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.

I find the Lidl and Aldi premium far superior to branded and most of the time the do not use that pesky palm oil.

Edited for spellings correction's , fat fingers darn it.

@PanickingOnASunday No, but I've seen enough of Aldi and Lidl fruit and veg to know that the statement 'the fruit and veg doesn't last as long as other supermarkets' is horseshit.

I love a lot of lidl items, but the meat and milk is atrocious

Even the "filtered" milk is starting to sour after 2 days (other supermarkets, I'll finish the bottle)

The chicken is woody, the other meats are often sinewy and sometimes off before bb date

I've written several emails about the milk and meat going off and querying the storage before it hits the shelves. They send me a voucher (that has to be used at a staffed checkout only) and change nothing

I don't think it is though. When I've bought it it's always gone off faster. Not much I can say apart from my own experience which is similar to others here.

Not so, from my experience.
Lidl free range chicken has always been lovely (& cheaper than); I tried tesco & waitrose/duchy versions -both had remains of airway & crop & 1 even had a grain of wheat inside…repulsive.
whole household prefers Lidl lentil ‘curls’.

Ive never been in Aldi tho 😊.

Agree. I don’t trust anyone saying that Aldi/lidl taste the same as branded. Branded always tastes better to me. The only thing I find that doesn’t, is the sharing bags of crisps.

The big food manufacturers spend a lot of money on product development. Food is refined in their laboratories so that it has a 'bliss point' which is why a lot of branded foods are so addictive. They are engineered so that you like them, want more and will pay a premium for them.

I think it because the branded stuff tends to have more sugar and salt .

I lived near an Aldi, Tesco and M&S food for a long time and I really miss Aldi. I preferred a lot of their cereals to the branded ones, never had any issues with food going off except salad/fruit. Loved their sunscreen, wine selection and tonic water. M&S food is undoubtedly lovely but expensive, their bakery was always a stop off for us. Tesco by far has the broadest range but I find a lot of their stuff quite tasteless. We just make lots from scratch now and pick up some nice bits when we fancy it. Even brands are cutting back on ingredients and sizes now so I can’t imagine they’re all the same quality they once were

I had Fentons (Lidl) gin and Lidl tonic water last night. Can’t tell the difference between that and my usual Gordon’s. In fact it tasted better.

That’s my experience too and it was the same when we lived in Denmark and they were ‘the corner shop’ I used it for basics and did rest of shop at Meny

what was ok was cheese, coked meats, butter, yoghurts and booze and cleaning stuff

If you read the ingredients on comparable products, some of the cheaper ones are actually less processed/fewer ingredients. UPFs are found to keep you addicted so you keep eating/buying them.

There was a documentary about this not too long ago.

It could also be that you're so used to the way the branded stuff tastes that any slight difference in change of ingredients, you will notice.

None of the items you've listed are food, strictly speaking. They are industrially engineered and manufactured edible products, aka junk. Just buy food and you won't be disappointed!