[Closed] Supermarket brands?

Aldi washing up liquid blows Fairy ect out of the water.

Innocent are fairly unique in that they (did) manufacture there own stuff. Many other manufacturers use contract packers.

I used to work in this area (juice) and can assure you that a huge number of these products are identical. I've seen a production run f one brand run straight into another just changing the labels on the bottles. Have a look at the ingredient, make sure the fruit content is the same and that they are not using something like sugar syrup or thickeners. If it's 100 fruit then go for it.

Plenty of supermarket own brand is as good as "premium branded" stuff. It comes from the same production lines in the same factories. IT just doesn't have the marketing budget. Even if it is different, they will be paying someone to try to work out how to make it as good.

Yep the composition of innocent vs Asda's is identical!

I work in baby goods manufacture and Huggies nappies are identical to morrisons, boots and sainsbury just different graphics on the outer cover.

I'm sure that big brands force supermarkets to make they're own branded stuff a little bit worse so that it doesn't sell as well despite being 1/2 to 2/3 of the price.
I have tested this a bit and would say that only household goods (cleaning stuff) and toiletries aren't (apart from hair styling products) any worse and are often half the price.
Foods can be hit and miss.
By far the biggest difference is between Heinz Tomato Soup and other tomato soups which taste inedible in comparison.

mate used to work in bog roll and he said the same thing ..unless you get the cheap stuff...all made in the same factory and just out in different packets

Coca Cola now own "Innocent smoothies".

Since they sold out they've reduced their carton size, and noticably dont nearly fill the smaller cartons. Still taste nice etc - apparently its due to Coke needing a better image for their London 2012 sponsorship or something.

Own brand stuff can be good and bad - a recent Which report did blind tests on own brand stuff and found that the number 1 selling (57 variety one) tomato ketchup was one of the worst rated in the blind test. Some own brands did way better.

Also own brand Lidl washing powders / dishwashing were amonst the best. Big supermarket washing stuff was amongst the worst.

So sometimes you just got to try it yourself and make your own mind up!

Innocent are fairly unique in that they (did) manufacture there own stuf

I did some work for Innocent in about 2005, they can't have been that old then and they contracted out production

only household goods

I'm not so sure. I bought some Tesco own brand window cleaner a couple of years ago, and it just was not as good as Mr Muscle. It was almost as if it had been watered down 😐

Bit like superstar....

I work in baby goods manufacture and Huggies nappies are identical to morrisons, boots and sainsbury just different graphics on the outer cover

For the record, baby wipes are all different. Where I work we make loads of different ones, and the difference in quality between supermarket brands and the big names is huge.

Raindog do work for P&G or Kimberly Clark

You work at Flint then for KC?

I have worked in food manufacture for 15 years and have seen much of what the retailers spec versus brand. My learnings? Well there are no hard and fast rules.
Aldi punch way above their weight on quality and are my fave supermarket...m&s quality for Asda prices!
Tesco own label is generally the worst quality, they negotiate hard with suppliers, flex prices on shelf creatively and the absence of quality this drives shows on shelf.
Asda are currently driving an increase in quality on their extra special range and its generally good.
Js and waitrose are consistently good.

So in summary take each product on its merit. Brands tend to have better offers when promoted, but some own label products are really good (js posh green pesto is a fave of mine...better than sacla).

Aldi's business model of just selling 1 of each product and thus striving to make sure its the best they can source for a competetive price is a far superior way of working.

It still makes me laugh that people think supermarkets own factories that make food. But then its similar in the mountain bike world. Take full face helmets for one, strip off the graphics and there are only so many models being made of which a lot are the same.

I live near a cake factory that makes M&S, GU, Asda, tesco, sainsburys etc cakes (and it has a very cheap factory shop too!)

Manor bakeries?

had a tour round a major dairy near me, there is the ability to stream milk but in reality what it says on the label doesn't really matter, it is all the same.

Infact i watched them filling cream pots, all they did was change the pot into which the cream went. The power of marketing.

Used to work with the Belgian dairy that makes Aldi rice pud. They said it was really high spec.
Also McD milkshakes and mcflurries are real dairy ice cream and were made in ashby de la zouche.

I found a box of Tesco own-brand biscuits that had some Morrisons own-brand biscuits mixed up in it... Had a look at the nutritional info, weights, photos etc, all exactly the same. I considered this a Clue.

Ive found supermarket own brands to be mostly excellent. I use sainsburys basic chopped tomatoes and they are just as good as napolina and a quarter of the orcie.

The best way to save money in a supermarket is to either pick your own veg, which can be a a good 50p/kg cheaper. Sainsburys basics veg is even cheaper. Just irregular sizes. Certainly same carrots!

and they are just as good as napolina and a quarter of the orcie.

Cheap bloody Tesco Value LIne Keybroad! 🙂

I better get a mac!

aldis peaches in grape juice mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm lovely

I was taken around a pickling factory once. The warehouse was organised based on which supermarket jars were going to. The content for Asda was the same for the Co-op, but only on a like for like basis, i.e. the value stuff for one chain was the same for value in another, and the premium stuff was the same across chains.

The biggest difference was on the price pressure put on the company. They told the big boys they couldn't afford to match their desired prices because of the cost of glass. The supermarkets kept pushing, though, and now the company is bust. I think pickles are imported now.

