Which own brand/budget products are good?

Freiheit

Today bought Tesco tomato sauce for 80 cent,yesterday supervalu own brand flower for about e1.50 (odlums nearly twice this) ,I don't know if the flower will make nice pastry or not,nor the sauce nice sandwiches. Is it just a different packaging?.

I'd like to others experiences and recommendations as to what is good and what is bad in this 'range'.

I'll set the ball rolling, there's a pasta sauce in Tesco for about 82 cent,full jar which I think is good,own brand milks I think are fine,as are nice price tesco tea bags.

So who's next?

Mimikyu

This post has been deleted.

iknorr

Freiheit wrote: »

Today bought Tesco tomato sauce for 80 cent,yesterday supervalu own brand flower for about e1.50 (odlums nearly twice this) ,I don't know if the flower will make nice pastry or not,nor the sauce nice sandwiches. Is it just a different packaging?.

I'd like to others experiences and recommendations as to what is good and what is bad in this 'range'.

I'll set the ball rolling, there's a pasta sauce in Tesco for about 82 cent,full jar which I think is good,own brand milks I think are fine,as are nice price tesco tea bags.

So who's next?

I wouldnt be one for making pastry with a flower.....id prefer to use flour...

Anyhoo -M&S cookies...by far the best cookies money can buy and relatively cheap also.

podge018

ALDI corn flakes are spot on.

Cantona's Collars

podge018 wrote: »

ALDI corn flakes are spot on.

So are Lidl ones,they changed their recipe recently.Wouldn't eat them before but the new recipe ones are grand (and cheap)

seanmacc

Tesco Roasted Salted Penuts. Half the price of the main brands and superior in my opinion.

Cantona's Collars

Here's the list: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=70930797&postcount=1

rochestown

Lidl 'Freeway' Diet Coke is the exact same as the original...

Liam O

I work in Superquinn and they have 3 ranges of own brand stuff. Essentials is basically the budget stuff although there are a few gems in there such as the very nice strawberry jam for 79c. A lot of the old euroshopper items have moved over to this and the cookies and the milk are pretty good too for a fair whack less than the brands. Then there are just "Superquinn" branded and these would be close to the brands in terms of quality with a bit knocked off the price, the pasta I get good mileage out of, bigger bag than the "Roma" ones and very good quality, even though there is an essentials variant I choose it over. The ready meals for the most part are good too. So ultimately if you are on a budget the essentials are grand and you get plenty of bang for your buck in terms of quality for the price, the Superquinn branded things are as close as you are going to come to branded without being branded and generally are more generous with the portions than the brands.

They brought in an "SQ" range a while ago which was to take on the brands and are quite expensive but the very highest quality, not sure if there's many still knocking about as I don't think they were that much of a success.

vicwatson

Tesco own brand pink and white marshmallows, very yummy.

Infact most of their packets of their own brand sweets are as good as the branded ones and half the price.

vicwatson

Aldi rock shandy in 2l is excellent too, made by Gleesons in Tipp

Aldi Onion Rings made by Tayto people, very good 99c for 6 pack

Aldi have german ham in a yellow and clear packet - 100g for €1.29 always very lean and really tasty

Aldi Summer Fruits and Autumn Fruits jam is gorgeous

wolfeye

Lidl Weetabix is as good as the branded weetabix.

Hande hoche!

Aldi beef burgers are great. Find them much tastier than Big Al's/Birdseye.

vicwatson

Hande hoche! wrote: »

Aldi beef burgers are great. Find them much tastier than Big Al's/Birdseye.

Which ones - Moorehead or something like that?

Hande hoche!

vicwatson wrote: »

Which ones - Moorehead or something like that?

Oakhurst I think but not 100% on that.

loyatemu

wolfeye wrote: »

Lidl Weetabix is as good as the branded weetabix.

don't agree - they ("Bixies") disintegrate and turn to mush much quicker than the real ones.

