The cost of living crisis has forced many families to rethink their shopping baskets, ditching some big-brand favourites for cheaper own-label alternatives.
It's easy to fall into the habit of sticking to the brands you have always bought, but with the news this week that the prices of some market-leaders had increased by as much as 53%, hard-up households have no real choice but to explore further afield and try supermarket own labels or budget lines.
But consumer champion Which? has found that in some cases, premium brands don't offer the best taste, and at as much as double the price, definitely don't offer the best value for money in your weekly shop. "Although supermarket own labels often impress in our taste tests, our results show that, in certain cases, you might be better off sticking with a well-known brand," said a spokesperson.
Read more: Shoppers feel the squeeze as Heinz ketchup rises by 91p in cost of living blow
Which? carries out regular taste tests throughout the year, so we've taken 10 store cupboard staples to see what its recommended Best Buy products are.
Here's what we found:
Baked Beans
Whether spooned over a jacket potato, or served with a full English breakfast, baked beans in tomato sauce are a store cupboard staple for many.
Best Buy: Lidl Newgate baked beans
Comments: Scored highly for their appearance, smell and texture. Around three quarters of tasters thought the colour was perfect, and 81% thought the texture of the sauce was just right.
Market leader: Branston or Heinz
Comments: Ok, though around a third found the sauce too thick (Branston). The most expensive beans tested and nothing particularly stood out taste-wise (Heinz)
Chocolate hazelnut spread
Pancakes, crumpets, toast or just straight from the jar, Nutella is the go-to brand for many families. But Nutella was beaten on taste by several supermarket options.
Best Buy: Waitrose Essential Hazelnut Chocolate Spread
Comments: Waitrose's spread ticked plenty of boxes, receiving high marks for its flavour, texture, aroma and appearance. Three quarters said the strength of hazelnut flavour and sweetness was spot on, and 83% thought the thickness was just right.
Market leader: Nutella chocolate spread
Comments: Nutella fell just outside the top three in the test. It was among the best-rated spreads for flavour, but not everyone was a fan of the texture, with 62% finding it too thick for their liking. It also contains the most saturated fat and sugar of the spreads tested (though all are classed as high on these measures). It's worth giving a cheaper own brand a go if you're looking to cut costs.
Crunchy peanut butter
Peanut butter can be pricey, but savings can be made by choosing a supermarket own brand
Best Buy: Lidl Mister Choc Crunchy Peanut Butter
Comments: As well as being the joint-cheapest on test, Lidl’s Mister Choc was rated one of the tastiest peanut butters. Its well-balanced flavours and lovely crunchy texture earned it high marks across the board.
Market leader: Sun-Pat Crunchy Peanut Butter
Comments: Although Sun-Pat doesn’t list palm oil as an ingredient on the label, it contains E471 which is made from palm oil. considering it scores lower than all the cheaper own labels tested, it’s not necessarily worth spending more on. Around 40% found the texture too thick and a similar proportion said the peanut flavour was too weak.
Tomato and chilli pasta sauce
Tomato & chilli sauce ladled over a hot bowl of pasta is a quick and easy weeknight tea – especially when you’re cooking for a crowd.
Best Buy: Tesco Tomato & Chilli Pasta Sauce
Comments: Tesco's offering was a favourite among the taste-testers. It matched Loyd Grossman in almost every area, although the aroma and sweetness weren't quite as impressive. Around a third of tasters felt the chilli flavour was too weak, but that might be a blessing if you like your pasta sauce on the mild side. Compared with other brands, it's among the lowest tested in salt and fat, and it's fairly average in terms of sugar content.
Market leader: Jamie Oliver Tomato & Chilli Pasta Sauce
Comments: Texture, colour and strength of flavour were all rated well, and some tasters commented on the herby flavour. More than half felt it could do with more chilli heat though.
Tomato ketchup
Whether you like it in a bacon sandwich, served with chips or drizzled over a hotdog, tomato ketchup remains one of the UK's favourite sauces.
