Own brand versus branded recommendations
- Thread starter messyleo
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Some other items that spring to mind, where the cheaper own brand version is better, are:
Aldi/Lidl chocolate digestive biscuits (according to Him Indoors) are better taste and cheaper than Dunnes or even the expensive McVities
Aldi/Lidl tissues rather than Dunnes. At one stage our local Dunnes only had Kleenex (probably around time of Covid) which were approx €2.99 compared to Aldi/Lidl at that time were 59 cent.
Aldi caddy liner compostable bags are very good quality and cheaper than Dunnes although it is a while since I checked them out in Dunnes.
Aldi/Lidl chocolate digestive biscuits (according to Him Indoors) are better taste and cheaper than Dunnes or even the expensive McVities
Aldi/Lidl tissues rather than Dunnes. At one stage our local Dunnes only had Kleenex (probably around time of Covid) which were approx €2.99 compared to Aldi/Lidl at that time were 59 cent.
Aldi caddy liner compostable bags are very good quality and cheaper than Dunnes although it is a while since I checked them out in Dunnes.
I was actually going to mention that specifically Lidl "Towergate Dark chocalate" digestives are top notch almost as good but not quite that of McVities. I suspect that maybe they are manufactured by a high end biscuit maker even possibly McVities but very difficult to find out this information. They are streets ahead of the other own brands especially Dunnes and SuperValu which just taste cheap and sugary whereas the Towergate ones you actually get the proper chocalate taste
I think you'll find that they may be cheaper by the shelf price but after you use your 20% off voucher they're cheaper in Dunnes
But I agree with you on the tissues we use the Lidl and find them much better quality and value then the Dunnes ones
On the rare occasion I indulge, I find the German choccy biscuits far superior to the other multiples or so-called name-brands. I mean who established MacVities as the datum against which all others are measured for taste or quality?
Similarly with the sliced cheeses. Edam or Emmental from LIDL/ALDI on a cracker are the business. And the German sliced ham in a salad or in a roll / sambo just hits the spot. Stuff like Brady's is a very poor second.
Similarly with the sliced cheeses. Edam or Emmental from LIDL/ALDI on a cracker are the business. And the German sliced ham in a salad or in a roll / sambo just hits the spot. Stuff like Brady's is a very poor second.
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Indeed and that's both yours and @joe sod experience, I can't comment as I don't eat the dark chocolate ones but I do the milk chocolate ones
Between Lidl, Dunnes and the branded ones I find very little difference between them all in relation to quality and taste
And comparing the taste between the three, to me is nearly a pointless exercise as we'll nearly always have different opinions
But what I find really interesting about this thread and others like it is how we have nearly all changed from been a very loyal branded shoppers to own brand and that I presume is because not only has the quality risen to the level of branded products but they are generally way cheaper then the branded product no matter where you shop
I'm always amazed at how taste buds differ and one unbranded item that I cannot stand is porridge. I have checked out Dunnes, Aldi and Lidl and find that they are only dust even if they are nearly one-third of the price of Flahavans. A few relatives don't notice any difference whereas as far as I'm concerned there's no comparison.
Ceist Beag
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Same as that Sue Ellen (dust plus kernel shells I would say!). Odlums is decent so I am ok with it if stuck but prefer Flahavans and none of the own brand or cheap alternatives come close for me either.
Tea is another that I would put in that list. Tried the own brand or cheap alternatives in Lidl but honestly can't go past Barrys these days.
Mrs Fortune bought some Denny's ham recently. Real bottom of the barrel stuff. It seems she had been taken in by the marketing and was unaware that even Centra own brand would have been streets ahead
Barry's and Lyons are both muck, the dregs of tea showed in paper.
Ceist Beag
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We drink the loose leaf, if it's muck then what can I say, it's my kind of muck! So what's your own preference then?
Back in auld God's time we had a number of publicans in the family, "Beer and Spirit Merchants, Licensed Seven Days, Purveyors of Fine Wines and Quality Teas". The brands that stick out in my mind are Campbell's, Pagoda and McGrath's, a 1Lb packet or tin of any of them made a very acceptable gift. All loose-leaf back then. I couldn't stomach the tea-bags used when I moved to England and converted to coffee as discussed elsewhere.
Im surprised at that, in the UK you could have gotten tea direct from India or Pakistan. I remember finding a packet of tea from Pakistan and it was the best tea I ever drank
Assam Mokalbari East FTGFOP1
Not afraid to say I had to Google this, as all the tea brands that I know of are nearly only one short name like Lyons, Barrys, Liptons etc etc
But in fairness they did abbreviate, as the last bit stands for "Fine Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe"
Surely the marketeers could have come up with something better like "A masterful brew awaits with Assams"
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What does the 1 stand for? Is there a 2?