Branded vs own brand milk: who gets the premium price?

boombang · 27-09-2019 7:34am #1

I always buy Dunnes/Tesco milk as it's typically 50-70c cheaper than Avonmore/Premier per 2L. I think the own brand from these stores tastes just the same. I don't buy Lidl/Aldi own brand, as this tastes inferior. I believe it comes from the North.

I've always assumed that the Dunnes/Tesco milk probably came from the same dairies as the branded milk. Can anybody tell me if this is true? Also, if in pay the big premium for the brand, who's making the excess? Do farmers receive any more from branded buyers, or it's it somebody else up the supply chain that creams it (so to speak).

Need to know as I'm about to move in with my GF who always buys branded. I think this issue could be a deal breaker. Need to have my facts ready.

Thanks

irish_goat · 27-09-2019 9:29am

Why does it matter to you or your girlfriend who makes the profit?

Don't know about dairy products but my sister in law worked in a meat factory and she said they had the same meat going to Tesco, M&S and Lidl. Only difference was the packaging.

Easiest way to prove it would be buy both and do a blind taste test, if you're that bothered.

27-09-2019 9:31am

All milk comes from the same dairies & is packaged into different containers for different shops.
There is a number in the package to identify where it comes from IE...... Whatever number.

FYI, butter is the same, as is ice cream etc etc.

is_that_so · 27-09-2019 9:33am

irish_goat wrote: »

Why does it matter to you or your girlfriend who makes the profit?

Don't know about dairy products but my sister in law worked in a meat factory and she said they had the same meat going to Tesco, M&S and Lidl. Only difference was the packaging.

Easiest way to prove it would be buy both and do a blind taste test, if you're that bothered.

The same thing applies to the likes of jams, biscuits etc, where they may tweak the recipe just a little.

boombang · 27-09-2019 9:34am

irish_goat wrote: »

Why does it matter to you or your girlfriend who makes the profit?

I might see a reason to agree to pay a premium if I knew farmers were getting a better price. I don't imagine they do, so I'm not inclined to pay the premium.

Maz2016 · 27-09-2019 9:35am

I personally don’t notice the difference with Lidl milk - except the price ! I know for a fact that golden vale did spar milk , don’t know if that’s still the case but they did.

DamoKen · 27-09-2019 9:36am

irish_goat wrote: »

Why does it matter to you or your girlfriend who makes the profit?

That's like saying what's the point of fair trade products.

whelan2 · 27-09-2019 9:38am

At the moment farmers are on a base price per litre of around 28cpl. Then there are bonuses for better constituents - fat and protein. I got 33.5 cpl for my August milk. In the winter months some farmers get a 7cpl premium for liquid milk above the base price. My own milk here is collected daily to go far far away for uht milk

.red. · 27-09-2019 9:42am

My dad worked for a bakery for years. The difference between Irish Pride, Tesco, Dunnes and Super Valu bread was the packaging.
Some loads were almost square, others had the round, almost burnt top, same bread mix put into the molds.

Milk is the same. Comes from thousands of farms, mixed together. Put into different cartons or bottles and sent to the shops.

Muahahaha · 27-09-2019 12:39pm

whelan2 wrote: »

My own milk here is collected daily to go far far away for uht milk

"Milk goes sour you know"

Seriously I only use milk for tea and coffee so cant notice any discernible difference in taste when it is mixed at a 1:10 ratio. Would be different if you ate cereals, remember as a kid Avonmore was the business whereas Premier Dairies was awful muck.

odyssey06 · 27-09-2019 12:45pm

I keep a UHT carton in for emergency coffees... as in when you've been out the night before and go to fridge next morning and face dreaded prospect of sour milk!

I find LIDL & ALDI milk tastes ok, but doesn't seem to last as long as branded versions.

XsApollo · 27-09-2019 12:48pm

Yea definitely doesn’t last as long.
Cheaper ones might get to the shelf later, might be saving on transport and not paying a premium to get it to the shelves as quick.

Muahahaha · 27-09-2019 1:08pm

odssey06 how many weeks are the UHT cartons rated for? Must admit I have that problem the odd time too in the summer when milk goes off quicker. Its a real head wrecker and has happened me with Aldi own brand milk where it went off about 2 days before the date.

Also does anyone know what they did to the milk to preserve it further? Pretty sure milk lasted 2-3 days max in the 80s/90s now its more like 5-7 days.

the beer revolu · 27-09-2019 1:30pm

I find that milk in a tetrapack carton lasts way longer than in the plastic bottles, irrespective of brand.

odyssey06 · 27-09-2019 1:31pm

UHT will have 1-3 months shelf life. Weirdly lidl keep it in the fridge but you only need to do that once opened. I find it grand in drinks but not great on its own or with cereal.