Best Buy: Heinz Tomato Ketchup
Comments: Heinz proved it's the leading ketchup brand for a reason after it excelled in the tests, scoring top across the board. Tasters were particularly satisfied with the balance of sweetness in this ketchup, as well as the strength of its flavour, scoring it five stars for both. Heinz ketchup was the most expensive though, costing costs nearly three times more than the average bottle of ketchup per 100g.
Runner up: : Waitrose Essential Tomato Ketchup
Comments: Waitrose wasn't far behind the leader with its Essential tomato ketchup taking second place and securing Best Buy status. Much like Heinz, Waitrose fared very well in most categories. Most notably, the panel thought the sweetness was spot on, with one taster describing it as having just the 'right combination of sweet and tangy'.
Tomato soup
It takes just a few minutes to heat up a tin of tomato soup for a quick, warming lunch – making it a handy store-cupboard essential.
Best Buy: Sainsbury’s Cream of Tomato Soup and Tesco Cream of Tomato Soup
Comments: The well-balanced tomato flavour and appetising colour were both rated highly. And most found the texture just right. (Sainsbury's) The vast majority of tasters said that the strength of the tomato flavour was just right. The texture and colour were also highly rated, so we've awarded this soup a Best Buy (Tesco).
Market leader: Heinz Cream of Tomato Soup
Comments: The top brand was rated well for texture and appearance, but 58% were disappointed by the weak tomato flavour.
Tortilla chips
Doritos may have taken the top spot, but Sainsbury’s tortilla chips were a close second, and less than half the price.
Best Buy: Doritos Cool Original Tortilla Chips
Comments : With their satisfying crunchy texture and great balance of flavour and saltiness, Doritos show sometimes paying more pays off. They're a little darker in colour than most of the supermarket tortilla chips, but this doesn't detract from their appeal. They had the most appealing smell, but they're also the most expensive tortilla chips.
Runner up: Sainsbury’s Tortilla Chips Cool
Comments: With an overall score just one percentage point lower than Doritos, these Sainsbury's tortilla chips are a winning swap if you're looking to save without sacrificing flavour. They matched Doritos' score for flavour, texture and appearance. Three quarters thought they had just the right amount of crunch, while eight in 10 tasters said the saltiness was spot on.
Yeast extract
It's worth trying your local supermarket yeast extract spread, especially if you're looking to cut grocery costs: cheaper Aldi and Morrisons yeast extracts beat Marmite to take first place in the tests, with other supermarket own-labels also beating Marmite on taste.
Best Buy: Aldi Grandessa Mighty Yeast Extract and Morrisons Yeast Extract and Morrisons yeast extract
Comments: Both got high marks across the board. But it was their flavour that set them apart from the rest, leading them to scoop Best Buys. They were rated them as superior when it came to taste, with a good strength of flavour that wasn’t too salty and an easy-to-spread texture.
Market leader: Marmite Yeast Extract
Comments: Marmite got a decent score overall, but tasters weren’t bowled over by it, with more than half finding it too strong in flavour and too thick. Some also found it more difficult to spread compared with the own-label options.
Strawberry cones
If you're looking to save on frozen treats while still having the taste of summer in your hands, it's worth heading to Lidl's freezer aisle.
Best Buy: Lidl Bon Gelati Premium Ice Cream Strawberry and Vanilla Cones
Comments: These Lidl cones are worth shouting about. They're the clear winners by quite a margin, and a step up from the rest on flavour. Most tasters found they had the perfect balance of sweetness and creaminess, plus they had a good amount of strawberry sauce.
Market leader: Wall's Cornetto Strawberry Ice Cream Cones
Comments: Which? was surprised to see Wall's Strawberry Cornetto come in as the second lowest scorer overall. The texture of the cone is as good as the highest scorers, but it fell behind in other areas. A third of people found the Cornetto tasted too sweet and almost half of the tasters said it wasn't creamy enough. The white chocolate curls on top turned a few heads though.
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