Own brand quality

[woolybanana]

Since being taken on by a new franchisee, the nearest Leclerc has become inundated own brand or obscure make labels, mainly food. What do the team think of these 'own brand' goods, are they as good a quality as well known brands or, as with the UK pound stores, are they made down to a price and standard for the supermarket?

[mint]

I can't answer your question directly but here are 2 examples of "own brand" that become "well-known" in some circumstance.

The redoubtable Clair, who used to post, said that she was working in some food production place where they were making those "parcels" of chevre wrapped in bacon.  Clair said the ones due to go to Leclerc were identical to the ones going to Lidl.  Only the labels were different.

And in the latest "chicken case" in the UK that I have posted about on another thread, it was found that chicken legs returned from Lidl to the factory were re-packaged as Tesco's Willow Farm range.

So......draw your own conclusions, my friend[;-)]

[Théière]

Because I am tediously boring, I carry out blind taste tests on Mrs Teapot,

I have tried steak from Donald Russell vs Tesco's (only our accountants can taste the difference range) and Lidl. Donald Russell 1st, Lidl 2nd Tesco way behind 4th really but there wasn't a 4 competitor.

Watching the food programs virtually all ready meals are produced in the same factories and just labelled for each retailer. Virtually all smoked salmon is produced in the same factory for all supermarkets.

Cheap tinned tomatoes taste like expensive tinned tomatoes if you add a little sugar.

Expensive pork scratchings from Fortnum & masons have transfats (hydrogentaed fats) in them. Cheap packets don't always.

As Greg Wallace and Co made a series on swapping products, many own brands were preferred, some were also lower in salt, fat and sugar. 

Ive been eating own brands for years and it hasn't affected me [:-))][6][:)][:-))]

Years ago my Mum would buy Sainsbury's wheatabix, there was a difference there. Sainsbury's version were waterproof (milk proof) even if you broke them up the little bits would float [:D]

[idun]

We buy and try.

And there is the balance between truly overprices makes and own brands to take into account. So quality / price is also important.

Sometimes things are way better, sometimes not. And I shall not give up my Heinz Tomato Soup, I have tried to make the same for years and years and years and 'just' don't get that taste I so covert, not that I eat it very often, but when I fancy it, nothing is the same.

So my advice, try these things and see what suits you.

[Chancer]

My two pennyworth.

 

Go into a big Interclerc or wherever and you will find a whole section of just plain yoghurts from the name brands, some little known generic producers, the supermarkets own premium brand and also the budget brand, there is a massive difference in price and a fairly narrow one in taste/quality, they will all have come off of the same one or two production lines and all of the above comments will be true. the same can be said for any other foodstuff.

 

Go into Lidl or Aldi and you will find "one need - one product" you try it, you decide if you like it, you compare the price and you decide, simples, what I can say is that the price will be in the lower quartile of the supermarket offerings but the quality will be near the top or even better than that, they will definitely come from exactly the same production lines, some products like Muesli are the best ever in Lidl at a much lower price and they often win awards for just that.

 

I spent 10 years where every penny counted and would have to do 3 shops in Lidl, Aldi and Netto and I knew the different prices of all the products, thos days are behind me now and I buy the majority of my stuff in Lidl, we have a super new flagship Lidl hypermarket, i go to Netto for the hôtel cleaning products and Intermarché for the little milk capsules for the tea/coffee trays, while i am there I may buy something on promo, I bought some 1.5kg of Merguez really cheap last week and they were the best ever but I know the back story of that one, they were produced in the shop from the trimmings of  their out of date beef cuts, called remballage and illegal, they have been repeatedly fined for it, the merguez are made as the last resort after the meat has already been re-packaged and relabelled once or twice, never had a sausage before with virtually zero fat content!

[NickP]

I was working on a corporate film, and on one of the locations, we were filming the production of a very famous kitchen cleaner/scouring powder. We had got a setup and were just preparing to turn over, when the guy from the company who was accompanying us suddenly said, "you had better get on with this, as in about two minutes the labels change". We all said " does the content change" he said no way. On a personal level, I always used to use Woolworth's paint as I knew it came from a famous local paint company who had a wonderful reputation.

