What's your favourite own brand product?
dididede
Posts: 61 Member
OK we're all still playing catch up from Christmas, (well apart from Martin Lewis and any passing saints that is) so I was just wondering, as our family are spectacularly skint this month, what if any is the one own brand product you would recommend? I'm seeing lots of own brand butter on menus which could save us money, but the OH wont even consider anything thats not Lurpak, so its gotta be good!
Also I was perusing the aisles recently and noticed a mahoosive difference in price between the dishwasher tabs we always buy (Finish all in one) and own brand, sometimes even upwards of £4 difference per box! And my dishie is on twice a day!
What do you think? Is there anything you would recommend or is it just a false economy in that you need to use twice as much anyway? I'm already sold on beans & sausages by the way - after years of only buying Heinz as he would not touch anything else, I one night sneaked Asda Beans & Sausages onto his plate and he asked if I had changed brands are this lot were really tasty!
Love to know your thoughts...
xx
Also I was perusing the aisles recently and noticed a mahoosive difference in price between the dishwasher tabs we always buy (Finish all in one) and own brand, sometimes even upwards of £4 difference per box! And my dishie is on twice a day!
What do you think? Is there anything you would recommend or is it just a false economy in that you need to use twice as much anyway? I'm already sold on beans & sausages by the way - after years of only buying Heinz as he would not touch anything else, I one night sneaked Asda Beans & Sausages onto his plate and he asked if I had changed brands are this lot were really tasty!
Love to know your thoughts...
xx
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Replies
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Love Aldi & Farmfoods and the stuff we can't get in there we use either the local farm shop or Sainsburys.
Aldi Baked Beans the only ones the kids will allow as a substitute for Heinz, but they're great for other things aswell. The shops are alot smaller as they generally only have one type of each product, but they aim to make their products some of the best you can buy. For example at christmas time their Champagne & Christmas puddings are always getting top ratings above any other supermarkets.
Farmfoods, frozen chicken, fish & veg (I refuse to eat frozen red meat), they have some great offers on.0 -
I've also done a lot of "down branding" recently. But, I refuse to give up Heinz beans. And little man would refuse anything other than heinz tomato soup or ketchup.
But I have been buying asda smart price rich teas and digestives. Same for pasta, rice, tinned toms, garlic bread etc. But I recently discovered that you could buy 48 dishwasher tablets (Finish power ball) for £3.99 and 9 toilet rolls (quilted) for £1.99 in B&M stores. Honestly it's worth the trip.
I have also recently bought cereal bars (on offer in Asda for £2.50!), kettle crisps (a multi pack of 6 bags), Dorset muesli and mini choc buttons all for £1 each in Poundland.0 -
Tesco organic tea - I actually prefer the taste and it's cheaper than the brand my husband likes. Most dairy products (milk, cheese, yoghurt, butter) I buy are Tesco's brand but I buy a lot of organic so it's not necessarily cheaper.0
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For bottled ketchup & brown sauce it has to Heinz & either Daddies or HP
Baked beans I use Branston, often on offer at £1 for four pack in Lidl & sometimes Morrison's
Oddly enough Waitrose for bananas, as they Price Match Tesco, and only sell Fairtrade bananas, they are same price as bog standard, fro Tesco & the like. 68p a kg. Taste the same of course, but pat on the back for ethics
Same goes for organic milk at Waitrose, Duchy original, which may not be you choice but it is mine and no dearer than fleece farmer stores
Like Aldi, Lidl are good, but may not have some branded items you want, plus do not take credit cards + charge for carrier bags. I like them, but then I do not need 18 types of crisps / corn flakes etc
And oddly enough, Asda Smart Price sweet & sour sauce, & curry jars, lower in calories than the likes of Patak's, probably because it is using much cheaper ingredients, but I can not tell the difference0 -
Lidl washng powder; mahoosive box that last for ever and costs about £6. Just as good as Persil (and I have never liked anything but Persil until now). With teens and all their laundry it saves us a fortune.
...and fed up with Tesco bread that was going mouldy before it's sell-by date, and was too dry to use for anything but toast, we swapped to Lidl wholemeal bread and rolls. Cheap as anything and really tasty. Their part-baked rolls are good too.
Worth looking at local suppliers too; we have a farm shop near us that sells really nice (own grown) meat at less than supermarket prices.0 -
Aldi veg! usually 2/3 the price of Asda, Tesco etc and seems to stay fresh twice as long.0
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...and fed up with Tesco bread that was going mouldy before it's sell-by date, and was too dry to use for anything but toast, we swapped to Lidl wholemeal bread and rolls. Cheap as anything and really tasty. Their part-baked rolls are good too.
Worth looking at local suppliers too; we have a farm shop near us that sells really nice (own grown) meat at less than supermarket prices.
Oh yes, forgot the Lidl part baked baguettes, lovely and loaded in calories, gulp. and agree about local suppliers, my greengrocer & butcher often same price or less than supermarket and the quality exceeds them0 -
sainsbury's basics tomato soup is as good as heinz, lower in cals and 24 pence!! can't say fairer than that! (although until recently it was 17p a tin! large price increase!)0
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* Sainsburys Basics part bake bread - tastes exactly the same as their upmarket range but rolls are slightly smaller
* Branston beans - beat Heinz hands down and often cheaper. Just more tomatoey
* Sainsbury tomato ketchup - more tomatoey than Heinz - bit like chip shop ketchup
* Basics chicken breasts - whatever supermarket you are in. There was a TV show on a couple of years ago and the chicken was from exactly the same farms but the breasts that were wonky shapes and sizes were sold as basics. Doesn't matter if it's chopped and in curry - or it you don't mind having ones slightly different sizes.
