SUPERMARKETS often mimic our favourite brands, offering similar products but for a cheaper price.
Aldi has become much-loved for its dupes that have occasionally been so close to the original that it has landed them in hot water.
Lynsey Hope tested all Aldi’s dupes to see how they fared against the branded versions[/caption]
M&S was not happy that Aldi’s Cuthbert was such a close version to its famous Colin the Caterpillar, taking legal action over the matter.
Whilst infuriating for big brands, in tough financial times these products are often life-saving for cash-strapped shoppers.
Aldi has established itself as the king of knock-offs, but are the products as good?
Mum-of-three Lynsey Hope, who lives in West Malling, Kent, with her husband and three children, has tried a selection of the budget retailers’ famous dupes.
Here, she reveals which can save you a packet – and which to leave on the shelf.
SNACKS
Aldi Snackrite Mini Cheese Bakes
- 89p for six packs (168g)
- 52.9p per 100g
Dupe Jacob’s Mini Cheddars
- £1.75 for six packs (138g)
- £1.27 per 100g
Aldi’s Snackrite cheese bakes come in a pack of seven[/caption]
The Aldi cheddars look very similar but they have a strong cheesy smell when you open the bag.
Just like the big brand, they are baked and not fried, made with real cheese and contain no artifiicial colours. They look a little pale in comparison.
Overall I’d say the taste isn’t spot on, they are not quite as good as Jacob’s.
However, they work out less than 15p per pack and the Jacob’s ones are 29.1p so they are almost half the price per bag. It’s a good saving, not to be sniffed at.
BISCUITS
Alsi Dairyfine Milk Chocolate Fingers
- £1.09 for 125g (87.2p per 100g)
Cadbury Milk Chocolate Fingers
- £1.90 for 114g (£1.67 per 100g)
The Dairyfine milk chocolate fingers are almost £1 cheaper than Cadbury’s version[/caption]
Not a patch on the infamous Cadbury biscuits.
They just didn’t have the same crunch as you bit into them and the chocolate was nowhere near as good.
Overall I felt they were a little bland and they were not as satisfying to eat.
They are 81p less for a bigger box though. Cheap, but not sure I’d say cheerful.
YOGHURT
Tube- it Squeezy Tube Yoghurts
- £1.29 for 9 (333g)
Frubes Strawberry
- £2.25 for 9 (333g)
Ideal for your kids’ packed lunches, the squeezy tube yoghurts cost £1.29[/caption]
My two daughters like one of these yoghurts nearly every day so they are a big addition to my shopping bill.
Swapping to the Aldi ones could save nearly £50 if you buy a pack a week and I probably buy two, so these were definitely worth a try.
The ingredients are virtually the same with both containing 67 calories and 2g fat per pouch.
Aldi’s are only slightly higher in sugar too at 8.1g compared to 8g. Taste wise they are the same.
The girls didn’t notice anything different so felt like these were a great money saving swap.
PIZZA
Carlos Takeaway Loaded Pepperoni Stuffed Crust Pizza
- £2.25 for 472g (47.6g per 100g)
Chicago Town Stuffed Crust Pepperoni Pizza
- £3.15 for 490g (78p per 100g)
The Carlos takeaway pizza comes with stuffed crust[/caption]
This Aldi ‘takeaway’ pizza is a great Friday night treat and a real bargain, costing 90p less than the Chicago Town option.
It’s insanely good for the price.
Both are easy to cook and after just ten minutes in the oven, this came out deliciously gooey and oozing with cheese.
You’d save even more money if you buy this instead of a takeaway such as Domino’s and it tastes great.
CHEESE
Dip-It Cheese Dip with Breadsticks
- £1.79 for 4 packs (172g)
Dairylea Dunkers with Breadsticks
- £2.25 for 4 packs (172g)
Another packed lunch staple, these breadsticks and gooey cheese come in packs of four[/caption]
Four packs of these don’t last long in my house so they are an expensive addition to the weekly shop.
The Aldi ones are 46p cheaper a box so if you bought these instead of the pricier Dairylea ones every week for a year, you’d save nearly £24 on your grocery bill.
Taste wise they were virtually identical.
CRISPS
Snackrite Stackz Original
- £1.35 for 165g (81.8p per 100g)
Pringles
- £2.20 for 185g (£1.19 per 100g)
You’d save almost £1 buying Aldi’s Pringle dupes[/caption]
The Aldi tube is actually a little smaller but it’s still much cheaper, costing 85p less and working out around 37p cheaper per 100g.
