Store brands that are better than main brands

jimgoose

Dunne's "My Family Favourites" chocolate digestive biscuits are excellent, and unbelievable value at 60c for a 400g pack.

the running joke

recylingbin wrote: »

Fags at Clara market. A fifth of the price and three times the toxins.
#value.

Just wear a condom.

osarusan

I actually think Lidl cooking chocolate is better than a lot of other 'eating' chocolate.

sbsquarepants

d-gal wrote: »

What else can we add to the list?

Lidl peanuts - I can't even eat Manhattan peanuts anymore - they're way too salty.

Dunnes sausages - can't be beaten!

Mesrine65

Aldi's Alpenmark brand smoked/baked ham.

12Phase

SuperValu vanilla ice cream (tub) is possibly the best one I've ever tasted. It's far superior to Hagen Das

jimgoose

Here's a slightly odd one, but quite valid I think! I'm not going to seriously announce that Halfords brand socket-sets are "better" than the likes of Teng or Snap-On, but in terms of bang-for-buck they really are hard to beat, in particular the 150- and 170-piece sets:

http://www.halfords.ie/workshop-tools/tools/socket-sets

I used to buy Tesco own brand hypoallergenic fabric softener, about 70p for a litre of concentrate and much better than Lenor. The white one, I think it's marketed for babies and sensitive skin. Smells lovely too.

Tesco own brand American Cream Soda is my favourite pop of all time. I think it's about 65p (dunno about euro).

Maximus Alexander

Lidl have a rip-off of Chocolate Hobnobs; I think they're called Oaties. Anyway, they're not a very good copy - you would never confuse it with a Hobnob - but they're delicious in their own right and I think I actually prefer them.

Whispered

Aldi do "spuddy" crisps. They're fab. They also do fresh stuffed pasta for €1.99 and is far nicer than any other I've bought.

Tesco own brand baked beans are nicer than bachelors and iirc have more "drained weight" and less salt. Tesco coleslaw is really nice compared to some of the others. Their non-bio washing liquid is a fraction of the price of others and just as good. Their magnum style ice creams are amazing!

recylingbin

sbsquarepants wrote: »

Lidl peanuts - I can't even eat Manhattan peanuts anymore - they're way too salty.

Dunnes sausages - can't be beaten!

Lidl's honeyed peanuts are the business

Iseedeadpixels

Lidl do really nice popcorn chicken that cost 1 euro I think.

Also for best value Dominics shopping centre in Tallaght :pac:

birdwatcher

JackieBauer wrote: »

Lidl condoms. It's better to be sorry than safe

Are we talking sizes or brands??

Boom_Bap

Maximus Alexander wrote: »

Lidl have a rip-off of Chocolate Hobnobs; I think they're called Oaties. Anyway, they're not a very good copy - you would never confuse it with a Hobnob - but they're delicious in their own right and I think I actually prefer them.

I get them myself, they are a decent biscuit. The non choco ones are excellent for dunking in tea.

Ronald Wilson Reagan

WhatsGoingOn2 wrote: »

When did shops become stores?

Since the USA won the cold war.

Bigus

sbsquarepants wrote: »

Lidl peanuts - I can't even eat Manhattan peanuts anymore - they're way too salty.

Dunnes sausages - can't be beaten!

Aldi roasted and salted peanuts in the big white packet , 50 % less salt than KP etc , excellent.

ToddyDoody

Aldi 6 in one mouth wash is very good. Lidl's tortellini pasta, sun dried tomatoes and olives are good value and decent.

Discodog

Aldi Weetabix is almost indistinguishable from Weetabix & so much cheaper.

I am a McVities choc digestive addict. The Aldi one's are nicer

Sinister Kid

Aldi's Moser Roth Dark Chocolate with sea salt, they do a plain, mint, chili & orange flavor too. Only €1.19 & much nicer that bars that cost three times the price.

prinzeugen

weisses wrote: »

Plenty of products are the same as the main brands, only with different labelling and sometimes packaging.