* Aldi Kanpur curry sauces - a good substitute for Loyd Grossman ones and about a quarter of the price. The tikka masala is nice - lots of chopped onions in it.
* Feta cheese - I always stock up in Aldi and Lidl - usually less than half the price of Sainsburys.
I'm sure I'll think of more later!0 -
We buy the cereals as the shops own brand, not value range though, kids wont touch those.
The Tesco rice snaps and hot oat cereals are my favourites and on par with the calories count from the named brands.
All our drinks are shop brand, our squash is tesco value.
Any tinned or frozen veg we buy is value too.
We simply dont have the money so its what we do.
Our shopping is around £80 a week, that's 2 adults, 3 11 year olds, a 6 year old and a 1 year old.
Its only me that has named shampoo.
I buy a massive Bold washing powder box 85 washes for £15 (B&M's)
Don't use our dishwasher but buy tesco brand washing up liquid (has to be anti-bacterial though)
We buy value bread (wholemeal and white) its definitely no where near the standard of Hovis etc but for the price we deal with that.
My advice for what its worth, just down grade a few items at a time, some you might like others you might not, but if its only for a couple of months its worth it to save some money.0 -
We buy the cereals as the shops own brand, not value range though, kids wont touch those.
The Tesco rice snaps and hot oat cereals are my favourites and on par with the calories count from the named brands.
All our drinks are shop brand, our squash is tesco value.
Any tinned or frozen veg we buy is value too.
We simply dont have the money so its what we do.
Our shopping is around £80 a week, that's 2 adults, 3 11 year olds, a 6 year old and a 1 year old.
Its only me that has named shampoo.
I buy a massive Bold washing powder box 85 washes for £15 (B&M's)
Don't use our dishwasher but buy tesco brand washing up liquid (has to be anti-bacterial though)
We buy value bread (wholemeal and white) its definitely no where near the standard of Hovis etc but for the price we deal with that.
My advice for what its worth, just down grade a few items at a time, some you might like others you might not, but if its only for a couple of months its worth it to save some money.
I think you're amazing! £80 for all those people - hats off to you!
Just remembered another one... instead of buying those expensive bathroom and kitchen sprays (that always leave residue and you have to scrub really hard with) just use washing up liquid. I usually get the antibaterial own-brand from wherever I'm shopping. Works brilliantly on just about everything - particularly good at getting rid of any residue in the bath. I also find it's kinder to my hands (despite wearing latex-free gloves when cleaning heavy-duty cleaners always set my eczema off. Washing up liquid is a bit more gentle).
If you want a really deep clean (particularly when cleaning the toilet and kitchen sink and surfaces, add in a splash of baby bottle sterilising solution (in the nappy aisle at the supermarket). Basically a low-strength bleach. Use the own brand versions (Asda is about a quarter the price of Milton, for example). You can also just leave it to dry without rinsing, which saves time and energy. It leaves everywhere with a fresh smell (albeit a bit like a swimming pool!).
Sterilising fluid is also great for cleaning with if a member of the family gets ill (dilute and wipe down door handles, toilet etc to stop the spread of bugs), for getting tea stains out of mugs - add a splash in some water and leave to soak, and for deep cleaning water bottles used when hiking and running.0 -
It's not an Asda brand, but only Asda sell it, it's a shaving oil in a pump spray for £1. I never leave with only one.0
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In the dishwasher, the manufacturers don't tell you this, but most of the cleaning is done by the hot water and steam, so just buy the cheapest own label without the "all-in-one" blurb and then get separate own label rinse aid and salt. The latter is important for the wellbeing of your machine. (I used to work for one of said manufacturers!) Fairy Washing Up liquid remains the best but use far less than you think you need to. It is far more concentrated than the own label stuff. It can also be used to clean pretty much anything, so don't need to buy lots of other cleaning stuff.
In general, own label food is getting SO much better, in particular own label cereal. My hubby had a fit when I bought own label bran flakes instead of Kellogg's. Made him do a blind taste test and he still eats own label now. Own label pasta sauces are getting loads better as well, plus their snacks (chocolate biscuits, crisps etc ). Also I raid the reduced aisle stuff and freeze it the same day.
Unless you have a specific scalp issue save on the shampoo and buy the cheap stuff, but splurge on the conditioner0 -
I never used to eat much pasta but I now always buy Asdas own as its half the calories than the others! Maybe those who has proper pasta taste buds may recognise the difference but I cant
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I buy a lot of Sainsburys own brand things esp Tomato sauce and baked beans, they're lower in sugar salt and cals than the named brand equivalents Dishwasher tabs I buy when they're on offer, I've also started looking at the 'unit' price of items like that, Andrex puppies on a roll for instance is cheaper than sains own brand loo roll equivalent - you do need a magnifying glass though to read the unit price on the shelf label :laugh: 0
