'I tried Martin Lewis' downshift challenge by only buying unbranded groceries and I have mixed feelings'

We hear so much these days of shoppers beginning to make the switch to value branded products in a bid to help keep their costs down.

And with the cost of living continuing to see food prices soar, it is understandable why so many people are beginning to shake up their grocery shopping habits.

From your usual groceries to household cleaning products, it seems like there is now a much larger variety of own-branded products that are said to be the same as their branded counterparts. The only difference? The price.

Just recently, money-saving guru Martin Lewis began encouraging shoppers to 'downshift' their grocery shopping. The main point of the challenge was to see if you could tell the difference in taste when it came to value branded products.

With so many value branded goods in-stores promising to be as good as the real deal, I of course decided to try it out for myself. That and I am always looking for ways to save some extra pennies.

And as someone who is quite partial to picking up the likes of Kellogg's and Heinz when I am at the shops, I decided to try out the challenge for myself.

I did report last week about how I popped into one of my local Sainsbury's with my shopping list to see what sort of own-branded products had on offer. With it being one of the 'pricier' supermarkets, I thought it would be interesting to see if I could bring the costs down.

One thing that did stand out to me during my initial trip was that my local store didn't offer much value-branded products, and I had to walk up and down the aisles a few times.

Since the retailer scrapped their Basics range back in 2019, shoppers looking for own-branded products have to look for Hubbards Foodstore, Sainsbury's own or the Taste The Difference Range.

As previously mentioned, I did avoid the Taste The Difference range as it was their premium range - which would have defeated the purpose.

I found that some non branded items cost less and tasted exactly the same - or better (Rachel Williams)

Despite having to look down the aisles a few times, I did manage to get quite a decent shop. Without grabbing any big brand named products, I was surprised to get a full shop for less than £20 for quite a few supplies.

With a basket full of items that I could have for breakfast, lunch and dinner, I was quite surprised that I managed to pretty much half my shopping costs by switching to non-branded products.

While I did find that I managed to save £13.54 by switching my shopping habits, the main point of Martin's challenge was to see if you could tell the difference with taste. If there was no difference, then stick with the cheaper products. So, I have spent the last week whipping up a few meals in the kitchen to see what I thought.

Here was my full shopping list.

• Sainsbury's stone baked pepperoni pizza - £3.25
• Sainsbury's Triple Chocolate Crisp Granola 500g - £1.50
• Sainsbury's Smooth Pure Orange Juice 1L - 95p
• Sainsbury's Basmati Rice 250g - 50p
• Sainsbury's Indulgent Sauce For Butter Chicken - 85p.
• Sainsbury's Creamy Tomato Sauce For Pasta Bake 480g - 80p
• Sainsbury's Tuna In Spring Water x3 - £3.70
• Hubbards Foodstore Spaghetti Hoops - 13p
• Sainsbury's Chickpeas 400g - 60p
• Sainsbury's Passata 500g - 45p
• Sainsbury's Chicken Breast 300g - £2.20
• Sainsbury's Penne Pasta 500g - 70p
• Sainsbury's Royal Gala Apples x6 - £1.60
• Sainsbury's Natural Fat free Yoghurt - 85p
• Hubbards foodstore Chicken and Vegetable Soup 4x22g - 38p

Total: £18.46

The spaghetti hoops were identical to Heinz (Rachel Williams)

First things first, I did actually manage to create quite a few good meals from the above list. Using a few items from my pantry, I managed to get dishes such as chicken curry, pasta bakes and chickpea curry. Which wasn't bad, all things considered.

Items such as Sainsbury's Own Royal Gala Apples and their 500g Passata were arguably just exactly the same as their more expensive branded counterparts. Considering a the same sized pack of So Organic apples would cost me £2.25 and a Napolina passata costing 75p for just 430g, I would consider that a win.

I also managed to pick up three tins of tuna for £3.70 to make up some tuna pasta for weekly lunches, which didn't really have a difference in taste either when compared to John West's which would have cost £5.

I wasn't a fan of the Hubbard's Foodstore soup (Rachel Williams)

I did find that that quite a few of the supermarket's cheaper products did actually taste better or exactly the same as branded goods. For example, the Hubbard's Foodstore Spaghetti Hoops were a big winner for me. At just 13p, they tastes pretty much exactly the same as Heinz, which would cost around £1. At just over 10p, the cupboard staple is perfect for a simple and budget friendly weekday meal.

I also found that Sainsbury's own orange was refreshingly zingy and very orangey, which is exactly what I was looking for. At just 95p for 1L, it's a well better purchase than Tropicana's £2.75 for 900ml.

I managed to make quite a few meals (Rachel Williams)

Sainsbury's stone baked pizza at just £3.25 was also a decent buy. I much prefer thin bases and I found that this one cooked as well as a Pizza Express one that costs £5.50.

For breakfast, I am a huge fan of granola. Which is why I was fairly impressed with their Triple Chocolate Crisp Granola. At just £1.75, it is cheaper than my usual Kellogg's Hazelnut and Chocolate which is priced at £2.50. I found that their was much more chocolate pieces, and it came with both milk and white chocolate. I genuinely couldn't believe I had been paying more for Kellogg's.

Now, there were a few areas that I think the value products slightly faltered a bit. For one, their Indulgent Butter Chicken sauce and Creamy Tomato Sauce for Pasta Bake were both slightly a bit on the thinner side. With the prices I paid, I wasn't massively complaining. I mean, I did manage to get a huge pasta bake and chicken curry made from both dishes. But, the likes of Homepride and Patak's are a bit thicker and have that bit more flavour. So, I may be tempted to pay the extra for the big brands for those items again.

I also found that their basmati rice was just a little...rubbery? Uncle Ben's is arguably the king of microwaveable rice, and I feel like I would stick to him in the future.

The same would go for the Hubbards Foodstore Chicken and Vegetable soup sachets. Now, I am not a major fan of soup sachets in genera (homemade all the way), but I have occasionally picked up Heinz tomato soup sachets as a quick fix. I found Sainsbury's quality really matched the price - and not in a good way. At just 38p, I found that they had virtually zero taste and no amount of salt or pepper could save them. Personally, if you like soup sachets, stick with paying a £1 for Heinz.

The granola tasted better and had better quantity than Kellogg's (Rachel Williams)

Overall thoughts

I have to admit, that my overall feelings are just that bit mixed on Sainsbury's value branded products.

If we're going by price, then I have to say that 'downshifting' is of course worth it. I managed to get nearly half off my overall shopping, which really is a win for the current climate. It will definitely help you save a bit of money on your shopping.

As for taste, well that's where I am a bit more split. As Martin Lewis says it is better to judge by taste and not appearance, I have found that there are certain value branded products I would pick up again. There were also a few that I think I would have to stick to branded items for.

Taste aside, I did manage to whip up a few decent meals and I found that I was paying more for certain items that virtually tasted the same. So, kudos to Martin Lewis for the tip, as it definitely works in some areas for Sainsbury's.

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