl used to have a comprehensive range of No Added Sugar "Juices" that were very good, and good VFM, but they are almost all absent now.

It all depends on what you buy, but you may still end up having to go elsewhere for certain items, as there are some things Lidl simply don't sell. Never had any issues with quality though, and I've noticed newer branches are getting bigger, so presumably stock a wider range.

Such comparisons are not direct comparisons as they can't be. For example, you can buy very cheap eggs or expensive eggs, "own brand", and chicken where most are rubbery or watery however Sainsburys and Asda's own range are not rubbery or watery and are also thick breast meat - those are better value than cheaper.


As a rule from my experiences, Tesco are the most expensive, followed by Sainsburys and Morrisions; Asda are the best for many things however not all; Aldi and Lidl seem to have creeped up their prices over the last years so are not a cheap retailer as they used to be, however perception hasn't as yet cought up on that yet so people still buy there.


Best thing to do is just buy own-brand supermarket items on different weeks from different supermarkets, then decide what is nice and what isn't; then when you go shopping buy different things in each store depending on what you prefer. Remember, "own brand" is made by the named brands, so no snobbery!