For a long time own-brand was a bit hit or miss. Looking at the unfamiliar packaging, it can be hard to tell if a particular product is going to be nice or if it is going to taste like scrapings off the factory floor.
Ultimately, it amounts to trial and error. You buy something and if it tastes nice or cleans your clothes or washes your dishes effectively, you’ve won, and if it doesn’t you just move back to the branded product or try another own-brand alternative.
We decided to try to take the guesswork out of it by asking users of X for their favourite own-brand products.
We thought we might get a dozen or two responses. We were wrong. Within a couple of days we heard from hundreds of readers extolling all manner of products. Here is a flavour.
- Aldi’s 24-month-aged Parmesan and their 85% cocoa solids chocolate. Tom Doorley
- Newgate Beans in Lidl. Nicer than Heinz and Bachelors. 52c. Luke Flanagan, MEP
- Boots No 7 Skincare. Sadhbh O’Neill
- Dunnes own-brand mayonnaise, €1.20. Hellmann’s same size bottle, €4.68. Zero difference in quality or taste and I mean zero. If anything the Dunnes own brand is tastier, less viscous. Denis Crowley
- Nappies! From one of the two low-cost supermarkets. Maggie Doyle
- Penneys Vitamin Enriched moisturising primer, €5 vs €52 for the Bobby Brown. Eleanor Sweeney
- Many people on this thread, understandably so, don’t realise the own brand is often made by the branded company. Good few years since I was in retail but eg Irish Biscuits, who were Jacob’s at the time, also made Dunnes own brand. Neil Crowley
- Lidl full-fat Greek yogurt. Best on the market by taste and price. Mary Broughal
- Does Fresh count? If so their excellent own-brand fresh soups. Easily the best available. Great range of vegetarian options. And cheap. I live off them. Donald Clarke
- Lidl cleansing balm: fantastic dupe for the Elemis version. Adore Lidl’s version – 10/10 from me. Sinead Cassidy
- Lidl Tortilla Chips. Cormac Kinsella
- Honestly, I find most Tesco Finest food products to be of very high quality. Russ Parsons
- Tesco own-brand super-smooth porridge, great for weaning babies and saving on all the branded baby porridges. Michelle McMahon
- Aldi’s Kavanagh porridge oatlets. Same with Double Moc Choc coffee sachets – 8 sachets €1.89. I can buy diced beef, veg, basmati rice, spuds and a jar of pesto sauce for a stir fry, all in for €8.50; lasts the two of us for two days. That’s about €2 for a great meal. Gareth O’Callaghan
- My actual favourite chocolate: ‘Choceur’ Dark from Aldi. I enjoy saying the fake-French name also. Sylvia Leatham
- Oh so many, but the standout is Aldi’s Lacura moisturiser. Pretty much the same as Clinique but a tenth of the price. Joanne Taffe
- I always get own-brand salted butter ... they’re all the same. Tesco own premium coffee (Morning Glory and Machu Picchu, both delicious), Lidl’s yoghurt breakfast biscuits my daughter prefers over the name brand. Meg Walker
- Tesco chocolate orange biscuits. Nothing comes close. Absolutely delicious. Lidl super berry granola. The nicest, crunchiest granola you can get, for a fraction of the price. Deb Murphy
- Dunnes own-brand sausages, rashers and ham in their Simply Better range is just as good as the branded. Lidl’s relishes are just as nice if not better than the branded range. Cosmetics wise, Penneys bronze whip is a cheaper alternative to Charlotte Tilbury, and Lidl tan is great. Bríd Breathnach
- Tesco “special flakes with red berries” are way way better than Special K and are about a third of the price. Lorcan O’Neill
- Lidl digestive biscuits are as good as and much cheaper than McVitie’s. Lidl cat treats as good as any others and much cheaper (cat approves this message). Aldi triple choc biscuits, good as it gets. Mary Buckley
- Aldi own-brand Magnum All in One Dishwasher Tabs and Almat laundry liquid and conditioner are excellent and great value. Angela Holohan
- Aldi Magnum-style choc ice, a packet of 4 are cheaper than one Magnum. Pat Manning
- Aldi Firelighters. Hard to beat their longevity against the name brands. Stephen Malone
- After Kellogg’s changed the recipe for Special K (which tastes too sweet to me), SuperValu, Dunnes and M&S equivalents are a good facsimile of the original recipe. Carina Brehony
- Aldi’s McGraths Tea green box. Great cup of Tea. Yvonne Whelan
- Aldi reserve tea bags, in black box. €1.69 for 80. Sharon Hynes
- Aldi mini choc chip cookies – fresher, crumblier and way cheaper. Love them. Orla Murphy
- SuperValu cream crackers. Literally no difference in taste & massive difference in price. Caoimhe Delaney
- SuperValu Greek-style yogurt. All varieties. Anne Maher
- Fallons Tea in Lidl. Jess Lynch
- Dunnes coleslaw is really, really good. I don’t shop there and I haven’t been able to find an equivalent elsewhere. Anyone know who makes it? Edel Jones
- Aldi rib-eye steak. Lidl Greek yogurt. Aldi dishwasher tablets Aldi nappies, and most surprising, SuperValu ketchup. Its actually by a distance the nicest ketchup on the market. Eoin Dunning
- Tesco own-brand laundry detergent. Only €4 for the big bottle and just as good as branded. Also, the Aldi own-brand Champagne is delicious and much cheaper than Moët. Olivia Finucane
- Lidl Cien cleansing milk for removing make-up – never came across a better one at any price. Ruth Kennedy
