By continuing to use the site, you agree to our use of cookies and to abide by our Terms and Conditions. We in turn value your personal details in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
Please log in or register. Registered visitors get fewer ads.
I've been playing around with buying some supermarket own brand alternatives lately. I shall go full Martin Lewis with you now and reveal my findings:
Tesco Chocolate Digestives. Get on them. Only 55p and bl00dy lovely. Actually better than the branded alternatives, more chocolate to biscuit ratio. Don't buy the Molly's ones though, they're rank.
Tesco Oat Milk. Passable but not as nice as the branded one I get. £1.20 instead of £1.80 doesn't justify the trade IMO.
Marmite - Don't mess with the GOD. Bought a supermarket alternative, had it once on toast and can't see myself eating it again. Absolutely fecking rancid. Literally tasted like salt on toast.
I don't mess about with Mayo or Salad cream, I'm sorry the stakes are far too high with that.
Bran Flakes - Switch. No brainer. No discernible difference. £1.10 instead of £3 for the branded alternative that sounds like Mellogs.
Dry Pasta. Commodity product, who buys branded pasta? 41p for 500g vs. £1.50. No brainer, switch.
Nappies. Fred & Flo absolutely fine (I've always bought these anyway to be fair). Not sure why you would pay twice as much for something that'll get covered in p1ss and sh1t and end up in the bin after a few hours.
Anyone got any more hacks in your shopping basket?
Sure, there is some rank supermarket own-brand stuff out there, but the majority is as good, if not better than the brands that are 2 or 3 times the price.
Have you tried making your own oat milk? It's dead simple.
1 cup of oats, 3 cups of water. Let it soak for a few hours. Blend until smooth Strain through a muslin bag (the ones you use for jam making) Chuck out the mush left over or give it to the birds
It doesn't keep as long (only about 3 days) as it doesn't have the preservatives. I think it tastes better though as it's not as oily as carton milks.
4
Cost of living / food shopping on 15:27 - Dec 12 with 5212 views
Cost of living / food shopping on 15:09 - Dec 12 by Bent_double
Do people actually still buy branded food goods?
Sure, there is some rank supermarket own-brand stuff out there, but the majority is as good, if not better than the brands that are 2 or 3 times the price.
Just madness in the current economic situation.
Most of the products are made in the same factory, they just shut the line down and change the packaging.
Much as with road recovery. I use a company that is around 40%, they don't advertise, and you pay the recovery and they refund the cost. THEY DO.
Huge amounts are spent in marketing, which you pay for
Most of Lidl/Aldi own brand are as good, not all though.
3
Cost of living / food shopping on 15:28 - Dec 12 with 5208 views
Asda Cheddars are better than Jacobs. Aldi is good for cheeses, Bramwells pickle and tomato sauce. Mrs C is fine with their corn and bran flakes too. Branston beans are better than Heinz. Less sugary. Aldi wine in cheaper than others and are excellent. You can often get a good deal on certain beers too.
The big problem is crumpets. Warburtons are my crumpets of choice and I’ve not yet found anything to surpass them yet.
1
Cost of living / food shopping on 15:54 - Dec 12 with 5160 views
Cost of living / food shopping on 15:09 - Dec 12 by Bent_double
Do people actually still buy branded food goods?
Sure, there is some rank supermarket own-brand stuff out there, but the majority is as good, if not better than the brands that are 2 or 3 times the price.
Just madness in the current economic situation.
My butler still shops at Fortnum & Mason. Even for my nappies.
We always like Sainsburys own tomato sauce over Heinz, dont know what the saving is these days. Likewise, Cross and Blackwell (Branston??) beans over Heinz.
Cost of living / food shopping on 15:09 - Dec 12 by Bent_double
Do people actually still buy branded food goods?
Sure, there is some rank supermarket own-brand stuff out there, but the majority is as good, if not better than the brands that are 2 or 3 times the price.
Just madness in the current economic situation.
This OP did make me laugh. Its like he hasn't ever bought non-branded goods (maybe he hasn't). If they haven't then they really are living the life! haha
As you say, the vast majority of non-branded products are just as good. You shop in places like ALdi/Lidl and the majority of it isn't branded.