Would be curious myself re shelflife of regular milk.

L1011 · 27-09-2019 1:36pm

the beer revolu wrote: »

I find that milk in a tetrapack carton lasts way longer than in the plastic bottles, irrespective of brand.

No ultraviolet degredation, one of the main reasons tetrapak was developed

893bet · 27-09-2019 1:39pm

boombang wrote: »

Need to know as I'm about to move in with my GF who always buys branded. I think this issue could be a deal breaker. Need to have my facts ready.

Thanks

It’s getting over these big issues that will keep your relationship strong

MadYaker · 27-09-2019 1:46pm

boombang wrote: »

I always buy Dunnes/Tesco milk as it's typically 50-70c cheaper than Avonmore/Premier per 2L. I think the own brand from these stores tastes just the same. I don't buy Lidl/Aldi own brand, as this tastes inferior. I believe it comes from the North.

I've always assumed that the Dunnes/Tesco milk probably came from the same dairies as the branded milk. Can anybody tell me if this is true? Also, if in pay the big premium for the brand, who's making the excess? Do farmers receive any more from branded buyers, or it's it somebody else up the supply chain that creams it (so to speak).

Need to know as I'm about to move in with my GF who always buys branded. I think this issue could be a deal breaker. Need to have my facts ready.

Thanks

I worked in retail for a while. All milk in lidl, aldi dunnes tesco whatever it’s all Irish milk from various different creameries who all have to follow the same rules so you can pay more for the branded one if you want but it’s all the same. Some people say different brands taste but it’s nonsense. Any variation is across all brands and not specific to any one brand. Same with butter and cream.

Gloomtastic! · 27-09-2019 1:48pm

And if you get your milk delivered by a milkman you can add a few more cent to your Avonmore/Premier price. :rolleyes:

boombang · 27-09-2019 1:51pm

MadYaker wrote: »

I worked in retail for a while. All milk in lidl, aldi dunnes tesco whatever it’s all Irish milk from various different creameries who all have to follow the same rules so you can pay more for the branded one if you want but it’s all the same. Some people say different brands taste but it’s nonsense. Any variation is across all brands and not specific to any one brand. Same with butter and cream.

I'm the last person to say that the premium brand tastes better than own brand and I rate Lidl/Aldi over Dunnes/Tesco on many things, but not their milk. I'm pretty sure it tastes different and that at least one of the German retailers sources from the North (at least when I purchased a few years ago and decided I didn't like it).

Geuze · 27-09-2019 1:51pm

boombang wrote: »

I always buy Dunnes/Tesco milk as it's typically 50-70c cheaper than Avonmore/Premier per 2L. I think the own brand from these stores tastes just the same. I don't buy Lidl/Aldi own brand, as this tastes inferior. I believe it comes from the North.

I've always assumed that the Dunnes/Tesco milk probably came from the same dairies as the branded milk. Can anybody tell me if this is true? Also, if in pay the big premium for the brand, who's making the excess? Do farmers receive any more from branded buyers, or it's it somebody else up the supply chain that creams it (so to speak).

Thanks

Simply read the four digit code on the packaging to find out the source.

Aurivo in Killygordon, Co. Donegal process milk for Lidl.

I checked ALDI, full fat 1L is from plant IE 1439.

Geuze · 27-09-2019 1:53pm

boombang wrote: »

and I rate Lidl/Aldi over Dunnes/Tesco on many things, but not their milk. I'm pretty sure it tastes different and that at least one of the German retailers sources from the North (at least when I purchased a few years ago and decided I didn't like it).

Yes, I did note that ALDI cartons are from the RoI, but ALDI jugs of milk were from NI.

Geuze · 27-09-2019 1:55pm

MadYaker wrote: »

I worked in retail for a while. All milk in lidl, aldi dunnes tesco whatever it’s all Irish milk from various different creameries who all have to follow the same rules so you can pay more for the branded one if you want but it’s all the same. Some people say different brands taste but it’s nonsense. Any variation is across all brands and not specific to any one brand. Same with butter and cream.

Yes, I know a guy who used to manage the production of thousands of tonnes of butter.

He confirmed that Kerrygold and unbranded butter were exactly the same in his plant, until packaging.

Now, recently all Kerrygold production was centralised in one plant in Cork, with cream being sent there by various dairies.

boombang · 27-09-2019 2:11pm

Geuze wrote: »

Yes, I did note that ALDI cartons are from the RoI, but ALDI jugs of milk were from NI.

That'll be it. I had bought a plastic jug.

I love boards. Ask a question, so much knowledge pour forth (although it's hard to tell the truth from the BS).

