Will you/have you stopped buying “branded” food?

[BabyofMine]

I remember a few years back a nice thread about what branded foods were good and worth the cost. I remember a lot of people thinking Napolina tomatoes were really tasty compared to “own brand” tinned tomatoes.

With the price of food going up and up, I wonder whether the devotees of certain brands will be still getting them because they’re worth it, or making sacrifices to save some money?

So if you’ve been a devotee of a name brand food, are you giving it up?? What would you be really reluctant to ever compromise on? What’s a false economy? I’m not asking if you are going to be making savings/changes overall, but if you were really dedicated to one particular brand would you give it up??

My favourite “branded” thing is Hellman’s mayonnaise and I’m not planning on giving it up but I am using a lot less and being more careful to only put a little bit on my plate so I don’t waste it.

YABU= I will NOT be giving up my favourite branded foods.
YANBU= I will be giving up my favourite brands to save money.

Since the price of sunflower oil has rocketed I no longer make my own mayonnaise. I’m happy to compromise with Lidl’s own brand. Lidl’s large artisan bread freezes well. Not the baguettes.

Coop own brands are usually a good balance of price and quality. I use them for toilet rolls, dishwasher powder (my 14yo Bosch doesn’t work well with tabs), pasta, bin bags and fair trade chocolate.

I won’t compromise on PG Tips, Knorr stock powder or Lavazza coffee.

DDog’s Royal Canin works out at €1.10 a day (gone up 10% since the last order) which still I’m happy to pay.

I've never had much brand loyalty TBH
I was just in the kitchen and the only thing really is Mornflake Jumbo Oats - never found other brands work as well - but they're not an expensive brabd anyway (chucked the last lot of mushy Quaker oats out).

I like tetley teabags, but buy v cheaply on Amazon subscription - cheaper ones generally only strong enough for one cup, I use a teapot & generally make two cups at a time.

Most brands I stick to tend to be stuff I don't buy often - coffee, chocolate ovaltine, maybe onece every 9 months to a year, so I only buy them when on a special offer.
Diet coke/Pepsi -- I've not found a good alternative coke, so buy those when on offer, although if it's just a fizzy drink, aldi do a Lilt substitute that I like.

Then there's the Catfood - Madam doesn't compromise🙀
All bought on line, I only like her to have grain free, and although she has her favourites, I don't but the most expensive brands. TBF, I end up with smelly messy poo trays if I do switch her on to cheaper brands.

Bonne Mamon jam (Costco huge jars)
Wilkin Shredless Marmalade

Oh and on the subject of fussy little cats .......
Cats Best Litter
Some of the other brands stink before the cat has been near them .
We buy bulk bags and try not to wince when the price increases between purchases

Ive just started to try out some changes by switching from Aldi to Tesco.

I’ve always been snobby about condiments, coffee/tea, squash and snack foods especially, so trying a few out as they run out at home.

Anything I don’t fancy switching permanently or can’t get in Aldi I will probably make the odd trip to Tesco, especially when they are on offer.

Things I will not compromise on :

Yorkshire Tea
Oxford Marmalade
Marmite
McVitie’s dark chocolate digestives.
Budvar or Staropramen lager.

For almost everything else, own brands are fine and I buy most basics at Lidl.

Oh yes, Yorkshire Tea. Although my sister, who runs on tea reckons that Morrisons own brand are the business.

Marmite, yes.

I like Fairy laundry pods, too. They make the washing smell nice but the smell's not overpowering. I don't want to smell of lilac, rose or lavender - I have perfume for that - but a hint of a smell does keep the clothes fresh, especially in winter (no tumble dryer). Suggestions welcome for laundry solutions 🙏

We buy mostly all value stuff unless it's teabags or coke.

Yep! Started this wk! Swapped lots of branded foods for own brand and have even tried asda essentials range. Not embarrassed to say we are cutting back.

I don't like beans other than heinz but paid £8 for 12 tins the other day - I thought this was a bargain until I looked at other brands.

Homemade mayonnaise is unbeatable in terms of taste, and only a few seconds to make with a hand blender. Houmous the same, although takes a few extra ingredients.

YABU. We keep saying we will but we just like the branded stuff. Probably 75% of our shop is branded 🤷‍♀️

I don't buy much branded stuff, or packaged food really anyway. We like Heinz beans but I'm not paying current prices for them and my boys say the Tesco ones are fine, same with the ketchup. I drink Nescafé instant but a jar lasts me weeks. If it's being cooked in a meal (ie tinned tomatoes in bolognaise) it doesn't need to be premium because you are adding flavourings anyway.

We buy Wilkos own dishwasher tabs, they are 3 quid for 30 and they are the best ones we've ever used, my crockery and glass is sparkling! Toiletries we swap and change depending on price and offers.