1
Cost of living / food shopping on 17:06 - Dec 12 with 4977 views
Tesco beans knock spots off Heinz. The only branded stuff my wife goes for is Andrex/Charming or whatever it’s called. I don’t have much of a say into shopping. She won’t buy ‘fish’, only cod/plaice. A lot of the supermarket stuff is better than branded stuff. We use a lot of Bookers/Makro products too. Much cheaper anyway in bulk.
0
Cost of living / food shopping on 19:49 - Dec 12 with 4758 views
Cost of living / food shopping on 15:09 - Dec 12 by Bent_double
Do people actually still buy branded food goods?
Sure, there is some rank supermarket own-brand stuff out there, but the majority is as good, if not better than the brands that are 2 or 3 times the price.
Just madness in the current economic situation.
A lot of the time supermarket own brand comes from the same place as the branded - pasta for instance. Also things like crisps - years ago I spent a summer working in a crisps factory that supplied Sainsbury’s, Tesco, M&S - all from the same source apart from M&S which had it’s supply line.
0
Cost of living / food shopping on 20:19 - Dec 12 with 4639 views
There is a strange physiology here, which the ad men exploit here (and elsewhere)
My sister in law told us of a neighbour who unloaded her car, and carried in M&S bags of shopping. Rather spoiled by the fact my brother-in-law had seen her shopping in Sainsburys the week,or so, before.
Fish fingers.... yum yum
[Post edited 12 Dec 2022 20:21]
0
Cost of living / food shopping on 20:22 - Dec 12 with 4622 views
Cost of living / food shopping on 19:49 - Dec 12 by J2BLUE
Your pasta comment nails it really. There are things like pasta, bran flakes, oats etc where it makes zero sense to go branded.
Agree that condiments are too high stake to mess around with.
I think the branded pasta tends to cook better holds the sauce better as it tends to be thicker and rougher in texture so you get more of a flavour combination, but most people in the UK probably dont cook pasta properly anyway, or at least not as Italians would do it, so its not worth the extra.
1
Cost of living / food shopping on 21:04 - Dec 12 with 4525 views
Cost of living / food shopping on 20:19 - Dec 12 by HARRY10
There is a strange physiology here, which the ad men exploit here (and elsewhere)
My sister in law told us of a neighbour who unloaded her car, and carried in M&S bags of shopping. Rather spoiled by the fact my brother-in-law had seen her shopping in Sainsburys the week,or so, before.
Fish fingers.... yum yum
[Post edited 12 Dec 2022 20:21]
Hang on, we're not allowed to shop in more than one supermarket? And we have to use the branded bags for life for the exact supermarket we are in?
Mind blown.
I was in Lidl on Friday with a mix of bags i've accumulated. I was in M&S today. I didn't want much so grabbed the first bag I layed my hands on which was a Lidl bag.
Cost of living / food shopping on 21:04 - Dec 12 by J2BLUE
Hang on, we're not allowed to shop in more than one supermarket? And we have to use the branded bags for life for the exact supermarket we are in?
Mind blown.
I was in Lidl on Friday with a mix of bags i've accumulated. I was in M&S today. I didn't want much so grabbed the first bag I layed my hands on which was a Lidl bag.
Am I going to be arrested?
^^ Such a southerners' problem
0
Cost of living / food shopping on 21:16 - Dec 12 with 4462 views
Cost of living / food shopping on 21:04 - Dec 12 by J2BLUE
Hang on, we're not allowed to shop in more than one supermarket? And we have to use the branded bags for life for the exact supermarket we are in?
Mind blown.
I was in Lidl on Friday with a mix of bags i've accumulated. I was in M&S today. I didn't want much so grabbed the first bag I layed my hands on which was a Lidl bag.
Am I going to be arrested?
eh ?
not allowed ?
Are you drunk ?
0
Cost of living / food shopping on 21:19 - Dec 12 with 4455 views
Cost of living / food shopping on 21:16 - Dec 12 by HARRY10
eh ?
not allowed ?
Are you drunk ?
Are you not suggesting that your BIL having seen her in Sainsburys the week before means she could not have been shopping at M&S? Or reusing bags for life from M&S to shop elsewhere?
By continuing to use the site, you agree to our use of cookies and to abide by our Terms and Conditions.