Muahahaha · 27-09-2019 2:27pm

Just a question for milk producers here- I remember reading that in recent years Glanbia have been making an absolute fortune from whey products and that they are now a massive supplier to the bodybuilding/fitness industry for whey powders. Before this new market opened the whey was a byproduct of cheese and AFAIK diverted to animal feed. So now that whey is the most valuable part of the milk does the price paid by the creamery reflect all the extra profitable utility from the milk supplied? Glanbia definitely making serious money from the whey market which the reckon to be worth $20 billion globally soon enough

Don't let the mumsy image of its Avonmore branded milk and Kilmeaden cheeses fool you. Kilkenny-based dairy giant Glanbia is a corporate heavyweight slugging it out in the global sports nutrition market - and the gloves are off.

The Glanbia story is a triumph of brains and brawn.

In just over a decade, this former co-operative with deep roots in the Irish dairy industry has transformed itself into a behemoth of the bodybuilding and sports nutrition sector. Today many of its products are the No 1 choice of muscle-heads, elite athletes and professional cage fighters in a market set to be worth a whopping €20bn by 2020.

https://www.independent.ie/business/irish/glanbia-muscles-in-on-rivals-31134246.html

whelan2 · 27-09-2019 2:31pm

Muahahaha wrote: »

Just a question for milk producers here- I remember reading that in recent years Glanbia have been making an absolute fortune from whey products and that they are now a massive supplier to the bodybuilding/fitness industry for whey powders. Before this new market opened the whey was a byproduct of cheese and AFAIK diverted to animal feed. So now that whey is the most valuable part of the milk does the price paid by the creamery reflect all the extra profitable utility from the milk supplied? Glanbia definitely making serious money from the whey market which the reckon to be worth $20 billion globally soon enough

https://www.independent.ie/business/irish/glanbia-muscles-in-on-rivals-31134246.html

Glanbia are the lowest payers at the moment for milk to farmers.

the beer revolu · 27-09-2019 2:35pm

They've been making plastic and alcohol from whey for years.

odyssey06 · 27-09-2019 3:01pm

Gloomtastic! wrote: »

And if you get your milk delivered by a milkman you can add a few more cent to your Avonmore/Premier price. :rolleyes:

My parents are glad to pay the extra cents. During snowmageddon there were no bin collections, sometimes no buses etc but milkman still did the rounds

smelly sock · 27-09-2019 3:19pm

is_that_so wrote: »

The same thing applies to the likes of jams, biscuits etc, where they may tweak the recipe just a little.

And own brand cooking sauces.

smelly sock · 27-09-2019 3:20pm

Gloomtastic! wrote: »

And if you get your milk delivered by a milkman you can add a few more cent to your Avonmore/Premier price. :rolleyes:

Are milk men still a thing?

Gloomtastic! · 27-09-2019 3:44pm

smelly sock wrote: »

Are milk men still a thing?

He is round here in this part of Dublin. Houses close together so you deliver efficiently enough. Not really sure why we still use him. He’s a decent bloke, pretty efficient at his job and never seems to take a holiday.

L1011 · 27-09-2019 3:45pm

smelly sock wrote: »

Are milk men still a thing?

Nearly every urban/suburban area in/around Dublin has a Glanbia milkman. They're contractors not staff these days (actually I think they were always contractors in my area).

Quite significantly dearer than the shops but it means we never run out; and we ran out a lot when we had to remember to get it.

odyssey06 · 27-09-2019 4:08pm

I am guessing the OP may want to shield this knowledge of the milkman though as it may hurt his argument, as milkman will supply branded milk...

Graces7 · 27-09-2019 4:22pm

smelly sock wrote: »

Are milk men still a thing?

Oh yes here in Mayo. There is online an ad inviting you to quote your post code so they could direct to their nearest milkman. I did so out of … well I did so; I live on a small offshore island where we have no milkmen! and very little else.

Had a reply apologising. lol.. That they had no milkman in that area.

odyssey06 · 27-09-2019 4:24pm

Graces7 wrote: »

Oh yes here in Mayo. There is online an ad inviting you to quote your post code so they could direct to their nearest milkman. I did so out of … well I did so; I live on a small offshore island where we have no milkmen! and very little else.
Had a reply apologising. lol.. That they had no milkman in that area.

Island must not be Craggy enough.

whelan2 · 27-09-2019 5:49pm

odyssey06 wrote: »

My parents are glad to pay the extra cents. During snowmageddon there were no bin collections, sometimes no buses etc but milkman still did the rounds

Glanbia in Drogheda had no milk left in stock during the snow. They didnt collect milk for 5 days from farms. Strathroy were able to come down from the north and stock the shops.

Graces7 · 27-09-2019 7:12pm

I use dried milk as backup . It is so much better than it used to be. Does not go clumpy etc.

