31 July 2023 , 14:51
862
0
When you're in the supermarket grabbing your groceries, you might instinctively reach for the big name brands when it comes to certain items, like cereal or chocolate bars.
But while we all know that the own-brand versions will be kinder to our wallets, what you might not know is that they are also "remarkably similar" to the more expensive items and might even have been made in the same factory.
These are just some of the little-known facts revealed in Denise van Outen's new Channel 4 show, Secrets of the Supermarket Own-Brands, which airs tonight.
The first episode of the series reveals that big brand companies are often actually the ones manufacturing supermarket own-brand products.
Denise van Outen is exploring the secrets of supermarket own-brand items in a new show (Holly Wren / Channel 4)The experts on the show give some examples of products made in the same place, including Asda's Wheat Bisks, which are made in the same factory as Weetabix - but are less than half the price. They go on to share how supermarket own-brand butters are churned in the same dairy as pricier options like Anchor and Yeo Valley and Wagon Wheels and Jamie Dodgers are on conveyor belts next to Aldi's Cart Wheels and Jammy Wheels.
Mum's touching gesture to young son who died leaves Morrisons shopper in tears
While the list of ingredients in these items might vary slightly, the know-how, experience, and standards in which they are produced remain the same. Consumer journalist Harry Wallop said: "In some cases, the products are remarkably similar and, frankly, it's just the packaging that's different."
And it seems the packaging plays a huge part in swaying someone to buy a product, as Denise discovers in the show. She's seen giving punters two identical chocolate ice cream lollies but one is branded as Aldi's own, and the other is labelled Gianni.
The Gianni ice cream has a shinier packet and is given a fake backstory about the cream being churned in Italy. Despite there being no actual difference between the two ice creams, everyone who tried them claimed to prefer the Gianni one.
These two products are made in the same placeThis goes to show that the own-brand products can taste just as good as more expensive alternatives and amid the cost of living crisis, it's become clear that many shoppers have been making the swap to cheaper products, with them having even spawned a fanbase on social media. The Smithy family are a big hit on TikTok with their foodie videos where they taste test everyday items such as ketchup and cola.
In one blind taste test of Heinz tomato sauce alongside own-brand ones from Waitrose, Aldi, and Sainsbury's, no one taking part picked out Heinz as best at more than three times the price. Similarly, when they put own-brand cola from Tesco, Lidl, and Asda to the test alongside the big-name brand, everyone claimed they preferred Lidl's Freeway Cola at 2.35p per 100ml, compared to Coca-Cola at 13p.
And it's not just food that's strikingly similar, if you head down into the pharmacy aisles of the supermarket, you'll find that many own-brand medicines are legally the same as the more expensive branded ones. Why pay 8p a tablet for Panadol, when the own-brands at Morrisons, Tesco, Asda, and Sainsbury's are all 2p? The same goes for ibuprofen and sleeping tablets. Ditch the fancy box and save cash.
There are also several household items that you can swap, including washing powders, which are usually made by the same big firms and effectively do the same job. Retail analyst Miya Knights says in the show: "Supermarkets put a huge amount of energy in looking into what premium branded products we buy.
"They use that data to develop their own branded equivalents. Whenever there's a squeeze on our spending power, shoppers will trade down to an own-branded product. But we don't tend to trade back up, because we discover there isn't actually any trade-off." So is it time we all looked a bit closer and had a supermarket re-brand?
Secrets of the Supermarket Own-Brands airs on Monday on C4 at 8pm