Savvy shoppers in Spain scrap the big brands for these supermarket own options, how you can cash in on weekly shop savings

Many Spanish consumers are turning away from big-name brands to shop at supermarkets for their weekly groceries and making significant savings. Consumer and user organisation OCUs comparison of 63 liquid laundry detergents found Bosque Verde, Mercadona’s household range, topping the list with a score of 76 out of 100. It is priced at around €2.95 for a 30-wash bottle, while Ariel’s Actilift Alpine liquid scored 66 points and costs around €11.90 for the same amount.

This makes Bosque Verde significantly cheaper, costing only seven cents per wash compared to Ariel’s nearly 24 cents. Lidl’s own-label cleaning products also performed well, earning master buy status for W5 dishwasher tablets. Hacendado’s semi-skimmed milk was the top-rated among 38 brands tested by OCUs, scoring 78 points and praised for its creaminess and flavour intensity at around 84 cents per litre.

Private-label groceries in Spain are typically 21% cheaper than their manufacturer counterparts, even as prices across the board have risen. Mercadona’s Steinburg lager won the World Beer Awards in 2019 and matched Dia’s Ramblers in blind tastings, outperforming popular Mahou 5 Estrellas. Extra virgin olive oil from supermarket labels also fared well, with five of the ten best-rated oils priced about 1.50 euros per litre cheaper than household names.

Tinned tuna, too, showed private-label options outperforming pricier alternatives, while children’s products like nappies and shampoo also offered significant savings with Mercadona’s Deliplus range and Lidl’s Cien shampoo scoring higher than competing brands at lower prices.