Key differences included sugar content, crunch and the price
Honey nut cereal from Aldi, Lidl, M&S and Tesco (Image: Liverpool ECHO )
The cost of living is palpable in the supermarket aisles and, I don’t know about you, but cereal is one of the products where I’ve really noticed prices creeping up.
Branded cereal has long been off my shopping list with supermarket own-brand versions usually offering a much cheaper alternative. Muesli and porridge have been my go-to choices for a while but, sometimes, a bowl of sugary cereal is exactly what you need to get you out of bed in the morning.
Honey Nut Crunch was always a favourite of mine growing up, so I decided to see whether supermarket own-brand versions could deliver the same sweet, crunchy hit without the branded price tag.
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I tested honey nut cereal from four supermarkets: M&S, Lidl, Tesco and Aldi. While there wasn’t a huge difference between most of them when it came to flavour and texture, one stood out as noticeably worse than the others.
The other key differences came down to sugar content and, perhaps most importantly, price.
M&S Honey Nut Cornflakes – 500g, £1.30
I was pleasantly surprised by the M&S price, as £1.30 for 500g makes this an affordable option compared to Kellogg’s, although it works out more expensive per kilo than some of the other packs. The cereal itself is very crispy, with small, nicely browned flakes rather than a pale appearance.
It also had a convincing honey flavour. With 9% sugar, it sits in the red zone for sugar on the nutrition information, but if you’re looking for a sweeter cereal, it does come through in the taste.
Best of all, it stayed pleasantly crisp rather than quickly turning soggy in the bowl. For an own-brand cereal, I thought this was a very good effort from M&S.
8/10
Lidl Crownfield Honey Nut Flakes – 500g, 99p
At just 99p for 500g, Lidl’s Crownfield Honey Nut Flakes are the cheapest of the four packs tested. The flakes are noticeably paler and larger than the M&S version and, to me, they tasted closer to ordinary cornflakes rather than the crispy and thickly-coated sweetness of other boxes.
That said, they are also lower in sugar at 7%, putting them in the yellow rather than red zone on the nutrition information which may make Lidl a more appealing everyday option if you have less of a sweet tooth
They are also the cheapest option making them particularly tempting as an everyday family cereal – just not for me.
5/10
Tesco Honey Nut Cornflakes – 500g, £1.10
Tesco’s Honey Nut Cornflakes cost £1.10 for 500g and, in all honesty, were remarkably similar to the M&S version. They contain 9% sugar, putting them in the red zone, and have the same sort of sweet, crunchy character you’d expect from a honey nut cereal.
In a blind comparison, I’d have found it genuinely difficult to spot much difference between these and the M&S cereal. The flakes are crisp, the honey flavour comes through and they don’t immediately go soggy in milk.
At £1.10, Tesco offers a good middle ground, although Lidl is marginally cheaper and Aldi offers a larger pack for a similar overall price.
8/10
Aldi Harvest Morn Honey Nut Crunch Corn Flakes – 750g, £1.49
Aldi’s Harvest Morn Honey Nut Crunch Corn Flakes come in the biggest box of the four at 750g for £1.49. Although the headline price is higher than the other own-brand options, the larger pack means they work out at around £1.99 per kilogram, making them better value than both M&S and Tesco and only fractionally more expensive per kilo than Lidl.
They contain 9% sugar, but one interesting difference is the honey content. Aldi lists 2% honey, compared with around 0.6% in the other cereals tested – but I can’t say I could taste the difference
The combination of a large box, decent price and good flavour makes Aldi a particularly good option if you’re buying cereal regularly. For the overall balance of flavour, quantity and price, it’s a strong choice.
7/10
Overall thoughts
For the cheapest option, Lidl wins at 99p for 500g, and its lower sugar content could make it the more sensible everyday choice. However, I preferred the taste and texture of the M&S, Tesco and Aldi cereals.
M&S and Tesco were almost impossible to separate on taste, while Aldi stood out for its larger pack and much higher stated honey content. If I were buying purely on value, I’d probably pick Aldi for the combination of price per kilogram, pack size and flavour, but M&S wins on taste alone.
