In trying to find ways to reduce shopping bills, consumers are now looking more towards supermarket own brands, but does it always pay to go for the ‘cheaper’ alternative?
While food prices can vary wildly, even for the simplest items, what about something like kitchen rolls? How do the prices – and quality – compare?
The Express took a look at two branded rolls – Plenty and Regina Blitz – and put them up against Aldi, Morrison, Sainsbury’s and Tesco. For the comparison test, cordial was poured onto a plate, before counting how many kitchen roll sheets it took to wipe up and how each brand fared.
Regina Blitz
They cost £3 for 100 sheets. At first glance, the sheets are the largest of the bunch and are blue.
These ‘supersized’ sheets are triple-layered, which really helped when wiping up the spillage. It only took one to wipe the plate dry.
8/10
Plenty
Costs £2.70 for a 100-sheet roll. The two-ply sheets are not as big as Regina; they are a similar size to the supermarket own-brands, but thicker.
One sheet was all tat was needed in cleaning up the mess.
It stayed strong, maybe even more so than Regina, and it held the liquid well, not dripping afterwards.
9/10
Aldi
Costs £1.19 for a 240-sheet jumbo roll.
The sheets are slightly thicker than Sainsbury’s. It took two sheets to mop up the spillage.
It held onto the liquid and did not drip afterwards.
7/10
Morrisons
Also costs £1.19 for a 240-sheet jumbo roll.
The end result is similar to the others. It took two sheets to mop up the spillage and it dripped afterwards.
4/10
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Sainsbury’s
Costs £1.20 for Sainsbury’s 240-sheet jumbo roll, significantly less than the name brands.
While the sheets are similar in size to Plenty, they are not as thick. And it took three sheets to wipe up the spillage, and they struggled to hold the liquid, dripping quite a lot afterwards.
3/10
Tesco
Again costs £1.19 for a 240-sheet jumbo roll.
It has the thinnest joint sheets, along with Morrisons. Upon wiping up the spillage, the sheets fell apart, but it did only need two to complete the job.
4/10
Verdict
Going for the cheap option in this case, certainly was not a winner. Sometimes you have to spend a bit more to get better quality, although Aldi does a good job in the budget kitchen roll department.
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