Cereals is one area Lidl falls down on compared to Tesco. Tesco's own brand cereals are all grand - they have equivalents of Weetabix, Shreddies, Cheerios - the lot, and unlike Lidl they do have the added vitamins etc.

Lidl's "Alfredo" frozen pizzas are quite nice (as frozen pizzas go) - similar to Dr Oetker.

ActingDanClark

Lidl marmalade. Wouldn't use any other

thesandeman

Dog swears by the Tesco Value (or whatever it's rebranded as these days) Complete Dog Food. If I give her Lidl, Aldi, Pedigree etc she picks out the ones she doesn't like and dumps them all over the floor. She devours every one of the Tesco stuff. She also prefers the Small Bite Biscuit Bone Selection to Winalot etc.


And no, my dog is not a shill for Tesco.

dohboy

Tesco brand Crunchy Nut Corn Flakes are just as moreish as Kelloggs, imo.

campo

I will 2nd LIDL Weetabix probably better then the original
Any own brand Milk it taste all the same to me
Dunnes own brand Beans and Peas
St Bernard Chicken Curry for 1.49 is fab

Capt'n Midnight

wolfeye wrote: »

Lidl Weetabix is as good as the branded weetabix.

The trick is to wait until weetabix is on really special offer and stock up At times its within a few cent of the Lidl/Tesco generics price.

Lidl
500ml Yoghurts are nice natural , fruit of the forest, peach
pineapple juice

aldi
orange juice
milk
ardagh is far better than centra's own brand
american style deep pan pizzas

Generics
salted peanuts - anyone got tips on how to clean off the salt ?
kidney beans - you have to wash them to get rid of the smell, and they don't taste of much , but great filler for burritos

Kurz

Dunnes own brand sausages are the nicest of the lot in my opinion, not the "simply" ones or whatever, the cheapest ones. Also the bottles of bleach they sell for 69c, and generally all other cleaning stuff. 65c cent loafs of budget bread are good too, as good as Brennan's which is around three times the price.

Clontarf 1014 whiskey from Aldi is decent too, as is their tea bags. Thought I'm not sure if "produced for" and "own brand" are the same thing. I can't see the difference.

eamon234

Lidl's Ardsallagh Sausages are great. They're made by Olhausen.
Also their Balti Curry sauce is one of the nicest I've tasted in any brand.

rameire

Supervalu weetabix is useless, stay away from it.
Tesco weetabix and normal weetabix, I believe are the same thing.
lookout for the 24 pack of tesco weetabix as it is normally cheaper per block to buy these packets.

as for burgers, buy the own brand stuff from any shop as they will have more % of cow than any of the birdseye or big als patties.

bennyob

Aldi's 'weetabix' are as good as the branded one. I have 2 most mornings. I didn't like the lidl ones when I tried them.

Supervalu's 'cornflakes' are excellent too. Got a good review here http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/finance/2012/0410/1224314565135.html

I also have a soft spot for supervalu's breaded fish. Very nice and a fraction of the price of donegal catch.

fishman11

aldi seville orange marmalade love it best One out there

CH3OH

bennyob wrote: »

I also have a soft spot for supervalu's breaded fish. Very nice and a fraction of the price of donegal catch.

I actually think it is made by Donegal catch for Supervalu
As far as I can remember the EU plant codes are the same on the packaging for both products. (I was looking at breaded whiting recently)

Here's link to the food safety authority website where all the plants are listed
http://www.fsai.ie/food_businesses/approved_food_establishments.html

For example: Tesco own brand milk and fresh cream have a plant code of 1403 on the lid. Tesco try to hide the info by not having a distinct plant code label on the product. They have a note "see lid"

1403 from "Milk and Dairy establishments..." spreadsheet is Glanbia so the milk and cream is (imho) the same as Avonmore

jmorrisey

Supervalu daily basics Jaffa cakes are by far my fav jaffa cake....Dark choc and soft sponge and only 89 cent for 300g (2x12)!

