I compared Aldi's premium range to M&S — there were winners everywhere

Aldi's premium range has been growing in popularity but I wanted to know if it stacked up against one of the best in the business

Aldi's high-end Specially Selected range is outpacing other products in growth, a pattern that's becoming common across the broader grocery market as well. Aldi's UK boss suggests customers are becoming more inclined to indulge themselves while staying in to eat, trading up to premium own-label products such as Wagyu steak, luxury cheese, ready meals and brioche buns.

In fact, due to a shift towards home celebrations, this year Aldi's Specially Selected range will constitute over 50% of its overall Christmas offering for the first time, reports the MEN. With this in mind, we decided to compare these products with those of Marks and Spencer, sampling some of Aldi's most popular Specially Selected items.

Now, M&S is renowned for the high quality of its food and has recently been causing a stir with its own Remarksable range, which has been winning over shoppers with its low prices. However, it still ranks among the priciest for many groceries outside of that range, so we wanted to see how they stack up in terms of price and taste.

Steaks and burgers

Despite the unavailability of Wagyu steaks in the Aldi stores we visited, possibly due to their popularity, we decided to try fillet steaks from both retailers. Aldi offers a 28-day matured fillet steak, weighing 170g, for £4.99, while M&S sells a 10-day matured fillet steak, weighing 190g, for £8. This equates to £7.16 for the same size as Aldi's offering.

Both were scrumptious, but it was the Aldi steak that impressed us with its flavour and texture. The additional maturing time clearly contributes to a more intense beef flavour and tender texture.

Another popular premium range product at Aldi is the Wagyu Beef Burgers, priced at £3.49 for a pack of two, weighing 340g. The closest equivalent we could find at M&S were the Fully Loaded Steak Burgers costing £5 for a 380g pack, although they are available as part of a 3 for £12 offer.

While both burgers were enjoyable, we weren't fans of the chewy bits in the 73% beef M&S ones, and we preferred the overall taste and texture of Aldi's 95% beef ones. We also favoured the sweeter taste of Aldi's brioche burger buns, which cost £1.05 for a pack of four, compared to a hefty £3 for four from M&S.

Aldi was so good across so many products

Almost every product we sampled from Aldi tasted either just as good as M&S, or better. We found Aldi's Vintage Cheddar more appealing than the M&S West Country one, and the Specially Selected sausages - blended with herbs and a hint of ginger - were a massive hit.

Many of the items, including the Canadian Maple Syrup, extra virgin olive oil and Parma Ham tasted pretty much identical. It's no surprise that Aldi's Specially Selected Superseed Farmhouse loaf tastes just like the M&S Super Seeded loaf, both of which contain sunflower, millet, linseed, poppy and pumpkin seeds. However, while the M&S one will set you back £1.60, Aldi's version is only £1.09.

There were plenty more significant price differences with some of the other products we tried too. For instance, the Manuka Honey costs £4.39 for a 225g jar at Aldi, and £10 for a slightly larger 250g jar from M&S.

Aldi's Extra Fine Beans were priced at £1.29 for 200g, while M&S ones were £2.50 for the same size. Sales of premium ready meals have also been on the rise at Aldi and the ones we tried - Lasagne Al Forno and Mac and Cheese - were another big hit with the kids, as was Aldi's Specially Selected Spicy Italian Salami and 'Nduja pizza, Steak Pie and Pesto Alla Genovese, another of its best sellers.

Even the products that weren't part of Aldi's premium range, such as the tenderstem broccoli for example, at £1.39 for 200g, was no different to the M&S one, which was £3 for a larger 350g bag, but still working out more per kg.

Alcohol: Aldi v M&S

The product that was hardest to compare was the alcohol. As among Aldi's most popular premium products is its Castellore Organic Prosecco Rose, priced at £7.99 a bottle. M&S doesn't stock a rose organic prosecco, so we opted for its white organic Colle Del Principe Prosecco, priced at £9.

I'm not typically a rose enthusiast, but I must admit the Aldi version is particularly pleasant and certainly had a fresher taste compared to the pricier M&S bottle. My usual go-to is Aldi's top-selling £5.45 Costellore Prosecco, so I'm not overly picky and certainly no wine connoisseur.

Some foods didn't meet the M&S standard

There were a few items that we felt didn't quite meet M&S standards.

We favoured the M&S Collection Potato Dauphinoise, £3.50, which was fresh from the fridge, over Aldi's £2.75 freezer pack - primarily due to the flavour, but also the presentation.

The real underperformer was the lemon drizzle cake. While Aldi's is perfectly acceptable, and a steal at £2.25, it's the softer sponge and lemon juice icing that gives the £4 M&S one the advantage.

I might be able to justify the additional cost for that one. But when so many of the other items were virtually on par in terms of taste and quality, it demonstrates that you don't necessarily have to pay a premium to get the good stuff.