The crisps aren’t as curved as the famous brand, looking a bit flatter and a bit lighter in colour but if you can look past that they look great and taste identical.
The same salty hit. My kids couldn’t even tell the difference.
CEREAL
Harvest Morn Multi-Grain Hoops
- 85p for 379g (22.4p per 100g)
Nestle Multigrain Cheerios
- £3.25 for 500g (65p per 100g)
Aldi’s Cheerios dupes come in almost three times cheaper than the Nestle counterpart[/caption]
Cheerios are another favourite at home but at £3.25 for a box, they are fast becoming a luxury.
I was impressed by Aldi’s box which was smaller but much better value per 100g.
The Aldi hoops actually tasted better to me, with a lovely crunch.
Add to that they are lower in calories (111 versus 113), lower in fat (1g versus 1.4g), lower in sugar (4.2g versus 5.3g) AND lower in salt (0.17g versus 0.24g) then it’s save to say these are a winner for me.
I wouldn’t go back to buying the brand.
LEMONADE
Limonata Italian Style Soda
- £2.99 for 6 x 330ml cans
San Pellegrino Limonata
- £4.80 for 6 x 330ml cans
You can save £1.80 with Aldi’s San Pellegrino dupes[/caption]
I was blown away by this saving.
The Aldi cans look identical to the San Pellegrino drinks but cost £1.81 less for a pack of six.
If you are a big family and bought one pack a week, in a year this would save you an impressive £94.12 on your grocery bill.
Taste wise they are lovely, almost identical, I could barely tell the difference.
Crisp, with a lovely sweetness and tangy flavour. An absolute bargain.
CHOCOLATE SPREAD
Nutoka Hazelnut Chocolate Spread
- £1.69 for 400g (42.2p per 100g)
Nutella
- £3.45 for 350g (99p per 100g)
The Nutoka chocolate spread is half the price of Nutella and you get more in a jar[/caption]
Not only is Aldi’s jar £1.76 cheaper, it’s also bigger and costs less than half the price per 100g of spread.
It looks almost identical to the famous brand, so much so I’m surprised they havent’ had a cease and desist letter.
Taste wise you can hardly tell the difference.
Aldi’s spread is a little nuttier, but I thought this was a good thing.
Given it’s less than half the price per 100g, I’ll definitely keep buying this for the kids.
MARMITE
Grandessa Mighty Yeast Extract
- £2.09 for 240g (87p per 100g)
Marmite
- £3 for 250g (£1.20 per 100g)
You don’t have to blow the bank with Aldi’s Marmite dupe[/caption]
Marmite is a classic cupboard stable for around half of Brits but the price for a 500g jar has gone from £4.75 to £5.85 in many stores, so it would be great to find a cheaper alternative – enter Aldi’s Grandessa Mighty Yeast Extract.
The flavour was quite strong compared to the branded jar and it had a bit of a tang.
I don’t think I could manage much of it one go.
But it’s difficult to beat on price coming in at 33p less per 100g when compared to the original.
SOUP
Soupreme Tomato and Basil Soup (600g)
- £1.49 (24.8p per 100g)
Covent Garden Tomato and Basil Soup (560g)
- £2.20 (39.3p per 100g)
Aldi’s Soupreme Tomato and Basil Soup costs just £1.49[/caption]
Packaged in a very similar tetrapack, this soup looks very similar to the more expensive Covent Garden brand.
You could easily pick it up by mistake. It has an appetising aroma but actually the soup was a bit thin and watery and not as creamy as the branded option.
It has a lovely tanginess and is quite herby though and it’s a good saving of 71p on a pack. Plus, you get 40g extra.
ENERGY DRINK
Red Thunder Energy Drink (250ml)
- 42p (16.8p per 100ml)
Red Bull Energy Drink (250ml)
- £1.75 (70p per 100ml)
The difference in price between Red Bull and the Red Thunder energy drink is massive[/caption]
Aldi’s version of the famous energy drink definitely has quite a tang to it and is quite similar to Red Bull with the same sugary sweet taste. It had a slight artificial aftertaste but so does Red Bull.
It’s a huge saving on the famous brand – a whopping £1.33 per can and less than a third of the price per 100ml of drink.
