Budget versus brand: Jaffa Cakes
Aldi's version of this orange cakey treat is half the price of McVitie's. But does it taste as good?
MPs apparently spent £12,991 on McVitie's Jaffa Cakes over the past five years, according to a Freedom of Information request submitted by budget supermarket Aldi.
Aldi says that if they had bought its own Belmont Biscuit Company version instead, it would save them £7,181.08 over a five-year period.
That’s because a 24-pack of McVitie's costs an average of £1.99, but the Aldi version is only 89p.
Shifting allegiances from more expensive big brands, such as McVitie's, to a cheaper own brand is something a lot of us have been doing to save a bit of money. Indeed, in many cases you won’t taste the difference.
In a time of austerity, we’d expect our MPs to be leading by example. But are they refusing to compromise because the taste of the McVitie's variety is so superior?
Taste test time
As regular readers will know, we don’t need much of an excuse to conduct a taste test, and this was a perfect opportunity for another one.
So we grabbed two 12-packs of McVitie's (£2.30 from the Co-op) and a 24-pack of Aldi’s finest (89p), laid them out on two separate, unlabelled plates and let a stream of volunteers eat them.
I went further and did my now customary blindfolded test, where I correctly identified the McVitie's, as it packs a bigger, tangy punch and tastes much more substantial.
Overall, the ayes had it for McVitie's by nine to four, suggesting MPs share the public mood on cakes, if not on policies. "Chocolate is nicer", "much more depth of flavour" and "more orangey" were some of the comments the McVitie's garnered.
A second opinion
Martin Isark, on his hugely detailed tasting blog Supermarket Own Brand Guide, actually rates Asda’s own brand (72p for a pack of 12) as the pick of the Jaffa Cakes, awarding it 10 out of 10. He also gives generous praise to Asda’s Free From variety, the Co-op’s and Lidl’s Sondey. Aldi's gets an 8.
Maybe we should table an early day motion to get MPs to switch brands and use the difference to pay off more of our national debt?
What do you think? Which Jaffa Cake gets your vote? Share your thoughts in the Comments box below.
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