We're 90% unbranded, I prefer Aldi beans to Heinz - they're very similar to Branston and Sainsburys red label tea is amazing. I won't compromise on Marmite (this thread has me wondering who buys the own brand stuff) and I've not found a decent substitute for Digestive biscuits - can anyone recommend?? I bulk buy Cushelle in Costco as I find own brand false economy in comparison although I appreciate Costco isn't an option for many. Other than that, there isn't anything I can think of - I buy Heinz ketchup because it's a bit nicer than Aldi but would happily switch if I needed to cut costs. Buying branded bleach is a madness, same as buying branded painkillers.

McVitie’s dark chocolate digestives.
I've not tried them for a while but Tesco dark chocolate digestives are delicious ( not the bargain ones , just their own brand ) the biscuits were crisper .

Tescos own crisps are better than the Fancy Kettle chips or Tyrell’s

Mix here anyway but definitely now actively seeking out more own brand. Things I'll never change though:
Lee & Perrins
Heinz Ketchup and Burger Sauce
Schwepps/R White lemonade as the own brand I could get most easily otherwise has some nasty sugar replacement additives.
Fairy liquid- lasts longest
Fairy fabric conditioner - the least stinky and we live in a v hard water area.
Stork baking marg although own brand butter is fine
Lindt 90% dark- this is to do with the %, and I buy extra when it's on offer.
Lillets tampons- I really dislike the feel of other brands.
Herta frankfurters- always in our freezer, the nicest ones
Galbani grated Parmesan- best value for the size available
Marmite
Mitchum Deodorant.
Sneider brot rye bread from preference.

We flip & flop with tea- we'll buy in a good stock of own brand tea bags then DP will bulk buy some Twinings & then we swap back again. I usually have a brand name of instant coffee as I don't drink it but pick something guests hopefully can tolerate and recognise.

Worcestershire sauce, I will only buy Lea and Perrins, all own brands are crap. I buy many different brands of chilli sauces, but am never without Tabasco sauce, it's my go to, for use as a condiment. Special mention for Lingham's chilli sauce, also cholula, and down the rabbit hole I go!

Yes Napolina tomatoes are good. I recently tried M&S tinned plum tomatoes, and was pleasantly surprised. They are cheaper than Napolina, but good imo. I will be buying them from now on.

One of our favourite swaps, based on taste rather than cost, is the Sainsbury own blend ground coffee strength 3 or 4. We've tried so many premium brands and this comes out top. Our window cleaner always says it's the best coffee he's had!

My dh would forgive me more easily for having an affair with an entire rugby team than he would if I gave him anything other than Heinz ketchup or HP.
I hate the ketchup, it's so sweet.

He doesn't smoke, drink or have an expensive, niche hobby so no worries.

I don't buy much branded stuff anyway, because I don't usually believe it's any better. I do have a particular brand of peanut butter I buy (Really Nutty), and usually buy Hellman's mayonnaise. I'm more likely ho spend money on more expensive fresh ingredients, or on own-brand stuff from my local Booths, which is often better than 'big name' branded products tbh. I won't be changing my habits.

I worked for an international paper manufacturer in the 80s. They spent millions building a new factory to make a new softer, stronger toilet roll. The best on the market at that time. We presented the new product to the buyers of all the major retailers. One of them's first question was 'When can we have it for our own label?' When you have a company like Aldi who have 6,000 shops and stick a very limited choice they can get whatever they want. Imagine being a manufacturer of say Orange Squash. Aldi come to you to quote for supplying their shops, with no other competition in store, with squash? It would guarantee your business a high level of business. You would have a small number of delivery points, their depots, so you could really pare down the price and up the quality. No advertising to pay for, no marketing team, just produce a quality product at a low price. We buy very little branded product now. By, the way, the 50% juice squash from Aldi is excellent, especially with a good slug of rum in a glass.

There's some stuff we won't change, usually sauces and Heinz products including soups/beans etc. I do also get Napolina tomatoes as I find the cheaper ones watery and they need a lot of boiling for a thick sauce. If something is a false economy I don't bother. One of the things I have started to drop is pre-prepared veg as I got that to speed up weekday meals. Now we just eat a little later, which is fine for us now ds is older. We also eat less meat now, and cheaper cuts, and then cheaper sources of protein such as eggs. I am clinging on to decent eggs though.

Suggestions welcome for laundry solutions 🙏
Use liquid rather than capsules, and about half of what the pack says you need is fine. Currently using Aldi - it's fine, washing isn;t particulalry scented with anything. It is a really wide necked bottle, so I decant it into a pump dispenser.

I've gone back to washing powder for same reason. Unless things are foully dirty, you can use 1/3 to 1/2 less than the recommended amount with no noticeable difference whatsoever