Branded versus non-branded cupboard staples

[artsperson]

AIBU to think folk that buy branded goods in preference to supermarket own brands have more money than sense. Why do it? I mean boring stuff like baked beans, tinned tomatoes, sardines, flour, sugar, pasta, most breakfast cereals and rice etc. Does anyone really think Heinz beans are worth the premium?

DH has a preference of a specific branded cereal and yogurt. I indulge this preference because he doesn’t ask for much really and certainly with the yogurt I can taste the difference.

Other things I sometimes do sometimes don’t. So I use good tinned tomatoes when it’s the primary focus of a recipe but something cheaper if it’s not. Rice I think you can tell but I bulk buy so price wise it doesn’t make much difference. Flour - if I’m baking cupcakes with the kids it’s basics, fancy sourdough I go up a bit because I figure the nice bakery sourdough is over £4 now so I’m still saving even factoring good ingredients and running the oven.

Things like ketchup for the kids I buy cheap as they don’t seem to notice the difference. I buy good mayo for me (stokes is my preference) as I’m the only one who uses it and so it lasts a while.

Heinz beans are fucking rank now.

Branston is where it's at with beans, and worth paying for over own brand.

Most other stuff is stupidity.

People like different stuff 🤷🏼‍♀️

Some stuff yes. Chopped tomatoes are a false economy when you buy the cheap ones. There's so much juice in there you have to boil for ages to get rid of the liquid. I've found Ocado and M&S to offer a happy medium between brands and basics. Reasonable prices but good quality and the M&S stuff is by and large good on the UPF front too.

I can taste the difference with all the brands I buy.
Sometimes I prefer the cheaper brand, but I can absolutely tell.
I’d rather eat food I enjoy.

If I had the money I'd like to try my kids with a blind taste test They get cheap ketchup and don't complain but I wonder if they'd prefer Heinz and don't know it. I love the blind tests they do in that programme but it's otherwise so ludicrous "did you know by buying cava instead of Veuve you can save £££?" No?! Really Gregg 🥚?!

I buy organic porridge oats; they're about 4x the cost/kg of the Savers ones. They're nice, though, whereas the Savers ones are (imo) inedibly revolting.

I go by ingredients. Sometimes cheaper brands are cheaper because its been filled out with rubbish.

This. I can’t eat wheat so I have to buy the more expensive brands. The cheap brands are pretty much always bulked out with wheat.

Have you never thought of draining off the juice instead???

I did buy expensive flour for my bread machine during the pandemic, actually from our local baker. It rose so well that it stuck to the lid. Same yeast in both that and the old loaves.

For what purpose when most of the tin is juice? To be left with three little pieces of tomato?! I'd rather pay an extra 20p and get a tin full of tomatoes 😂

RE tinned tomatoes, I've tried all sorts - only whole, never chopped.
Even the most expensive will often have bits of stalk/skin still attached, which needs to be cut off.
As for the taste, it varies. The cheaper ones can be more acidic, but nothing that a small dose of sugar can't put right. The "value" brands do seem to contain more juice.
I now only buy supermarkets' own standard brands - often half the price of the big names.

I agree, most basics actually come out of the same machine/factory as the branded products.

Its the same with OTC medications though. Nurofen, Hedex, Panadol, Calpol, ones that supposedly target period pain, headaches, teeth. Unless they have additional ingredients, they are all just paracetamol or ibuprofen. People pay 5x the price for a branded, colourful packet!

Honestly I think it depends. I like Waitrose own brand ketchup, for a fraction of the price of Heinz. Although the packaging is shite and it squirts all over the place do sometimes I'll buy a brand just because the packaging doesn't piss me off! Branston or Waitrose baked beans are great as is Aldi ground coffee etc. But cheap tinned tomatoes are rank, own brand mayo can be rank.
Some own brand granola is like eating ground glass. So I think it's sensible to be selective - not assume a big brand is automatically better but also not assume that cheap is always equally as good.

I do a lot of work for manufacturers of both branded/OL products - sometimes own label things are made in the same factory as branded things, but they're not the same recipe, and they don't use the same ingredients.

Branded for coffee yoghurt and ketchup. Most other things are own brand unless it's random ingredient like rice vinegar which is brand only

I mean all branded yes, but a few branded is just people's genuine preference.

@kitsuneghost and sometimes the more expensive stuff tastes better as it has a tonne more sugar and salt in it.

If you can't taste the difference between Heinz beans and supermarket own brand there's something wrong with your tastebuds.

I actually did a blind test on 3 different lots of sardines ranging from some cheap ones from Asda to expensive ones from France. Four people were involved in the trial, eating some sardine on a square of toast.

I do buy some branded as that’s just what we prefer (having tried all sorts over the years), but there are other things that isn’t brand are just as good. M&S own brands are a brilliant choice often, beans/ketchup/pasta etc, etc and their butter is the cheapest around AND the nicest!

Depends on the taste/texture, ingredients and additives.

I pay extra for Branston beans for taste/texture, and 'naked bacon', to avoid nitrates. I offset cost as buy basic lettuce and spinach only when on offer.

I buy entirely non branded now - only recent exception is Mutti tinned tomatoes which are 99.8% tomato, compared with Napolina 70% and supermarket 65%.

I buy Branson beans, mutti and. NApolina tomatoes and Farge Greek yoghurt and can tell the difference- but do buy M&S or Waitrose sardines as at about 80 p I can't tell the difference, same with M&S butter and packet rice

I always used to say I'd only use heinz ketchup....until I went to my friends for a BBQ and she had Tesco value stuff. Now I buy own brand...it's about £1 a bottle. Heinz tastes marginally better to me but not so much nicer than it's worth the extra money.

I'm happy with most own brand products.