Why are branded items so much nicer?

[purplespink]

I try to buy Aldi/Lidl own versions of things as much as I can but a lot of them just aren’t as good. Off the top of my head, I’ve recently bought Lidl’s version of skips, cookies, *diluted juice, Nutella and ice cream. All really rubbish compared to the branded versions. I’m increasingly finding this the case with Aldi and Lidl products, which I find annoying as overall I really like Aldi, and Lidl’s bread and chocolate are my favourite. But why is it that the branded stuff is nicer? I know it seems obvious but I assumed that branded products spent a lot more on advertising/brand awareness, hence the premium price.

*The cookies I was comparing to Fox’s and diluent juice I was comparing to Robinsons.

It isn't that branded products are always nicer, it's that you are used to a product tasting a certain way.

Compare ingredients lists on some branded products against unbranded and you will find there quite often is hardly any difference. Just takes a bit of time to get used to the different unbranded item.

There are loads of examples where unbranded is just as good, if not better. Aldi baked beans are better than Heinz!

The items you describe will have been made cheaply so they can be sold at a price which appeals to shoppers on a budget.

I think some of Aldi’s products are nicer. I prefer their Greek yoghurt, scones, sourdough and plenty of other items. Gelato and ice cream are as good and I’ve had peaches recently that were much better than Sainsbury’s.

Aldi and Lidl are horrendous, the in-store experience alone puts me off never mind the sub par quality of food, yes it’s cheap but it tastes incredibly cheap too. Sainsbury’s and M&S all the way for us, superior quality, better stores and not really that much more.

It sounds like you just prefer certain flavours. I know people who infinitely prefer own brand chocolate spread to Nutella. My kids can blind taste test Heinz ketchup. I prefer M&S chocolate. Mcvities have the nicest dark chocolate digestives. Lidl have the nicest pasta sauce and we can’t bring ourselves to eat Dolmio. It’s just personal preferences, that’s literally all.

Branded stuff does taste better. A lot of aldi and lidl stuff is pretty tasteless.

I had Aldi meat once. Never again.

Otherwise I find most stuff is the same. If you put Aldi biscuits in M&S wrapping I bet most people wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

Read the ingredients

there is a lot of palm oil, one of the first listed in a lot of Aldi’s products - making things a bit tasteless and greasy

All aldi bread tastes mouldy to me!
and their feta went mouldy with 2 days of opening - which takes some going

We don’t have an Aldi or Lidl nearby so I have the perfect excuse not to go there, although I would certainly try them if we did. Easy choice 😆

I like a lot of aldi stuff but yes the crisps are NEVER the same, especially quavers/wotsits/skips type ones

Agree that it's what you're used to. In genuine blind tasting, own brand food often comes out as preferable and people can't tell which is 'their' brand, think their brand is not as nice, or at least are perfectly happy with own brand given that it can be significantly cheaper.

If you can get out of the mindset that 'branded is better' you can save huge amounts of money and not have worse food. A lot of the reasons that Aldi and Lidl are cheaper are nothing to do with the food anyway, it's more basic stores in cheaper locations, with fewer staff, no add ons like home delivery and simpler ranges so more efficient to produce and sell 3 types of tinned tomatoes instead of 23 different types in bigger shops.

A lot of the stuff that the OP has listed is UPF and I wouldn’t be buying it at all let alone shelling out for a brand. Lidl and Aldi are fine for ingredients. Stuff like nuts, porridge oats, coconut oil, baking items, cheese, coffee pods, Greek yoghurt, tinned beans and tomatoes, Sauvignon blanc, tins of tonic and ginger beer, veg used in dishes, chocolate. Sourdough is better than Jason’s IMO. What I save I spend in M&S for chicken, ground coffee, soft fruits, and treats.
At the end of the day it’s your money 🤷‍♀️

My ex used to insist on going to Aldi. The children were 4 and 2 and refused to eat their fromage frais. Milk was often off when first opened. Fruit and veg mouldy the next day. That dairy fine chocolate stuff is worst chocolate I’ve ever tasted. Moser Roth is nice though. Crisps bearable, coffee awful. Frozen pizzas were dire. I’d rather go hungry than eat their food. I buy a lot of Waitrose own brand for things like butter for baking, eggs, flour, sugar, frozen food, tea, olive oil, weetabix, cheeses, pasta, rice, frozen broccoli and sweetcorn, and Greek yogurt. I’d rather eat less of quality foods than eat more of lower quality foods. I prefer Crosta mollica breadsticks and flatbreads as they are non-UPF for example. Aldi is a depression shopping experience and although I get my regular shop delivered I love the opportunity to go in a Waitrose or an M&S. M&S fruit is worth paying the extra for.

We shop exclusively at Aldi, never had off milk, rotten veg etc. It's mostly snobbery and thinking that mentioning Waitrose and M&S makes you sound way more middle class than you actually are.

I think with Lidl and Aldi a lot is down to local management. My local Aldi is dreadful - bad stock control, out of date items, etc whereas my local Lidl is amazing. But, over near the next town it's the other way around. Can only be the manager and staff.

@MajorSamanthaCarterI’m not sure if that was aimed at me but I never shop at Waitrose or M&S.

Sometimes they are nicer cause they use better ingredients

Sometimes they are nicer cause it’s in your head

sometimes they are the exact same
product with different packaging

my sister had a summer job in a biscuit factory once. The same biscuits went into M&S and Tesco Value packaging.

I shop in Aldi a lot but agree, the crisps are terrible! Their prosecco is my favourite.

Aldi own brand stuff is much better than Lidl's i think but of course, they have the bakery, which is great.

I honestly think people just convince themselves they like the Aldi and Lidl own brand stuff because it saves them money.

This . People rave about Aldi but it’s not a patch on Waitrose . Fine if you have to budget but don’t tell me the products are the same , they are not .

One thing that puts me off Aldi and Lidl is how many of their products contain palm oil. Sainsbury's own-brand range isn't much better, as it often includes both palm oil and rapeseed oil in products where they seem completely unnecessary

And I honestly think that people convince themselves that branded items are better because they are more expensive.

They think it makes them look more discerning or refined, when in reality, its quite the opposite.

I used to have this argument at work and even with one of my DD. There isn't a separate baked bean factory just for Heinz. The program ",, Inside the factory" confirmed the products are made in the same few factories, slightly differently.. Interestingly, the freezers and chillers that I shop in didn't break down in the heatwave. My local Tesco and Sainsbury's did.

It's all down to good marketing. If you pay more, you expect to enjoy it more.