For many of us, the biscuit break signposts a much needed pause in the day. While others, mostly parents I imagine, are tormented by the uttering of ‘can I have a biscuit?’ on a daily basis.
McVitie's has undeniably played a vital part in commercialising the sweet treat, propelling them into the mainstream and helping them to become a British household staple. They’ve dominated the biscuit market pretty much since their conception, even citing profits five times more than the next two top competitors in the UK in 2020 - so how do they square up against own brand supermarket versions?
It’s no secret that Aldi has always pushed the boundaries of plagiarism to the limits - just last year the budget retailer found itself in a copyright dispute with M&S over its version of the Colin the Caterpillar cake. Although I will admit its copycat product names never cease to amuse me.
Read: I tried app Too Good To Go and got all this food for less than a tenner
While McVitie's has never seemingly tried to sue the budget retailer, the likeness is immediately recognisable on supermarket shelves. And so I began my very serious tasting quest to see whether lower prices compromised quality in this scenario.
In Asda Bedminster, the McVitie's range dominated almost six rows of shelves alone, aptly reflecting a nation of biscuit fanatics. I selected Chocolate Digestives, Rich Teas, Hobnobs and Penguin bars and put them up against their Aldi counterparts.
Chocolate digestives vs Aldi version
As the nation’s favourite biscuit (it even says so on the packet), I expected no less than McVitie's to triumph here. First up was Aldi - and it's worth pointing out that its Belmont biscuit range seemed slightly smaller in surface area than McVitie's.
The supermarket version of the chocolate digestive (49p) was quite a lot softer than expected and the chocolate was not too sweet but it tastes less authentic. If you're having a chocolate biscuit you want to taste a bigger hit of chocolate.
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By comparison, McVitie's chocolate digestive (£1.25) was truly unparalleled. There was more generous coating of milk chocolate that was much deeper in flavour. Most notably, the crunch was much more satisfying and I am sure it would hold up better dunked in tea or coffee.
Winner: McVitie's
Hobnobs vs Oaties
I would say Hobnobs are one of my favourites - particularly the chocolate Hobnob which I regretted not choosing - so I was interested to see how this panned out. Tasting Aldi first here, the Oatie coming in at 36p was much more salty than sugary in taste. It was really hard as I bit into it and was not as enjoyable as I had hoped it would be.
Whereas McVitie's (£1) was a much more satisfying chewing experience. They’ve clearly perfected the bite and mouthfeel to something irreplaceable. The Hobnob certainly succeeded here in my eyes.
Winner: McVitie's
Rich tea vs Aldi version
Aldi was not holding back in likeness here in both product and packaging, opting for the same font and even the same biscuit design bar the McVitie's branding. Starting with McVitie's (£1.45), the Rich Tea had a strong crunch and a subtle sweetness and was surprisingly the most expensive biscuit of the bunch.
However, Aldi had an even firmer bite and was not sweet at all, which I surprisingly quite liked. It had slightly more structural integrity and held up well when dunked into tea. At 29p per packet with very few differences, Aldi reigns strong here.
Winner: Aldi
Penguin bar vs Seal bar
The Penguin bar was a lunchbox staple in my family. The joy of peeling back the wrapper to reveal the vastly unfunny joke flooded back as I opened the multipack, offering eight bars.
Q: "Why did the penguin make a fish pun?"
A: "Just for the halibut."
One crucial thing to point out here is that the Seal bar does not offer a joke. Perhaps the Belmont bar version would be veering too far into McVitie's territory. On the taste test, the Penguin bar (£1 for a pack of eight) had a smooth coating with an immense punch of chocolate sandwiched between two rich-flavoured biscuits.
While the McVitie's flavour was rather divine the Seal bar (79p for eight bars) stole the show for me. It was much easier to chew, which was more pleasant being a thicker, sandwich biscuit bar. Taste-wise, it was unfussy and not overly sweet which I surprisingly preferred in this instance.
Winner: Aldi
Looking at cost comparisons, the Asda-priced McVitie's biscuits were almost two and a half times more expensive than Aldi versions, totalling £4.70 and £1.93 respectively. But on this biscuit selection, it's a draw. I would happily switch to Aldi for Rich Teas and Seal bars (even sacrificing the cheesy joke) to pay less - costing 29p and 79p respectively.
But McVitie's is triumphant with the Chocolate Digestive and the Hobnob. Their flavour and mouthfeel cannot be competed with in this instance and I would certainly pay more for the leading product in this instance.
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