Products from shops like Food Warehouse… Fake?

[NepheliLoux]

DH made me my usual beans on toast and it tasted weird. I asked him what beans he used and he said they were Branston because he knows I only eat Branston beans. I didn’t believe him they were Branston because they didn’t taste right. Anyway it transpired he had bought the beans from The Food Warehouse as they cost less.

They look like Branston Beans but they don’t taste like Branston Beans. DH went to Tesco and normality has thankfully been restored. We compared the beans from Tesco with the ones from The Food Warehouse - they do look the same but DH said the ring pull on The Food Warehouse ones break when trying to open. AIBU to think they could be fake?

I’ve also noticed this with Pepsi from Poundland - tastes different.

No of course they’re not fake, they’d never get away with that.

Then why do they taste different?

It isn't fake. And the recipe is greatly unlikely to be different.

Maybe it was made for another country as the recipes are altered slightly for the tastes of different places, DH worked in ice cream research and told me this. Sometimes brands have labelling that in different languages in budget shops, have they got an English label on.

Check the best before date.

DH suggested they could’ve been made for a different country. The label is in English, they look identical to the normal tasting beans

Have you compared the ingredients and nutritional information? They may be slightly different if originally intended for the overseas market. Or he may have bought a reduced salt/sugar variety.

It won't be fake brands from The Food Warehouse. If it says Branston on the label then it's a Branston product.

Who owns the company? The Food Warehouse is owned by the Walker family, who also own Iceland. Its managing director is Richard Walker, the son of Iceland's founder and executive chairman Michael Walker.

Food Warehouse is just the bigger (usually out of town) branches of Iceland.
It's Iceland - one of the major food supermarkets of the UK.
They aren't going to be selling fakes.

Oh no. I hope they haven’t changed the recipe! Maybe Food Warehouse have newer stock?

😂 I just told DH that Food Warehouse was Iceland. He apparently already knew this. He was surprised I didn’t as the shopping bags say Iceland! I just assumed he bought the shopping bags from Iceland. Apparently we don’t live near an Iceland…

Of course not! We are in England, not China!

Food Warehouse is a perfectly legitimate place to buy food from. Either someone bought a low salt/sugar version as someone already said (they taste absolutely grim in my opinion) or you must have something going on with your taste buds 😅

Just a thought. Have you done a pregnancy test ? Thinks tasted odd to me when in first trimester ……..?!?!

I'm glad I wasn't the only one to think this.

How on earth do you think Iceland would get away with selling knock off brands!? 100% real.

I used to buy PG tips from Poundland and they were disgusting. And PG tips was my tea of choice then. No idea why but totally get what you mean

I should imagine, they've been sold to places like Food Warehouse and Poundland etc because they're not "up to scratch" for normal distribution, maybe they failed a quality control or the recipe wasn't quite to spec etc. but they've produced 500,000 tins already, so they sell them to these outlets for 20p instead of 40p (or whatever price) and they get sold on to the consumer at a slightly lower price.

The ones that were intended for overseas always have slightly different packaging and the GB isn't always the first ingredients list etc they're the ones that turn up poundland/ Home Bargains etc

I don't think that's the same for food warehouse, it genuinely is a larger version store of Iceland, not a poundstretcher.

I shop all over the place and anything I've bought there has never been of different quality to the equivalent item at Aldi, or Sainsbury's for example

I suppose so, yes.

Maybe it's just a bad batch
..or they've "improved" the recipe

Don't know about the beans, but completely know what you mean about Pepsi Max tasting different!

An 8 pack from Aldi tastes different to an 8 pack from Tesco and I've always wondered why this is! Glad it's not just me who's noticed it!

Maybe made at different factories and the water is slightly different?

They taste of poor 🙄

Behave. Loads of people have noticed differences

Explain how I’ve misbehaved please babez?

I think with some foods the catering batches are a bit different. You could tweet branston and ask them!