Morrisons own brand blended whisky is the same dregs of the corporate vats as bells.

Waitrose/M&S own products as good, usually better than most brands. In fact a mate who worked for a very popular brand of bread told me that the loaves they made for M&S were made to a higher standard than the company's own branded product.

I worked with some food scientists who got quite a big research grant looking into biscuits (the science bit was the browning caused by cooking, not the ability to remain intact when dunked into tea)

They said that M&S own-brand digestive biscuits are made by McVities but cooked for 5 mins longer so they're a little firmer.

Compare McVs with M&S - it's actually vaguely interesting!

Edit: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1547244/For-a-perfect-biscuit-just-take-91000.html

Aldi chilli peanuts around 80p. Better than any other i have tried.

Exactly the same as Clinton Cards offerings...

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"bland - Member
It still makes me laugh that people think supermarkets own factories that make food. "

Morrisons do

So in summary take each product on its merit.

Agree (as a mere consumer) some own brands are great, if not the best around, but some are awful.

Asda's finest vanilla cheesecake is my favourite, but their own brand ginger nuts are not a patch on McVities. Nor are their own brand wine gums as good as Maynards. On the subject of peanuts, KP ones are by far my favourite, but not the jumbo kind - they are not as nice at all.

Just as good as any other!!!

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I think it was around 2005 when I had some involvement with innocent. I think we were trying to get the contract but we had adapt the machines. While we were running trials I was getting the stuff for free because they would only let us put it into blank containers so that it could not be sold.

Somepeople have made a comment about waitrose and aldi. In terms of orange juice Aldi was the best that we produced, Waitrose was the same as all the others if I remember correctly

From my experience I agree that the value vs. premium difference is there. I.e. most value lines are similar and most premium lines are bu there is a difference between the two.

Hmm. I have an Aldi next to the Sainsbury's I shop at. Any recommendations for stuff to get from them instead?

gourmet jelly beans - they are veggie

On the subject of peanuts, KP ones are by far my favourite

Try Harry's nuts

Huggies nappies are identical to morrisons, boots and sainsbury

Really???

.. I'll have to look into this further 🙂

Any recommendations for stuff to get from them instead?

I've done a 'brand-off' with some of the regular stuff I buy against the own-brand (ADSA and Tesco) equivalents; canned soups, and the like.

I found that generally, there's a fair old difference between (say) Heinz tinned spaghetti and Tesco spaghetti, but the regular shop brand and their 'Value' range are identical. I've tried this with a handful of things now and I've yet to find a canned Value product that's noticeably different to its more expensive brother with the full-colour label.

found tesco's own brand baked beans to be pretty ropey and won't buy them again, every second tin seem to be only half "filled" and then topped up with water.

It's always worth experimenting. Go down the ladder -- branded, premium own-brand, regular own-brand, basics/value -- until you hit "unacceptable", go back one, buy that one in future 🙂

We get a mixture of branded/own-brand/basics stuff. Sometimes it makes a difference, sometimes it doesn't. Never found any pattern to it -- own-brand washing up liquid always seems a bit rubbish, own-brand dishwasher tablets work fine.

I don't think I'll ever buy branded breakfast cereal again, though.

Exactly the same as Clinton Cards offerings.

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Ahh, Mum's are always picky. I'm sure your significant other will be more than happy with the Valentines Day alternative.

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I'm sure your significant other will be more than happy with the Valentines Day alternative.

Cards are a rip off anyway, even if there are Tesco Value ones. I never send them.

tescos cornflakes, really cant tell the difference and half the price.

[i]All[/i] own brand cereal tastes the same as branded stuff. It's cereal, not gourmet food!! (Except for Aldi weetabix - tastes weird, I assume that's cos it's made for the European palette or whatever).

friend of the wife works for weetabix, and often deals with invoices to sainsbury and tescos for thier own brand version.

Aldi bunched carrots come from the same farm as Saisbury's bunched carrots. Aldi are half the Sainsbury's price. I also recommend their crisps, biscuits, washing up liquid, dishwasher/laundry detergent, rechargeable batteries, freshly squeezed OJ, free-range chicken, and the white burgundy they do for £5.

Tesco bran flakes are rotten, just for the record.

I'm a big Aldi fan though, their baked beans are second only to Branston (which are often cheaper on promotion anyway) IMO.

One of our ex-clients does the cheap supermarket fizzy drinks, for Asda, Tesco, Morrisons and a couple of others - pretty sure it's identical apart from the label. On a factory tour they went through the costs, think the bottle was 1p (2 litre), drink was 1p, their profit was 1p and transport costs were something like 8p (not sure what supermarkets sell it at). They also did some premium stuff (mostly still supermarket branded though) and the only difference was the contents cost 2-3p.

Aldi's business model of just selling 1 of each product and thus striving to make sure its the best they can source for a competetive price is a far superior way of working.

It still makes me laugh that people think supermarkets own factories that make food. But then its similar in the mountain bike world. Take full face helmets for one, strip off the graphics and there are only so many models being made of which a lot are the same.

I live near a cake factory that makes M&S, GU, Asda, tesco, sainsburys etc cakes (and it has a very cheap factory shop too!)