YouTube star Sopherina pits Aldi food against big brands in blind taste test – and the budget option often wins

YOUTUBE star Sopherina put some of Aldi’s best lookalike products up against their branded alternatives and was so impressed by the discounter, she now does the majority of her shopping there.

Budget supermarkets including Aldi and Lidl are known for cleverly imitating the look of more expensive products.

While brands aren't allowed to copy each other's marketing, it's a tactic often used to entice shoppers into buying the cheaper version because they look the same.

Sopherina, 26, real name Sophie Robinson, pitted 11 Aldi products against their pricier branded version – including McCain's chips versus Aldi's Champion Chips and McCoys against the supermarket's own-brand Ridges.

She also tested Twinings Breakfast Tea against Aldi's Diplomat Breakfast brew, as well as Ben and Jerry's Cookie Dough ice cream versus the budget chain's Gianni's Cookie Dough.

The Sun conducted a similar taste test also using Lidl products last year and found the majority of our tasters would swap staple goods for cheaper ones.

What did Sopherina test?

SOPHERINA did a blind test against Aldi products and their branded alternative to see if she could swap out pricier goods.

Here's what she tested and what she thought of each comparison:

McCoys (£1.70) versus Ridges (75p)  – WOULD BUY ALDI 

“They are very similar… it’s impossible.”

McVitie's Jaffa Cakes (£1) versus Belmont Jaffa Cakes (89p) – WOULD THE ALDI 

“The Aldi one is more zesty – zest is best.”

Cadbury Mini Egg Easter Egg (£1.25) versus Mini Chocolate Easter Egg (79p) – WOULD STICK TO CADBURY 

“You can’t really beat Cadbury but [Aldi] isn't too bad – a child would love it.”

McCains Chips (£2.15)  versus Champion Chips (99p) – WOULD BUY ALDI 

“I don’t know why they’d taste different."

Twinings Breakfast Tea (£3) versusDiplomat Breakfast Tea (89p) – WOULD BUY ALDI 

“The Aldi teabags are so much cheaper than Twinings so why would I not get Aldi teabags from now on?”

Heinz Beans (75p) versusCorale Baked beans (30p) – WOULD BUY ALDI 

“Exactly the same. I’m really not sure.”

Ben and Jerry’s Cookie Dough (£4) versusGianni’s Cookie Dough (£1.89) – WOULD BUY ALDI 

“They taste exactly the same.”

Alpro Almond Milk (£1.80) versusActi Leaf Almond Milk (89p) – WOULD BUY ALDI 

“This one doesn’t have a very nice smell but I can’t work out if that’s the almond milk or the oats.”

Chicago Town Four Cheese Pizza (£2) versusCarlos Cheese Pizza (99p) – WOULD BUY ALDI

“It tasted a bit more herby.”

Quaker Oats (£2) versusInstant Oats (72p) – WOULD BUY ALDI 

“I could eat this if it was a lot thicker.”

Diet Coke (£1.95) versusDiet Cola (39p) – WOULD STICK TO DIET COKE 

“The Aldi version is nice but I really like my Diet Coke.”

With the help of her boyfriend Lawrence O’Shea, 32, a digital marketing manager, Sopherina was blindfolded for each taste test.

She then had to try out each version and choose which product she preferred.

While most of the time she correctly guessed which item was from Aldi, Sopherina was stunned by how little difference she tasted in the majority of cases.

She incorrectly guessed the branded beans over the Aldi ones, and also got the pizza and jaffa cakes wrong.

The London-based food and lifestyle blogger said she would swap most of the branded items for the budget supermarket's alternative – but stopped short of saying she'd give up her branded Diet Coke and Cadbury chocolate.

For everything else tested, Sopherina said she would be happy to go with the Aldi version.

You can watch the full taste test by Sopherina by clicking here.

Does Sopherina now shop at Aldi?

THE Sun caught up with the YouTube star to find out if her shopping habits have changed since the taste test.

"I have definitely switched to Aldi for most things.

"My boyfriend and I do the majority of our food shopping there (and the occasional Special Buy from the middle aisle) and only go to other supermarkets for specific items.

"Doing the taste test video has completely shaken my impressions of Aldi, which I now visit more than once a week – not just for the great prices but for the excellent quality on offer too.

"We have had a really mixed reaction from the public to my food tasting videos, from some commenting in shock that we had never tried Aldi before, to others going into Aldi for the first time after the videos have piqued their interest."

Summarising her taste test, she said: "Out of everything I would always go for the Aldi version, except for the diet coke and mini eggs.

"You can’t beat a Cadbury egg at Easter time.

"It’s really taught us that the Aldi version is cheaper, if not, sometimes better."

When The Sun spoke to Sopherina, she said she was most surprised by the baked beans and jaffa cakes.

She said: "All my life I’ve bought only Heinz and have been able to immediately tell the difference when a cheaper brand was put on my plate.

"The flavour, the smell and the texture of Heinz is so hard to replicate – or so I thought.

"Another surprise was the McVities Jaffa cakes."

Her video has so far amassed more than 250,000 views and has proved so popular that the YouTube star even made a cameo appearance in the documentary Inside Aldi: Britain's Biggest Budget Supermarket.

If you're looking to save money on your food shop, we revealed 16 simple ways you can slash your supermarket shopping bill by HUNDREDS of pounds a year.

And this is how to cut the cost of dining out as a family.

When you're next in the supermarket, you might be interested to know how to save money by making your own 'fakeaways'.

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