[Chancer]

Actually I think it would be a really good consumer law if the packaging gave the name, or even a code number of the factory that produced the product.

 

OK its no guarantee that the formulation is the same but you as the consumer can make the final choice on taste and price knowing that you are comparing pretty much like for like not a copy.

 

The traceability is already there, consumers could also then start exercising choice regarding the ethical choices of said food manufacturing plant rather then being decieved by labelling.

 

I have several big food manufacturers close to me including Bonduelle, most of their production does not carry their labelling. I wonder how many of the big established brands actually make their own product?

[andyh4]

It is in my opinion horses for courses and there will be a great deal of personal opinion and perhaps personal prejudice involved in a decision of own brand versus brand leader goods.

I discovered Aldi and Lidl in Germany. There, there was no stigma involved in shopping at these establishments, but when they appeared in the UK I am told that some shoppers would switch their purchases into Tesco or M&S shopping bags, so no one would know they were buying the cheap stuff.

There are many products where I am happy to buy such own brands, but equally some products I find less good than a branded item or more expensive own brand from elsewhere.

There are a few products that fall in between. I happily use Lidl dishwasher tablets for low temperature cleaning, but have found that at high temperature washes glassware starts to become milky after a time. I therefore use a much more expensive branded dishwasher tablet when I have glasses in a hot wash. Probably a false economy given how cheap glasses are to replace.

[cajal]

[quote user="andyh4"]

There are a few products that fall in between. I happily use Lidl dishwasher tablets for low temperature cleaning, but have found that at high temperature washes glassware starts to become milky after a time. I therefore use a much more expensive branded dishwasher tablet when I have glasses in a hot wash. Probably a false economy given how cheap glasses are to replace.[/quote]

Wash your decent glasses by hand (and polish)  and continue with Lidl products.

[suein56]

idun wrote : And I shall not give up my Heinz Tomato Soup, I have tried to make the same for years and years and years and 'just' don't get that taste I so covert, not that I eat it very often, but when I fancy it, nothing is the same.

This year, for the very first time ever, due to a glut of our delicious, small, sweet tomatoes I made homemade tomato soup and it was glorious and very moreish. Even my daughter, who makes various soups regularly at home in the UK, agreed and asked for the recipe.

So this is my very own, own brand.

[idun]

My tomato soups have been lovely....... just not Heinz manque'ing that je ne sais quoi[blink], and so I have stopped making them.

My neighbour from an italian family gave me a fabulous tomato sauce recipe, and that is also 'almost' like Heinz, but not quite either. I use that recipe a lot though.

[woolybanana]

What made me wonder about own brands versus big names was a comparison I made of different soups in boxes a little while ago. Basically, the cheaper the soup, the more water there was and less of the 'good' stuff. Which got me wondering about other food products.

Then I noticed that own brand kitchen roll had less paper than expensive ones, or it was thinner, etc.

With fruit and veg. everything is called 'first class' but who fixes these terms, the supermarkets, I suppose?

One could go on!

[Théière]

Indeed Wooly, no one markets jambon inferior even though the superior is the same chopped and shaped crap.

Don't skimp on toilet tissue either..........[+o(]

[idun]

LOL wooly, they are classed as first class when they are not wonky.

Apparently we the consumer don't want funny looking fruit and veg, HOWEVER, in some supermarkets in England, they do sell bags of wonky veg and it is cheaper, and I do buy it if it looks nice. 

[idun]

I am a great fan of italian tomato passata, and only italian, not even Sardinian. However, I tend to buy the cheaper stuff, as it is more watery, the expensive stuff is so thick that I have to water it down anyway.

And when I say expensive stuff, that is usually own brand as often, supermarkets in England have two own brands one cheap and the other a lot dearer but usually a bit cheaper than the makes.

[YCCMB]

As both my youngest son and his gf both work in the food industry and have worked for several household name brands over the years, I can say with certainty that I know of a number of products (even at least one which is a very expensive premium brand) which are sold under Lidl's own label at a substantially lower price.

