We tasted supermarket versions of Weetabix and an own-brand beat the real deal
IF you want to cut the cost of your weekly shop, one way is to swap branded products to supermarket own-brand versions.
But can you pay less and still get the same quality?
We tested everyday products from all the major supermarkets for you to find out which ones were the closest to the branded version and the best value for money.
Today, we’ve looked at the own-brand versions of Weetabix sold at the major supermarkets.
We taste-tested a bowl of the popular breakfast cereal from each supermarket and compared it with the genuine Weetabix, giving each one a score out of ten.
To check how much you got for your money, we also weighed two biscuits (one standard portion) and worked out how much you have to pay per biscuit for each product – and gave a score out of five for value for money.
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Here’s how all the wheat biscuits scored out of 15 overall:
The Winner: Tesco Wheat Biscuits
Cost of a 24 pack = £1.06
Price per biscuit = 4p
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Weight of two biscuits (standard portion) = 41g
The Tesco product was a decent copy of Weetabix – it tasted similar, although it was slightly blander and a little bit more mushy.
At 4p per biscuit, this was the joint cheapest product we tested.
The slight difference in taste is definitely worth it to save nearly two thirds on the branded price.
Taste = 8/10 Value = 5/5
TOTAL SCORE = 13/15
Weetabix
Cost of a 24 pack = £2.80
Price per biscuit = 12p
Weight of two biscuits (standard portion) = 40g
As you’d expect, the branded Weetabix tastes great and seems decent quality.
The biscuits retain their oval shape and still have a crunch to them even after milk has been added.
But at 12p per biscuit, the branded product cost three times as much as the cheapest alternatives on offer at Tesco, Aldi and Lidl.
Taste: 9/10 Value: 2/5
TOTAL SCORE = 12/15
Sainsbury’s Wheat Biscuits
Cost of a 24 pack = £1.95
Price per biscuit = 8p
Weight of two biscuits (standard portion) = 33g
The Sainsbury’s version tasted very similar to Tesco’s and was a close copy of Weetabix.
But at 8p per biscuit – and with one of the smallest portion sizes we tested – the value for money wasn’t nearly as good as some of the other supermarkets.
Having said that, it is still a decent cheaper alternative to the branded product.
Taste: 8/10 Value: 3/5
TOTAL SCORE = 12/15
Asda Wheat Biscuits
Cost of a 24 pack = £1.70
Price per biscuit = 7p
Weight of two biscuits (standard portion) = 42g
Asda’s version tasted good but the texture wasn’t as smooth as Weetabix and it had several large, hard gritty bits in the biscuit.
The portion we tried weighed 42g - which was the largest of all the ones we tested – and each biscuit cost 7p, which was in the middle of the price range.
Taste: 7/10 Value: 4/5
TOTAL SCORE = 11/15
Aldi Harvest Morn Wheat Bisks
Cost of a 36 pack = £1.59
Price per biscuit = 4p
Weight of two biscuits (standard portion) = 38g
Aldi’s version tasted pretty similar to Weetabix but had a rough, gritty texture which might put some people off eating them.
The discount supermarket only sells its version in bumper packs of 36, meaning you get lots for your money and they cost just 4p per biscuit – the joint cheapest we tested.
Taste: 5/10 Value: 4/5
TOTAL SCORE = 9/15
Morrisons Wheat Biscuits
Cost of a 24 pack = £1.69
Price per biscuit = 7p
Weight of two biscuits (standard portion) = 33g
Trying to get these out of the box and into a bowl without them crumbling into pieces was difficult.
The Morrison’s product didn’t hold together well and disintegrated even more quickly once milk was added.
The taste was also quite bland and reminded us of cardboard.
Taste: 5/10 Value: 3/5
TOTAL SCORE = 8/15
Lidl Crownfield Wholegrain Wheat Bixies
Cost of a 36 pack = £1.59
Price per biscuit = 4p
Weight of two biscuits (standard portion) = 39g
These Lidl biscuits looked a little bit like they were made of sponge and as soon as milk was added, they soaked it all up so there was none left in the bowl.
This meant they were unpleasantly mushy and tasteless.
They may have been the joint cheapest we tested, but we wouldn’t recommend swapping to this product if you like the taste and texture of Weetabix.
Taste: 2/10 Value: 4/5
TOTAL SCORE = 6/15
And this isn't the only own-brand taste test we conducted.
We tried supermarket own-brand hot chocolate powders and one trumps Cadbury’s.
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