Brits are mad for Weetabix , and between us we buy more than £300million of the cereal every year.
But the popular breakfast cereal has spawned a huge number of own-brand alternatives - all at a lower price.
With rising costs of living , saving on essentials like cereal isn't something to pass up on.
This week a reviewer from Lancs Live set out to see if they could make the swap to a cheaper version of the cereal classic.
The writer bought a box of 24 Weetabix knock offs from Sainsbury's , Morrison's, Asda and Aldi , compared the price taste and overall breakfast experience.
Each box was compared to the standard 25 pack of Weetabix which ranges in supermarkets from round £2.75 to £3. This comparison would have included Lidl's 'Bixies' but the reviewer could not source any.
Sainsbury's
Sainsbury's Wheat Biscuits
Name: Wheat Biscuits
Price: £1.95
Taste and texture: 1/5
"From the get go I knew these would be disappointing.
"Before I took them out of the plastic wrapper they were starting to crumble to bits right in my hand. A single shake of the packet told me it was just full of broken bits of with the Wheat Biscuits and I wasn't looking forward to opening it.
"Carefully - avoiding the unnecessary amount of mess - I popped them into a bowl pouring in the rest of them. Both biscuits were crumbled and quite frankly there wasn't much to them. Even with milk, they were just as crumbly and dry but after a minute, when the milk had soaked through, they were far more edible. Just not exactly enjoyable.
"For toughly a pound less than the real deal, I would probably just pass up on this cereal all together."
Morrison's
Morrison's Wheat Biscuits
Name: Wheat Biscuits
Price: £1.49
Taste and texture: 1.5/5
"Being just under 50p cheaper than the Sainsbury's box, I hoped these would be better purely because if they were, I'd be saving a lot more money every month. But they were almost identical. The biscuit weren't as crumbly straight from the packet but when trying to pry them from out of it, they too just disintegrated in my hands.
"Again, the biscuits were fairly small and were very flaky - a weird texture even with milk - and I found myself needing to clear my throat every couple of spoonful's because they flakes would get stuck in my throat. The only redeeming factor came when they were saturated in milk but then again, if you didn't like soggy Weetabix, this isn't the box for you.
"There did seem to be a slightly better flavour when they weren't so bone dry so half a point was awarded for that alone."
Aldi
Aldi's Wheat Bisks
Name: Protein Wheat Bisks
Price: £1.79
Taste and texture: 1/5
"I wouldn't class this as Weetabix, I think this is more Melba Toast that you have in a bowl with milk. No other comparison came to mind when I took a bite of this brick like biscuit. It was not the texture I expected nor wanted for breakfast.
"There were practically zero crumbs and while that filled me with hope, somehow the tightly formed rectangular - not the usual oval - shaped biscuit was equally as bone dry. Milk didn't seem to much as much of a saviour here and again, it took a full 60 seconds to get past the dryness - even then the centre crunch far too loudly for my liking."
Asda
Asda Wheat Bisks
Name: Wheat Bisks
Price: £1.50
Taste: 4/5
"I had to save the best to last simply because of how shockingly disappointing the rest were. It's not hard to keep in mind that Weetabix are notoriously dry and some would say a boring breakfast option. I would not- I love them and as a type of saving grace, Asda pulled through as a brilliant dupe that's well worth making the swap.
"These are the closest things to the real deal in terms of shape, size, dryness and taste. Yes they are dry, yes the are crumbly but in a way you would expect and know all too well. The taste is practically the same as the branded biscuits and I'm sure in a blind tastes test between the two, I'd struggle to pick out the knockoff.
"At £1.50, you could save yourself around half the amount you would typically save on the branded box each month and for bigger families who go through boxes quicker, that small saving would certainly add up."