Stay well away supervalu own brand peanuts, dry roasted or salted, theyre absolute scour

vicwatson

CH3OH wrote: »

For example: Tesco own brand milk and fresh cream have a plant code of 1403 on the lid. Tesco try to hide the info by not having a distinct plant code label on the product. They have a note "see lid"

1403 from "Milk and Dairy establishments..." spreadsheet is Glanbia so the milk and cream is (imho) the same as Avonmore

It is defintely from Avonmore as i had a complaint before and had to complain to Avonmore

djfattony2000

I bought the Tesco Everyday peanut butter once as it was a tenth the price of the Panda one I normally get, 39c. I preferred the taste of it.

Now its twice that at 78c, still great value though.

admiralofthefleet

tesco value bran flakes are nicer than kellogs imo. the value chips are lovely as well. i agree with a previous poster about the freeway colam its very nice. the supervalu own brand butter is lovely and the daily basic pan is very nice
the list goes on

paddy147

Tescos own brand Wheat Biscuits

They taste the exact same as the Wheatabix,cant tell the difference.

A 48 box of Tescos own brand is only 3 euro 50 cents.

I tried the Lidl brand wheat bisks,and to be honest,they were very bland and rather tasteless,when compared to Wheetabix and Tescos own brand.

Tesco wins in my books here,on a combination of taste and price too.

ted1

CH3OH wrote: »

I actually think it is made by Donegal catch for Supervalu
As far as I can remember the EU plant codes are the same on the packaging for both products. (I was looking at breaded whiting recently)

Here's link to the food safety authority website where all the plants are listed
http://www.fsai.ie/food_businesses/approved_food_establishments.html

For example: Tesco own brand milk and fresh cream have a plant code of 1403 on the lid. Tesco try to hide the info by not having a distinct plant code label on the product. They have a note "see lid"

1403 from "Milk and Dairy establishments..." spreadsheet is Glanbia so the milk and cream is (imho) the same as Avonmore

Just because things are made in the same plant doesn't mean there the same. Receipes and quality change. I make dinner in the same kitchen with the same ingredients as my misses and the result is totally different.

Capt'n Midnight

ted1 wrote: »

Just because things are made in the same plant doesn't mean there the same. Receipes and quality change.

AFAIK Bachelors make the Dunnes baked beans and the sauce is 97% water

banchang

seanmacc wrote: »

Tesco Roasted Salted Penuts. Half the price of the main brands and superior in my opinion.

Disagree completely.

You really notice the difference with KP. Given the narrow difference its worth the premium in this case.

TeletextPear

Tesco's version of Head & Shoulders shampoo is the exact same as the real thing. Large bottle is around €1.40 compared to €6.59 for large H&S.

Jane Eden

Hande hoche! wrote: »

Aldi beef burgers are great. Find them much tastier than Big Al's/Birdseye.

Their Angus Quarterpounders are really tasty, A pack of 4 for €2.

Jane Eden

Aldi large pancakes are only about €1.70 per pack of 8, fab deal. They also have 800g "Singapore Noddles" with egg, ham, peas, corn, carrot etc etc - very tasty and a filling meal for 2 if not 3 and only €2.99. Never even saw more expensive alternatives in other stores. Seems only Aldi stock this stuff.

93Cab

Lidl Granarom Columbian Coffee is lovely at 1.99 for 100g. Tried the Aldi one and it was undrinkable, but I see they have improved taste on the label or the sign now!

dowtchaboy

eamon234 wrote: »

Lidl's Ardsallagh Sausages are great. They're made by Olhausen.

absolutely agree - they are tasty and excellent texture and they don't shrink away to nothing in the pan. They stay straight and so make a nice mini hotdog too. Mind you the LIDL ownbrand hotdogs are not bad at all themselves.

Lemmy Scott

Hande hoche! wrote: »

Aldi beef burgers are great. Find them much tastier than Big Al's/Birdseye.

