We're all looking to spend a little less every day and with more value products becoming available, supermarkets are making this easier for us. Read on to find out which supermarket-branded items are worth a try...
Your supermarket shop is bound to be one of your biggest expenses - and according to a goodtoknow poll, it's the thing that 30% of you would most like to save money on. But you could save a small fortune (hundreds of £s over a year!) by switching to own-brand products. And it doesn't necessarily mean you'll be compromising on value either - click through our gallery to find the products that goodtoknow users swear by! (Please note - we've compared everything with like-for-like products).
Bread
Bread is something that we buy week in, week out, and there's no getting away from that. But chances are you're paying over £1 per loaf, when you can get a much better deal.
Own brand cost: 47p at Asda, Sainsbury's and Tesco.
Branded cost: Warburtons Medium Sliced White Bread (800g) costs £1.35.
Recommended by: Jen Bolton.
Baked beans
Bean on toast or beans on jacket potatoes are great for quick dinners for the kids - and they're high in protein, low in fat and count as 1 of your 5-a-day!
Own-brand cost: 26p for a 410g tin at Asda, Tesco and Sainsbury's.
Branded cost: 68p for a 415g tin of Heinz Baked Beans.
Recommended by: Julie Weston-Wilkes
Flour
It's very unlikely that you'd ever notice the difference in taste for a product you've used in baking - so own-brand flour is definitely worth a try.
Own-brand cost: 52p for a 1.5kg bag at Tesco, Sainsbury's and Asda.
Branded cost: McDougalls plain flour costs £1.50 for a 1.5kg bag.
Recommended by: Anette Hiton.
Tinned tomatoes
Chopped tomatoes are a staple product in most households, so cutting down the cost of each tin could make you big savings over time.
Own-brand cost: 31p for a 400g tin at Asda, Sainsbury's and Tesco.
Branded cost: 61p for a 400g tin of Napolina Chopped Tomatoes.
Recommended by: Julie Weston-Wilkes: 'I always buy Asda Smartprice tinned tomatoes, they're just as good as the known brands!'
Cheese
Cheese can bring flavour to almost any dish and of course it's a popular sandwich filling choice too. If it's is a favourite in your house, own-brand is definitely something to consider.
Own brand cost: Tesco Everyday Value Grated Cheddar is just £4.26 per kg. Or if you fancy something a bit stronger - try Asda Smartprice Mature Cheddar (£5.86 per kg) or Sainsbury's Basics Full Flavour Cheddar (£7.29 per kg).
Branded cost: Cathedral City Mature Cheddar works out at £12.14 per kg.
Recommended by: Jen Bolton.
Ice cream
Even when money is tight we still need to treat ourselves from time to time. By opting for supermarket-brand ice cream we can keep this little luxury in our lives without worrying about the price tag.
Own brand cost: Asda and Tesco both sell Soft Scoop Vanilla Ice Cream (2L) for just 89p, whilst Sainsbury's Basics Vanilla Ice Cream is just a penny more.
Branded cost: Kelly's Cornish Clotted Cream Ice Cream is £3.99 for a tub half the size!
Recommended by: Jean Matthews.
Sweetcorn
Sweetcorn is another easy way to help your family along to their 5-a-day - and it's a key ingredient for sandwich filling favourite, tuna sweetcorn!
Own-brand cost: 34p at Asda and Tesco, 59p at Sainsbury's.
Branded cost: 79p for Green Giant Sweetcorn.
Recommended by: Leanne Johnson.
Tomato ketchup
If you're anything like us, you probably go through ketchup very quickly in your house, so don't overspend on it if you don't need to.
Own-brand cost: 21p per bottle at Asda and Sainsbury's (although Sainsbury's bottle is slightly bigger), 29p at Tesco.
Branded cost: A same-size bottle of Heinz Tomato Ketchup with cost you £1.50.
Recommended by: Leanne Johnson.
Ice lollies
Luckily, it is still possible to give your kids a summery treat without going over budget.
Own brand cost: Asda sell their own brand ice lollies for just 67p. Tesco and Sainsbury's charge 73p.
Branded cost: Rowntree's Fruit Pastilles Ice Lollies will cost you £2.49!