Marcusm · 28-09-2019 12:27am

Muahahaha wrote: »

"Milk goes sour you know"

Seriously I only use milk for tea and coffee so cant notice any discernible difference in taste when it is mixed at a 1:10 ratio. Would be different if you ate cereals, remember as a kid Avonmore was the business whereas Premier Dairies was awful muck.

That’s a Kilkenny v Waterford thing! They’re all Glanbia now but I will still pick up Premier in preference to Avonmore!

the beer revolu · 28-09-2019 10:39am

As a kid we used to get Dawn milk (no own brand milk then) and if for some reason we got CMP milk, it tasted like cat's piss to us because we were so used to the taste of one dairy.

Different dairy do taste different to each other but I don't believe one is any better than the other. People are just creatures of habit and get accustomed to a particular flavour profile.
Guinness drinkers are another example of this kind of behaviour.

colm_mcm · 28-09-2019 10:49am

odyssey06 wrote: »

I find LIDL & ALDI milk tastes ok, but doesn't seem to last as long as branded versions.

An ex used to work in a milk factory, apparently there are different pasteurization processes depending on how long the milk is expected to be in stock, or last or whatever, she said the stuff going to Tesco (not Tesco own brand) was different to the milk delivered to smaller shops, and that coming up to Christmas they made all the milk longer life regardless of where it was going.

smelly sock · 28-09-2019 11:03am

colm_mcm wrote: »

An ex used to work in a milk factory, apparently there are different pasteurization processes depending on how long the milk is expected to be in stock, or last or whatever, she said the stuff going to Tesco (not Tesco own brand) was different to the milk delivered to smaller shops, and that coming up to Christmas they made all the milk longer life regardless of where it was going.

Lucky you. A girlfriend who was a expert in milking.

whelan2 · 28-09-2019 11:09am

colm_mcm wrote: »

An ex used to work in a milk factory, apparently there are different pasteurization processes depending on how long the milk is expected to be in stock, or last or whatever, she said the stuff going to Tesco (not Tesco own brand) was different to the milk delivered to smaller shops, and that coming up to Christmas they made all the milk longer life regardless of where it was going.

A lot is to do with how the milk is stored before going on the shelf in the shop.

boombang · 28-09-2019 11:19am

whelan2 wrote: »

A lot is to do with how the milk is stored before going on the shelf in the shop.

My local Tesco seems to let it all go warm in the cadges before it goes in the fridges quite regularly.

28-09-2019 11:32am

What about the organic milk? Dya reckon that's actually organic? Have just been buying that lately.

the beer revolu · 28-09-2019 1:47pm

newbie85 wrote: »

What about the organic milk? Dya reckon that's actually organic? Have just been buying that lately.

Yes

kirving · 28-09-2019 1:54pm

I refuse to buy own-brand milk. The only difference is the packaging, but the cheaper packaging has leaked a few times on me despite the lid being on correctly.

Not worth the hassle of trying to clean milk out of a car seat or fridge.

odyssey06 · 28-09-2019 2:04pm

Kevin Irving wrote: »

I refuse to buy own-brand milk. The only difference is the packaging, but the cheaper packaging has leaked a few times on me despite the lid being on correctly.
Not worth the hassle of trying to clean milk out of a car seat or fridge.

This has happened to me with Supervalu own brand in plastic bottles. But tetrapak own brands seem to have more secure closure.

Princess Calla · 28-09-2019 2:33pm

I always bought own brand milk, I only ever used it for tea and breakfast.

However when I got pregnant I could only stomach drinking milk and I did notice a difference in taste between brands especially after sugar was cut from my diet.

You can also notice the difference in a glass, some leave a "milky" residue on the walls of the glass others don't, so I presume the cream/fat content may be different.

I buy avonmore now as I'm giving it to the children as a drink. For the above mentioned reasons.

If it was for tea and breakfast own brand would be fine.

dhaughton99 · 28-09-2019 2:42pm

I always buy Lidl whole milk just because it’s handy for where I live. I noticed over the past 2 months, it no longer froths when I use an electric frother or the steamer on my coffee machine. I tried tesco and premier and froths up nicely.

LJ3103 · 28-09-2019 8:48pm

Where are people buying cartons of UHT milk. Was only thinking the other day of trying to buy some for an elderly relative to have in the press for emergency use in the event of a spell of bad weather during the winter months.

odyssey06 · 28-09-2019 8:57pm

LJ3103 wrote: »

Where are people buying cartons of UHT milk. Was only thinking the other day of trying to buy some for an elderly relative to have in the press for emergency use in the event of a spell of bad weather during the winter months.

LIDL usually have it in fridge. All red carton. But doesnt need to be kept in fridge til opened. Might be a little too soon to stock up for winter though.

Branded vs own brand milk: who gets the premium price?

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