Ford swaps are there any you just won’t do.

[Geekster1963]

A bit like on the TV programme live well for less we have been trying to swap some of our brands to cheaper ones.

I like golden syrup on my weetabix some mornings for breakfast. We got the supermarket own version instead of Tate and Lyle and it’s horrible. Tastes nothing like golden syrup. Yuk, won’t buy that again.

Original Fairy Liquid, here, too. And Twinings Lemon & Ginger tea; I've tried most own brands, bit they just don't taste of much. Pretty much everything else is own brand. Apart from Weight Watchers baked beans - I know they're made by Heinz, but I prefer them over the reduced salt and sugar regular non-WW ones.

Agree with some of these, no replacement for:

Heinz tomato ketchup
Hellmans Mayonnaise
Fairy Liquid
Robinsons fruit squash

I buy very few branded foods / consumables but the ones I will not change are:
Fairy liquid washing up liquid
PG Tips teabags
Kenco instant coffee
Palmolive soap
McCain chips
Nesquik milkshake
Other than these, it's shops' own brands all the way!!

Oh, and Cheerios. I would happily get the Aldi ones but one of my kids claims they aren't as nice, so I buy the Nestlé ones for him!

Coca Cola or nothing
Beans HAVE to be Heinz

My DH prefers Lidl diet cola to Diet Pepsi. I won’t swap fairy platinum dishwasher tablets. Nothing else I am really bothered by but my daughter won’t eat anything but Heinz tomato soup. She will eat my homemade leek and potato but not shop bought. I have her Campbell’s (?) once at my dads and she had one taste and wouldn’t eat it.

@mitzik it’s SO hard having these skin conditions. I once made the mistake of changing laundry detergent and wore a jumper washed in it and I looked and felt scalded! Have you seen that episode of Big Bang theory “the itchy brain simulation”? That was me! For days!

I think the “eat well for less” is genuine not least because people would complain if it weren’t plus I did similar experiments on ex who was when I first met him a total brand whore and swore blind he knew the difference - he knew fuck all! 6 months I had him on Tesco cornflakes before he noticed!

are Americans as particular about coffee as we are tea brands?

Ketchup has to be Heinz, mayo has to be either hellmans or Heinz, bakes beans have to be Heinz, supermarket ones taste like crap. And Coca Cola has to be the original, I’ve actually done several taste tests for coke and I’ve got iT right every single time.

Daddies Sauce. No own brands cut it, and I hate HP
Haywards Traditional Pickled Onions.. ditto
Lurpak
Fairy Liquid, as it lasts longer.
Nescafe.

When i was made redundant several years ago, we tried cutting out brands - so anything branded went own label, and own label went to basics version.

The basics were a step too far, but we stuck to most own brand except for toothpaste, baked beans, tomato soup,
coffee, cornflakes, ketchup, marmite and coke. It was good to test what we'd been buying out of habit.

I'll have almost everything own brand but just cannot compromise on toothpaste (has to be colgate) and almond milk (alpro or blue diamond only, all the own brands split in tea).

I only buy tea pigs tea and beanies coffee.

Nizoral shampoo, as everything else makes my scalp bleed after a few washes. Expensive at £10 per 100ml bottle.

Yorkshire gold, as it tastes lovely.

Azera coffee for at work, bought in half kilo tins.

Oxo or knorr beef stock cubes/pots. Chicken and veg tend to be the Aldi ones for pennies, but not beef.

Colman’s yellow English mustard. Dijon and whole grain can be any brand.

Thankfully most of the non negotiable items are fairly modestly priced, if I ignore the shampoo.

@IncyWincyGrownUp I’m with you on the Azera coffee too.
One supermarket always seems to have it on a half price offer so I stock up then! Had a coffee at my mums the other day, and it was just normal, instant Kenco. It was the saddest cup of coffee I’ve had for a while

I only like Robinson's squash. Shop-own doesn't taste right. Same with Heinz ketchup.

@MyFamilyAndOtherAnimals1 Used to love it. Now I hate it.

I also refuse to eat pizzas from Aldi as they are shit and have no cheese on them

I got one the other day, and the base was so doughy it was inedible.

Ketchup/Heinz, ditto mayo, beans/Branston, pickled onions/heinz, teabags/PG tips, gravy/Bisto. Other than that it's all supermarket own

Fairy liquid and only original green ( flavours have less active ingredient)
Coffee
Heinz beans
butter not all spreadables are equal I prefer just butter and buttermilk
kettle crisps
Colman's English mustard

Won’t swap anchor butter, Coca Cola or Pepsi, fairy liquid, Heinz beans.

However, I prefer the cheaper brands of Jaffa cakes and I prefer the supermarket own diluting juice to Robinson’s.

My shop is all own brand or value own brand. I had to go in the kitchen as I couldn't think of anything that wasn't but had forgotten about Birds Eye peas and also the cat won't be fobbed off, she will only eat Felix.

Coca cola original full fat only in my house. Nothing compares.
Cornflakes have to be Kellogg.
Otherwise I'm not fussy.

I only drink own brand orange squash. Robinson’s tastes funny. It has to be the cheapest no frills one.
Lidl Coca Cola and Aldi cheese and tomato pizzas are awful so wouldn’t swap those.