Recommended by: Georgette Turner. Georgette said 'I bought value ice lollies today... very welcome after school!'
Tomato soup
Supermarket value soup is perfect for a quick and simple meal, ideal for those busy nights.
Own brand cost: Asda, Tesco and Sainsbury's all offer their tomato soup for just 24p per tin.
Branded cost: Heinz Classic Cream of Tomato Soup costs 75p.
Recommended by: Leanne Johnson. Leanne said: 'I prefer it to Heinz or other leading brands'.
Tomatoes
It's certainly worth giving value brand fruit and vegetables a try - this is one way to keep up with your 5-a-day without over-spending.
Own brand cost: 75p per 500g packet at Asda, 68p per 450g at Sainsbury's.
Branded cost: Sainsbury's Organic Family Pack Tomatoes (400g) costs £1.75.
Recommended by: Jen Bolton.
Kidney beans
Kidney beans are great for chucking into chillies and salads - they count as 1 of your 5-a-day and they're high in protein too!
Own-brand cost: Sainsbury's Basics Red Kidney beans in Water (420g) cost 18p. You can also get a tin for just 18p from Tesco or 27p from Asda.
Branded cost: Sea Isle Red Kidney Beans cost 32p.
Recommended by: Sue Hewitt.
Tea cakes
Are you worried that by switching to cheaper food you'll be getting more calories? Think again! Own-brand products actually often contain less calories - like with these teacakes.
Own brand cost: You can buy a pack of four at Asda for 39p, each teacake containing 158 calories. Also available for 50p at Sainsbury's and Tesco.
Branded cost: Tesco Finest Large Teacakes are over three times the price, at £1.20 for a pack of four, each teacake containing 285kCal.
Recommended by: Jean Matthews.
Bourbon biscuit
Keeping children happy with sweet snacks can be expensive when buying branded products. Bourbon creams are an ideal treat and can be very cheap.
Own brand cost: Asda Smartprice Bourbon Creams (200g) are 32p. Both Sainsbury's and Tesco sell own-brand bourbon creams for just 45p.
Branded cost: Asda Chosen By You Bourbon Creams are 85p.
Recommended by: Anette Hilton.
See which own-brand bourbons and other biscuits won in our taste test.
Pasta
With such a variety of pasta dishes to choose from, this is one cheap way of feeding even the fussiest eaters.
Own brand cost: 500g of pasta can be bought for just 30p at Asda and Tesco.
Branded cost: Napolina Penne Pasta is £1.55.
Recommended by: Donna Earl.
Vinegar
Lots of us spend less on basics like pasta, rice and so on - but we don't think about the little extras like vinegar.
Own-brand cost: 13p a bottle at Asda and Sainsbury's, 39p at Tesco.
Branded cost: Sarson's Malt Vinegar is 69p for a bottle that's half the size!
Recommended by: Leanne Johnson.
Custard cream
Another sweet treat - perfect with a cup of tea - is custard creams.
Own-brand cost: Value custard creams can be found cheapest at Sainsbury's for just 31p per 400g. Tesco Everyday Value Custard Creams (400g) are 36p. Asda Smartprice Custard Creams (400g) are 49p.
Branded cost: Asda Chosen By You Custard Creams are 65p for 400g.
Recommended by: Samantha Leigh Reed. Samantha says: 'Some value stuff is perfectly fine. Some biscuits like custard creams you can't taste the difference!'
See which own-brand custard creams and other biscuits won in our taste test.
Butter
If you're using butter to bake or cook with, chances are you'll never notice the difference in taste.
Own-brand cost: £1.19 at Tesco, Asda and Sainsbury's.
Branded cost: Lurpak costs £1.60.
Recommended by: Leanne Johnson.
Kitchen roll
It's not only the value food products that have proven popular with goodtoknow users - you love their cleaning products too!
Own-brand cost: £1.25 for 2 rolls at Sainsbury's and Tesco, £1.88 for 3 rolls at Asda.
Branded cost: £1.86 for 2 rolls of Plenty.
Recommended by: Hayley Campbelton. Hayley said: 'It helps money go that little bit further, especially when you are on a budget.'
Where to next?
- See which value biscuits came out on top in our taste test
- This week's best supermarket offers
- Deal of the day