These are brutal they taste like an old sock

blastman

SuperValu have introduced their own brand yoghurt drink (like the Danone stuff). I'm not sure if it's that much cheaper than the branded versions, but the raspberry & cranberry flavour is luvverly!! They do it in strawberry as well, not bad but not as nice.

vicwatson

Aldi's relish is excellent - €1.79 - 3 types

Jalepeno Pepper relish

Sweet Tomato relish

Can't remember the other one as I never bought it

Very excellent on burgers, chicken etc

living

Sometimes the problem is not the taste...it's how healthy a meal is

I like the cheapest Tesco Cooked ham, the 400 gr packet

paddy147

One of the oldest sausage makers in Ireland has ceased operating this morning.


http://businessetc.thejournal.ie/olhausen-job-losses-629419-Oct2012/



Olhausen was wound up this morning with the loss of over 160 jobs.

So Aldi and Lidl and other supermarkets will have to look elsewhere now for their sausages.

Sad day indeed.:(


PS-I dont see any goverment ministers or Enda Kenny comming out to try and help out here....(all gone to hiding again)

But Kenny is able top have is ugly mush all over Time Magazine and pander to Europe.:mad:

I wish he would pander to his own people 1st.

gerbo

Flour

Glenbhoy

Lemmy Scott wrote: »

These are brutal they taste like an old sock

Lidl's beefburgers (Mooredale?) are imo the best bought burgers - actually, they're my favourite burgers full stop.

Aldi stackers are a better Pringles substitute - 99c instead of whatever price pringles happen to be today (another poster recommends Tesco own brand here too, but I've never come across them).

Aldi tea (McGraths), I second someone who mentioned the Aldi marmalade. Aldi salad packages are excellent.

Aldi fillet and rib eye steaks - afaik they're identical to the SQ black label steaks, but at a substantial discount (2 fillets in Aldi are 12.99 or 13.99 as opposed to 19.99 in SQ).

Re the relishes, the Jalapeno one is excellent, but I much prefer Ballymaloe's tomato relish.

Lidl nappies - toujours - wipe the floor with everything else, they're a consistent price and the quality is on a par with the best and beats most types in terms of comfort (I can't speak from experience, but, they don't leave any marks) and durability (I've never seen one leak yet, unlike certain brands - Huggies if you must know).

Aldi orange juice (NFC) - €1.45 per litre - indistinguishable from the competition.

Kids smoothies 4 pack Aldi - €2.29 as opposed to €4, may not have totally organic fruits etc, but, lets face it, it's all mashed into a mush with lots of other fruits, who could really tell!!


To be honest, there's very little in Aldi that is of inferior quality (taste wise anyway) to that available in other supermarkets, imo it's the cheap superquinn!!

arch20000

campo wrote: »

I will 2nd LIDL Weetabix probably better then the original
Any own brand Milk it taste all the same to me
Dunnes own brand Beans and Peas
St Bernard Chicken Curry for 1.49 is fab

Fraid Don't agree,

LIDL Bix are like a sponge for the milk and create a yucky brown paste.

My 2 young kids won't touch them, they love the Aldi ones though.

The LIDL Arabica Espresso coffee in the medal tin in the dogs!!

el diablo

arch20000 wrote: »

The LIDL Arabica Espresso coffee in the medal tin in the dogs!!

The Bellarom fresh ground coffee in the black tin? Yeah, that's decent stuff for the price.

deiseindublin

Wonder will the nice Lidl sausages be gone now that Olhausen Sasuages are closing?

LavaLamp

I'll second the Lidl nappies, they are brilliant - they don't leak and don't have that horrible smell that some brands seem to have. Lidl loo rolls get my vote too. Oh and their olive oil, that or Aldi's. Oh and Lidl skin creams are great too.

Aldi Gold blend tea bags are fab, as are their "premium" pasta sauces.

Tesco own brand butter seems to be lovely, as does Dunnes actually - some "cheap" butters seem to go a bit frothy if you use them for frying but these don't. Oh and Tesco value lightly salted tortilla chips are fab.

I'm sure there is more but I just can't think of them. Will edit when I do.