As the price of living continues to soar, many people are being forced to look at how they can get their outgoings down - whether it's cutting down on takeaways, or switching out brands for supermarket alternatives.
Most people have a certain brand that they love and will always stick to - mine being Diet Coke, but is there actually a notable difference between Coca Cola's own Diet Coke and these supermarkets' much cheaper alternatives?
We decided to put four supermarket diet colas to the test, to see if Lidl, Aldi, Morrisons or Tesco could out-do one of the biggest and most influential brands in the world, and the results were pretty surprising.
Lidl Freeway Diet Cola 7/10
★★★★★★★
I'm a huge fan of shopping at budget supermarkets like Lidl, but while it makes my weekly food shop significantly cheaper than shopping at one of the bigger supermarkets, there are always certain brands that you miss.
That being said, as far as Diet Coke imitations go, this was actually a really positive start for Lidl. Although you can obviously tell it isn't the real deal, the Freeway Diet Cola isn't too far off and still makes for quite a pleasant drink.
It almost tastes like an ever so slightly watered-down version of Diet Coke, which, at 39p for a 2-litre bottle, you can't really complain, making it a worthy alternative when trying to keep costs down.
Aldi Vive Diet Cola 8/10
★★★★★★★★
As previously mentioned with Lidl, I am a huge fan of Aldi, but despite using the budget supermarket's own products for virtually everything else, I've always walked straight past the Vive Diet Cola to pick up the trusted Diet Coke.
This is what surprised me the most. If I was to shut my eyes and try Aldi's Vive Diet Cola, I'm not entirely convinced I would be able to taste the difference, which is pretty big considering it only costs 47p for 2 litres.
The only real difference is that Aldi's cola doesn't feel quite as fizzy as Diet Coke, but in terms of sweetness and flavour, it's pretty much spot on.
Morrisons Diet Cola 6/10
★★★★★★
Out of all the supermarket colas I tried, Morrisons was pretty much straight down the middle. It wasn't offensive, but equally wasn't anything special either.
Morrisons Diet Cola doesn't taste exactly like Diet Coke, but I certainly wouldn't mind if I went to someone's house and they served me a nice, cool glass of the stuff.
The overriding theme of the diet colas seems to be a slightly synthetic sweetness which not as much fizz, but with this one coming in slightly more expensive (albeit still very cheap) 60p for 2 litres, it's only fair that it gets a slightly lower score.
Tesco Diet Coke 1/10
★
Saving the worst until last, this was, in a word, disgusting. While Tesco does a cracking sausage, it has a long way to go in the fizzy drinks department - if this rola cola is anything to go by.
The diet coke can was much sweeter than the other supermarkets and than Diet Coke itself, but not in a nice way. It was overly sweet in a way that tasted a lot more artificial than the other drinks, which is a shame.
As a serial diet drinker, we know the sugar isn't real, but obviously we want it taste as close to the real thing as possible.
I could only get hold the cans in my local Tesco, but for a fair comparison, the 2 litre bottle would've cost 60p, which is obviously still considerably cheaper than Diet Coke but more expensive than the other supermarkets' which tasted better.
In conclusion, I'd have to say I was pleasantly surprised to learn that some of the supermarkets have managed to get the Diet Coke imitations almost spot on - and for a fraction of the price.
I bought a 1.25 litre bottle of Diet Coke from Morrisons for £1.25, which is more than double the price of the supermarket's own, for a significantly smaller bottle.
Diet Coke, in my humble opinion, still trumps the supermarkets in terms of taste, but it's hard to tell whether it actually does taste better, or we've just been conditioned to think that's what diet cola should taste like.
Will I stop spending all my hard earned pennies on Coca Cola when I could spend less than half for a decent alternative? Probably not, but it's certainly good to know what other options are out there when cash is tight.
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