If you bought an Aldi instead of Red Bull just once a week, you’d save yourself £69.16 a year – now that really gives me wings!
CHOCOLATE
Dairyfine Titan Bars
- £1.19 for 6 (228g)
- 75.5p per 100g
Mars Bars
- £1.79 for 4 (157.6g)
- £1.14 per 100g
Titan bars are a dupe of the classic nougat-filled Mars Bar[/caption]
The Aldi bars look similar to the real thing and they are an incredible price, but the chocolate doesn’t taste as good.
It’s thinner and has a slightly strange aftertaste.
If you can overlook that, they are 39p cheaper per 100g.
This pack is 60p cheaper and you get two extra bars.
BEER
Birra Mapelli
- £1.49 for 500ml
Birra Moretti
- £2.05 for 500ml
Save over 50p going for a bottle of Aldi’s Birra Mapelli[/caption]
Even beer have made it on to Aldi’s hit list and as alcohol can really tot up your grocery bill, these are worth a dry.
The Aldi due of Moretti is 56p cheaper per 500ml bottle.
This is a nice clean lager, with almost tastes like a blonde beer with its better sweetness.
It has lovely hoppy, bitter tones, and is smooth and refreshing.
A great way to save – especially once Spring arrives.
ICE CREAM
Gianni’s Milk Chocolate Ice Creams
- £1.59 for 4 (400ml) or 39.7p per 100ml
Magnum Classic Ice Cream Sticks
- £3.50 for 3 (300ml) or £1.17 per 100ml
Reporter Lynsey could barely tell the difference with this dupe[/caption]
The box looks the same but the ice creams are in a clear wrapper rather than a branded one.
When you get to the ice cream itself, the chocolate isn’t as thick and creamy and the ice cream isn’t quite as good, but they are delicious and incredibly cheap.
You pay less than half the price for this box, a saving of £1.91, and get one extra – my kids ate them and couldn’t even tell the difference between this and the real thing. I’m certainly not complaining, either.
MILKSHAKE
Cowbelle Protein Chocolate Milkshake
- 79p per 330ml (23.9p per 100ml)
Huel Ready to Drink Chocolate
- £3 for 500ml (60p per 100ml)
You’ll save a fortune with this dupe compared to the Huel counterpart[/caption]
Huel has become popular for it’s protein-packed products, including milkshakes.
But healthy often means expensive. This Aldi milkshake contains the same 20g of protein in its carton and it tastes lovely.
It doesn’t have the bells and whistles of Huel which has many other vitamins and minerals too, it’s also much higher in sugar, with 4.9g per 100ml compared to just 0.6g in the Huel.
But it does taste good and if the sugar content doesn’t bother you, or its a one-off purchase, it’s a brilliant saving of over 36p per 100ml.
PASTA SAUCE
Cucina Bolognese Pasta Sauce
- 75p for 500g (15p per 100g)
Dolmio Original Bolognese Sauce
- £2.50 for 500g (50p per 100g)
Aldi’s tomato sauce dupe is more than three times cheaper than the Dolmio jar[/caption]
The Aldi jar is a hell of a lot cheaper, saving you £1.75. It’s less than a third of the price.
Oegano, cloves, basil and marjoram are all listed as ingredients, but while you can see flecks of herbs in the liquid, I couldn’t really taste them.
There’s less tomatoes in it and less veg.
That said, it’s ok for a quick meal and much better value than the Dolmio, which has become extremely pricey.
How to save money on your supermarket shop
THERE are plenty of ways to save on your grocery shop.
You can look out for yellow or red stickers on products, which show when they’ve been reduced.
If the food is fresh, you’ll have to eat it quickly or freeze it for another time.
Making a list should also save you money, as you’ll be less likely to make any rash purchases when you get to the supermarket.
Going own brand can be one easy way to save hundreds of pounds a year on your food bills too.
This means ditching “finest” or “luxury” products and instead going for “own” or value” type of lines.
Plenty of supermarkets run wonky veg and fruit schemes where you can get cheap prices if they’re misshapen or imperfect.
For example, Lidl runs its Waste Not scheme, offering boxes of 5kg of fruit and vegetables for just £1.50.
If you’re on a low income and a parent, you may be able to get up to £442 a year in Healthy Start vouchers to use at the supermarket too.
Plus, many councils offer supermarket vouchers as part of the Household Support Fund.
Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money-sm@news.co.uk.
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