I tested Aldi’s knock off versions of big brands – here’s the seven surprising times they win
HOW do you get more brand for your buck? You head to Aldi – and get a knock-off version instead.
The budget supermarket was this week accused of ripping off Dairy Milk Freddo bars with its Deeno The Dino chocolate.
Aldi’s version has a similar wrapper, but the store sells ten for £1.75, while five Freddo’s cost £1.
It’s not the first time Aldi has been accused of copycat products. The store previously battled M&S over claims it copied their Colin The Caterpillar cake with its Cuthbert The Caterpillar. They settled in 2022, Aldi agreeing to amend its design.
Aldi has many own-brand products that look like the big brands. But do they taste as good? We asked Lynsey Hope to rate some of the store’s best-selling dupes.
TORTILLA CHIPS
FOR 65p less you get a bigger, very similar looking blue bag of tortilla chips at Aldi – just minus the Doritos name. These are thinner than the Doritos, so there were more broken ones.
They give the same salty hit and taste very similar. For the price, I wouldn’t complain about a few broken triangles.
ICE CREAM
THE Aldi box looks the same as the Magnum one, but when you get to the lolly, the chocolate isn’t as thick and creamy and the ice cream isn’t quite as good – but they are delicious.
The Aldi ones are less than half the price and you get one extra. My kids couldn’t tell the difference.
CORN FLAKES
BUYING Aldi’s own-brand cornflakes could save you more than £120 a year if you buy a box a week, so these are worth a try.
The flakes are almost identical – crunchy, sugary and very close in taste to Kellogg’s – all at a fraction of the price.
CRISPS
PRINGLES don’t last long in my house and they are a pricey treat at £2 a tube, so it was interesting to try some dupes.
Aldi’s contain quite a bit of sunflower oil and that comes through in the taste, but there isn’t a great deal of difference.
They are slightly cheaper per 100g – by 10p – but it’s not a huge saving.
JAFFA CAKES
ALDI’S Jaffa Cakes may be in a similar blue and orange box, but they don’t taste the same as McVitie’s.
There is a lot more of the orange jelly and the sponge is thicker and dryer.
Nothing much to dislike and they are a great price at just over a £1 for 300g, but they don’t quite match up to the brand.
CHOC HAZELNUT SPREAD
THE hazelnut taste of Nutella is instantly recognisable and a firm favourite in my house.
But Aldi’s Nutoka is almost identical, so I’m surprised they haven’t received a cease and desist letter.
Nutoka is a little nuttier, in a good way. Given it’s less than half the price per 100g, I’ll keep buying this.
MARS
ALDI’S answer to Mars bars looks similar to the real thing, but the chocolate doesn’t taste as good.
It’s thinner and has a slightly odd aftertaste.
Excellent price though and 62p less per 100g than the big brand so if you’re not fussy, these are good value.
But for me, Mars takes the lead on taste.
BISCUITS
WHILE I’m not a huge fan of Oreos, my son Jacob, eight, eats them like they’re going out of fashion.
So I’m delighted that you’d be hard pushed to find a difference between the Aldi dupe and the original unless you look at your bill.
These are excellent value and the children couldn’t tell the difference.
PIZZA
ALDI’S answer to Chicago Town is smaller but great value for money at just 47p per 100g – 24p less than the branded version.
It wasn’t as cheesy as its rival and some of the cheese had slid over to one side, but it tasted good.
The dough was soft and it had a good amount of sauce in the crust.
Given the saving, I’d go for this one every time.
BUTTER
BUTTER has become so expensive in the cost-of-living crisis – and Anchor now costs an eyewatering £4.50 per tub.
Aldi’s yellow, green and red tub looks strangely familiar, but costs less than half the price.
I honestly couldn’t tell the difference – one of the best Aldi dupes I’ve come across.