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Supermarket Digestive Biscuits Put to the Test: Aldi Ties McVitie's for Top Spot

A taste test comparing digestive biscuits from Aldi, Lidl, Asda, and M&S against McVitie's found Aldi's 59p biscuits tied with the branded favourite at 9/10, while Lidl's came last at 2/10.

By Tertius News AI Desk 2 distinct · 2 mastheads · 2 articles Version 1 Coverage Aug 31, 2026 Published 1h ago

Supermarket Digestive Biscuits Put to the Test: Aldi Ties McVitie's for Top Spot

A recent taste test of digestive biscuits from major UK supermarkets has crowned a surprising winner. The comparison, carried out by a writer for the Liverpool Echo and South Wales Echo, pitted own-brand versions from Lidl, Aldi, Asda, and Marks and Spencer against the nation's favourite, McVitie's. The results showed that a budget option from Aldi matched the branded classic, while Lidl's offering trailed significantly behind.

The tasting was conducted in a first-person account, with the reviewer sampling biscuits from each retailer and scoring them out of ten. The rankings placed Aldi and McVitie's jointly at the top with 9/10, followed by Asda (6/10), M&S (5/10), and Lidl (2/10).

Aldi Tops the Chart

Aldi's digestive biscuits, priced at 59p, were praised for their excellent texture and a balanced sweet-and-savoury flavour. The reviewer noted that they held together well without being overly firm, which contributed to their high score. The article highlighted that the budget retailer managed to rival McVitie's, securing the top spot in the rankings.

McVitie's Remains a Firm Favourite

McVitie's digestive biscuits, bought from Asda for £1.88, were described as a "beloved personal favourite" with a distinctive texture. The reviewer said the household name has "consistently outperformed many supermarket alternatives" and noted "something distinctive" about them that makes them an ideal accompaniment to a cup of tea. They scored 9/10, tying with Aldi.

Asda and M&S Offer Mixed Results

Asda's biscuits, at 65p, were found to be sweeter than the rest. The reviewer noted that while this might be a concern for some, they personally didn't mind. However, the biscuits crumbled easily, with crumbs covering the table upon opening. They scored 6/10.

M&S digestives, priced at 90p, were deemed "too hard" for the reviewer's liking. They were difficult to break apart by hand, and the texture made them "significantly chewier than necessary," which ultimately put the reviewer off having more. They received 5/10.

Lidl Comes in Last

Lidl's digestive biscuits, also priced at 59p, were ranked at the bottom with 2/10. The reviewer described their flavour as "peculiar," calling to mind a Rich Tea biscuit rather than a classic digestive. Apart from resembling a different biscuit, they offered no particularly memorable taste, and the reviewer said they'd had enough after one bite.

Price Comparison

The taste test also highlighted the price differences among the biscuits. Aldi and Lidl both offered their digestives at 59p, Asda's cost 65p, M&S's were 90p, and McVitie's were £1.88 from Asda. The results suggest that price isn't always an indicator of quality, with the cheapest option tying for the top score.

How each outlet told it

A framing line is our reading of that outlet's own text — an interpretation, not a quotation and not a fact we assert. Check it against what the outlet published.

Liverpool Echo

Framing: The headline emphasizes the taste test challenge to McVitie's, highlighting that a supermarket own-brand beat the classic.

as of Aug 31, 2026, 4:17 PM UTC

Facts Included:

Taster compared digestive biscuits from Lidl, Aldi, Asda, and M&S against McVitie's.
Lidl's biscuit scored 2/10 and was described as having a peculiar flavour resembling Rich Tea.
M&S's biscuit scored 5/10 and was deemed too hard to break apart.
Asda's biscuit scored 6/10 and was noted as sweeter than the rest.
McVitie's scored 9/10 and was described as a beloved personal favourite with distinctive texture.
Aldi's biscuit scored 9/10 and was praised for excellent texture and balanced savoury-sweet taste.
Aldi's biscuit costs 59p, making it appealing on price.

