Aldi shoppers know and love the supermarket for its cheaper versions of branded products - but how does its “dupes” really compare against more expensive names?
The supermarket recently found itself in trouble after M&S started legal action over claims its Cuthbert the Caterpillar cake is too similar to Marks’ Colin.
M&S says the Aldi cake infringes its trademark and "rides on the coat-tails" of its reputation and is trying to pull Cuthbert from shelves.
In return, Aldi has launched a #FreeCuthbert campaign on social media alongside a series tongue-in-cheek tweets aimed at M&S.
We don’t know what the outcome of the case will be - but it’s got us thinking about other Aldi products that bear a striking similarity to more expensive brands.
So, we’ve put them to the test to see how different they really are.
In our first experiment, we compare Aldi crisps against snack giants such as Walkers, Quavers and Hula Hoops.
It’s no secret that Aldi is cheaper - but does its version of foods taste better? Let’s see.
Keep in mind this is just our opinion, so you may totally disagree with what we think.
Come back next week to see how Aldi cakes, chocolates and biscuits fared in part two of our taste test.
Walkers Ready Salted vs Aldi Snackrite Ready Salted
The majority of Aldi's crisps come under its Snackrite range - including these ready salted crisps.
On first appearance, they look incredibly similar to Walkers' Ready Salted crisps - they have the same golden colour and are identical in size too.
The taste is also on par. They're crunchy and with a light salty coating, both being delicious.
We'd go as far as saying most people would struggle to tell them apart.
Aldi price: 55p (six pack)
Walkers price: £1.50 (six pack)
Quavers vs Aldi Cheese Curls
I love a cheesy crisp and both the Aldi Cheese Curls and Quavers did not disappoint.
I was also amazed, again, by how similar they looked and tasted.
Both have the iconic yellow curly appearance and a delicious coating of cheese which was hard to differentiate.
The only contrast is a slight difference in texture between the two - but this isn't enough to make us prefer one over the other.
Aldi price: 89p (ten pack)
Quavers price: £2.50 (12 pack)
Hula Hoops vs Aldi Hoops
Again, both products looked eerily identical when we pour them out into a bowl and we really don't think you can tell them apart on appearance.
Both crisps are yummy but for us, the Hula Hoops just edge it over the Aldi Hoops.
It was a close battle, but the Hula Hoops had a stronger, salty taste.
Aldi price: 99p (eight pack)
Hula Hoops: £1.25 (six pack)
Mini Cheddars vs Aldi Mini Cheese Bakes
On the first look, we notice the Mini Cheddars have a more golden appearance compared to the Aldi Mini Cheese Bakes.
We also found the Mini Cheddars are just a bit more cheesy compared to the Aldi crisps, so we prefer them to Aldi.
Keep in mind that we're being picky, and there wasn't anything necessarily wrong with the taste of the Aldi snack.
Aldi price: 73p (seven pack)
Mini Cheddars price: £1.70 (six pack)
McCoys vs Aldi Ridged
We wouldn't have been able to tell the McCoys and Aldi Ridged crisps apart just by looking at them in the bowl.
But in terms of taste, the McCoys ones are much stronger compared to Aldi - it hits us as soon as we put the crisps into our mouth.
Saying that, the Aldi ones are extremely tasty too and aren't too far off McCoys.
We tested the sizzling bacon flavour, which is part of the meaty pack for both brands.
Aldi price: 75p (six pack)
McCoys price: £1.25 (six pack)
Pom Bears vs Aldi Teddy Faces
Most Brits will remember Pom Bears from their childhood, but how about Teddy Faces?
We love both the designs of these two snacks. You'll notice the Pom Bears feature the whole body of the bear, while the Aldi Teddy Faces are - as the name suggests - just the face.
In terms of taste, both were on par and had that classic salty, potato taste that we love from our youth.
We really did struggle to tell them apart on that alone - both were delicious.
Aldi price: 85p (six pack)
Pom Bears price: £1 (six pack)
Aldi buying director, Julie Ashfield, said: “We’re thrilled to have received such positive comments for a number of the products from our extensive snack range in the Daily Mirror’s taste test.
“We are always striving to deliver the highest quality snacking products at the best possible price in order to make much loved food items affordable for all of our shoppers.”
