I love supermarket brands, except for these three items (Image: Getty/Rebecca Koncienzcy)
I generally do my main shop at Asda and then top up from Aldi and M&S midweek with some odd bits from Tesco and Home Bargains because they are close to my home. And I love a supermarket-branded item.
I have no problem swapping out Heinz beans for Aldi’s or Asda’s own. The Tesco sourdough is delicious, Aldi’s Greek yoghurt is wonderfully creamy and the best toilet rolls are the Nicky Elite from Home Bargains. It took my husband a while to convince me to move away from Lurpak butter, but now we have the Aldi Nordpak and my purse is a little happier.
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But there are a few items I will never compromise on and buy supermarket brands. Items that I feel can not be replicated any cheaper and you just have to go full price.
Oral-B toothpaste
I knew I was middle-aged the day I had a favourite toothpaste; I think I made a Facebook post about it at the time.
For me, no cheap alternative can beat the fresh feel of Oral-B Pro Expert, and I will pay for it.
It is almost like there are tiny grains (that will be the ‘cleaning crystals’) within the blue paste that exfoliate and buff my tooth enamel to give a gleaming, smooth finish that can not be replicated. And it has a nice, sweet mint flavour with a hint of cinnamon.
You can get Oral-B Pro Expert from Asda for £2.24, but I usually get a dual pack in Home Bargains for around £3.49.
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I love Fairy for cleaning anything in my house (Image: Getty)
Fairy Washing Up Liquid
I used to buy the supermarket brand washing up liquid when I was younger and less wise. Now, it can only be Fairy washing my pans or something is not right with the world.
With cheaper liquids, I find they don’t bubble as well, or you have to use more of them to get the same amount of bubbles as Fairy. I also think this has a lot to do with the viscosity of the liquids.
Fairy is quite thick, so you can control how much you want more, so it lasts longer, whereas the cheaper ones have a thinner consistency, so they just kind of pour out.
I really rate the cleaning power, and I am happy to use it to clean anything, as it is mild enough for any surface, but also an excellent degreaser when paired with hot water.
I always go for the classic Fairy also, none of this seasonal nonsense for me, just give me the original.
You can get Fairy Washing Up Liquid for £1 in The Range for 320ml, I tend to buy the bigger bottles when they are on offer and store them till needed.
It has to be Heinz for me or nothing else (Image: Getty)
Heinz Ketchup
While I am fine to compromise on a baked bean, Heinz Ketchup is the one and only for me.
No supermarket red imitation sauce will be added to my bacon sandwich. I will never dip a chip into an inferior Heinz imposter and I swear I could blind taste test it.
There is just the perfect balance of sweetness to showcase the tomato flavour. Other sauces get this wrong and many are far too vinegary for my palate, but I know others are fine with it.
So you will always find Heinz in my cupboard alongside the Aldi mayo. A 460g bottle of Heinz is currently £2.48 in Asda.
Are there any others I should add to my list? What brands just can’t be beat? Let us know in the comments.