Not 100% true. Kelloggs and Heinz only make stuff for themselves.

There was a programme on Ch4 about ready meals/meat products.

This factory produced stuff for everyone from M&S to Lidl.

One product for Lidl/Aldi was made using the leftover crap from a M&S or ASDA order and bulked up with water or sauce.

There is a reason it's cheaper.

Tons of SuperValu stuff is as good as/better than brands.

Shenshen

I'm honestly struggling to think of any particular brand I'd go out of my way to buy - my first choice these days is pretty much own brand by default. But I have to admit that I'm not normally buying much processed food, and I can't stand branded cosmetics or cleaning products (due to the smell).

bisounours

Aldi's pesto hummous. Yum.

AtomicHorror

Lidl Maple Pecan Crunch cereal.

I have no idea what it's an own brand version of, or if there even is a branded version, and I just don't care.

byhookorbycrook

Supervalu do Superquinn sossies now- num
Magnum washup liquid (Aldi) cleans horses' tails just as well as €20 horse shampoo (just don't put it where the tail bone is)

12Phase

WhatsGoingOn2 wrote: »

When did shops become stores?

Roches Stores (1901)
Dunnes Stores (1944)

We tend to use the more technical term "private label" here rather than "store brand" though, but nobody understands it outside of retail / marketing circles.

12Phase

weisses wrote: »

Plenty of products are the same as the main brands, only with different labelling and sometimes packaging.

That's definitely not the case.

Most private label (store brands) are made by specialist companies who focus on specifically that market. They're contract manufacturers who will do things to the store's spec. So, the product and quality may vary a lot depending on what the price point the store is looking for is.

You'll find most own-label cleaning products for example in the UK and Irish stores are made by the same companies, mostly McBride. Aldi and Lidl tend to use German outfits to do the same.

Some of those private-label companies often have their own brands too, but they're rarely main stream big brands.

SuperValu in particular also uses small producers for their fancier ranges.
However, so does Aldi, Lidl, Tesco etc.

Some of those are *REALLY* top notch products.

KungPao

Aldi (and Lidl I think) do a great copy of Shreddies. Actually nicer.

Lidl do an instant coffee which is a disgrace. Avoid at all costs.

naughtysmurf

The_Valeyard wrote: »

Find the steak in Lidl better than any other store

You should be able to get a lovely bit of fillet steak for about €4.50 / €5.00 or a nice striploin for €4.00 /€4.30 at a decent butchers, it will be far superior to anything from any supermarket, haven't bought meat in a supermarket in a good while, prefer quality

McChubbin

I'm quite fond of the Lidl's Angus steaks, actually. Lovely cooked medium-rare with some fried 'shrooms, few tomatoes and a bit of red wine/steak juice/butter reduction.
The Supervalu Daily Basic Jaffa Cakes are yummy and amazingly good value- about €1.99 for a big box of them. They don't last long in my house! I'm also very fond of Lidl's chocolate bars, especially when I'm doing a spot of baking. The cooking chocolate is very nice without being overtly sweet and the white chocolate and rich milk chocolate bars are simply gorgeous.

fussyonion

The Specially Selected steaks (in the black box) in Aldi are gorgeous.
I also buy Supervalu steaks and they're out of this world.

Really love Aldi's range of wines; true there are some I don't like, such as Baron St.Jean, but the Castellore Pinot Grigio for €5.19 is absolutely gorgeous.

Much prefer Aldi's orange juice to the brand name; it's lovely and refreshing and not from concentrate.

Aldi's smoked cheese (with paprika and chilli) is far nicer than Applewood Smoked Cheese.

The minced beef (steak mince at 5% fat) from Aldi is really great quality as opposed to Tesco's mince which is bizarrely stringy.

Tesco do their own cream crackers for only 26c and there is absolutely no difference in taste compared to Jacob's.

When it comes to supermarkets, I'm always willing to try own brands and I buy a lot of own brands but some things I won't compromise on, such as tea.