I've been eating quite a lot of hummus recently. It all started when I accidentally soaked enough chick peas to feed the whole of SW France for a month and needed to use them up. Since returning to the UK I've continued eating the stuff, but I've been buying pre-made stuff because I never again plan to soak chick peas and end up with a glut. IMO, Sainsburys hummus is not that nice. Aldi's, OTOH, is delicious.

Mr. J is accumulating the European oat mountain in a kitchen cupboard in the form of Lidl porridge. No other brand will do. It is quite embarrassing, as we have no nearby Lidl, to shop with him, as we check out with about 5kg of the stuff each time we manage to go near a Lidl. Sadly, having gone in for just porridge oats, we still seem to emerge with a belt sander, some cycling clothes and a set of pans.....

[woolybanana]

Betty Boo, so glad you are back.

The belt sander is very good, by the way.

[suein56]

You can call me Betty wrote : Sadly, having gone in for just porridge oats, we still seem to emerge with a belt sander, some cycling clothes and a set of pans.....

It's a man thing ... I don't really know about the UK anymore but here in France it seems to be a slow-burning epidemic which is gathering momentum. It doesn't just affect ex-UK men/husbands but other nationalities as well - notably German in my experience.

Though French husbands seem wary ... not sure quite why.

Sue

[idun]

Nice to see you Betty, but you soak your chick peas.....????

I never do, in fact I just rinse them and then bang the whole packet in a fait tout covered with lots of salted water and bring it to the boil and keep my eye on the water. Hours later I have lots, but I drain and then cool and freeze them in amounts that I can use.

ie the other day I fancied making a couscous and for me, it has to have chick peas, so I got out a packet of my frozen chick peas and bob's your uncle. Incidentally, I HATE, tinned chick peas...... as much as I hate frozen garden peas.

Humous........ I can eat it, but that is all, someone would have had to put it on my plate and I would be polite enough to eat it.

[cajal]

No porridge in Lidl here. However Leader Price are always well stocked with their own brand.  Lidl do save the day with good old plain unadulterated, chocolate and sparkly stuff free own brand Bran Flakes.

[mint]

Never found hummus (which I adore) OR porridge oats in any of the Lidls near us.

But, there is a potato salad about once a year.  I took it to a German friend's house for a girly just the two of us lunch, and she went so stratospheric in its praise (yes, I know, I love how Germans can be so 100% about something) that she looks for it every time she shops there.

Now she's got me looking for it too but I have only ever seen it one other time.  It's in a sturdy square-shaped plastic box (don't discard box, great for freezing individual portions of food) and they manage to put in a very substantial amount of thinly sliced potatoes in  it.

Sounds horrible, potato salad in a box, but don't judge until you have tasted it!

[andyh4]

Cajal wrote 

andyh4 wrote:

There are a few products that fall in between. I happily use Lidl dishwasher tablets for low temperature cleaning, but have found that at high temperature washes glassware starts to become milky after a time. I therefore use a much more expensive branded dishwasher tablet when I have glasses in a hot wash. Probably a false economy given how cheap glasses are to replace.

Wash your decent glasses by hand (and polish">)  and continue with Lidl products.

You are of course correct but then it is so much easier to just put them in the dishwasher and of course glassware also includes those Pyrex or similar ovenware which inevitably get baked on food residues that really do not come off easily - indeed are the most usual reason for using a high temperature wash in the dishwasher.

[betise]

[quote user="idun"]My tomato soups have been lovely....... just not Heinz manque'ing that je ne sais quoi[blink], and so I have stopped making them.

My neighbour from an italian family gave me a fabulous tomato sauce recipe, and that is also 'almost' like Heinz, but not quite either. I use that recipe a lot though.

[/quote]Any vinegar in it, that's the secret?

[idun]

No, no vinegar in the Italian tomato sauce recipe. It is beautiful and I wouldn't change that.

Have tried a little vinegar in the replica Heinz tomato soup recipe, have tried all sorts. Nothing hits the spot, well my tin opener does!!!

[BritinBretagne]

One thing I miss in France is the Lidl own brand porridge oats. They were really good and in Germany were 39 cents for 500g.

Also in Germany you used to be able to buy books which listed Lidl and Aldi products, gave details about the factories that manufactured them and the factories' own brand products. There're were some impressive suppliers.