Read the source article →

South Wales Echo

Framing: The headline emphasizes a taste test comparing McVitie's and supermarket own-brand digestives, highlighting a clear winner.

as of Aug 31, 2026, 4:17 PM UTC

Facts Included:

Aldi's digestive biscuits cost 59p
Lidl's digestive biscuits cost 59p
M&S digestive biscuits cost 90p
Asda's digestive biscuits cost 65p
Aldi's biscuits were ranked top
McVitie's were ranked second
M&S biscuits were ranked third
Asda biscuits were ranked fourth
Lidl biscuits were ranked fifth
Aldi biscuits had an excellent texture
Aldi biscuits had a balanced sweet and savoury flavour
Aldi biscuits held together well without being overly firm
McVitie's were described as a firm personal favourite
McVitie's were described as consistently outshining supermarket own-brand versions
McVitie's were described as having something distinctly special
M&S biscuits were too hard to break apart
M&S biscuits were significantly chewier than necessary
Asda biscuits crumbled and left crumbs on the table
Asda biscuits were sweeter than the rest
Lidl biscuits had a peculiar flavour reminiscent of Rich Tea
Lidl biscuits offered no particularly memorable taste

Read the source article →

What was claimed, and who backed it

AI-extracted; can misattribute a claim — see Methodology.

Each row is one claim, attributed to the outlet whose wording states it most clearly. Confidence rates how directly the source text states the claim — explicit and unhedged rates high; hedged, pieced-together, or internally inconsistent statements rate lower. It does not measure whether the claim is true. Status is Contested when two claims on this page negate each other; otherwise it counts the distinct outlets we found asserting that specific claim — so a single-source claim can still show high confidence, and a multi-source claim can show medium. Every one of those outlets is named beside the status, so you can check the count against the list. For claims extracted before we began storing that list, the row says so: it names the outlet the claim is quoted from and states that we have not recorded which outlets backed it. Outlets wrote at different times, so a figure that evolves — a casualty count, for example — can legitimately differ between rows; check the "as of" time next to each claim's source.

Claim	Confidence	Status
ClaimAldi's digestive biscuits cost 59p.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source (2 outlets · 2 distinct) via South Wales Echo as of Aug 31, 2026, 4:17 PM UTC, Liverpool Echo as of Aug 31, 2026, 4:17 PM UTC
ClaimM&S digestive biscuits cost 90p.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source (2 outlets · 2 distinct) via South Wales Echo as of Aug 31, 2026, 4:17 PM UTC, Liverpool Echo as of Aug 31, 2026, 4:17 PM UTC
ClaimAsda's digestive biscuits cost 65p.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusContested via South Wales Echo as of Aug 31, 2026, 4:17 PM UTC, Liverpool Echo as of Aug 31, 2026, 4:17 PM UTC
ClaimMcVitie's digestive biscuits cost £1.88 from Asda.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusContested via South Wales Echo as of Aug 31, 2026, 4:17 PM UTC, Liverpool Echo as of Aug 31, 2026, 4:17 PM UTC
ClaimAldi's biscuits were ranked top.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source (2 outlets · 2 distinct) via Liverpool Echo as of Aug 31, 2026, 4:17 PM UTC, South Wales Echo as of Aug 31, 2026, 4:17 PM UTC
ClaimMcVitie's were ranked second.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via South Wales Echo as of Aug 31, 2026, 4:17 PM UTC
ClaimM&S biscuits were ranked third.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via South Wales Echo as of Aug 31, 2026, 4:17 PM UTC
ClaimAsda biscuits were ranked fourth.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via South Wales Echo as of Aug 31, 2026, 4:17 PM UTC
ClaimLidl biscuits were ranked fifth.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via South Wales Echo as of Aug 31, 2026, 4:17 PM UTC
ClaimAldi biscuits had an excellent texture.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source (2 outlets · 2 distinct) via South Wales Echo as of Aug 31, 2026, 4:17 PM UTC, Liverpool Echo as of Aug 31, 2026, 4:17 PM UTC
ClaimAldi biscuits had a balanced sweet and savoury flavour.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source (2 outlets · 2 distinct) via Liverpool Echo as of Aug 31, 2026, 4:17 PM UTC, South Wales Echo as of Aug 31, 2026, 4:17 PM UTC
ClaimAldi biscuits held together well without being overly firm.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source (2 outlets · 2 distinct) via South Wales Echo as of Aug 31, 2026, 4:17 PM UTC, Liverpool Echo as of Aug 31, 2026, 4:17 PM UTC
ClaimMcVitie's biscuits were described as a firm personal favourite with a distinctive texture.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via South Wales Echo as of Aug 31, 2026, 4:17 PM UTC
ClaimMcVitie's were described as consistently outshining supermarket own-brand versions.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via South Wales Echo as of Aug 31, 2026, 4:17 PM UTC
ClaimMcVitie's were described as having something distinctly special about them.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via South Wales Echo as of Aug 31, 2026, 4:17 PM UTC
ClaimAldi's biscuits were praised for excellent texture and balanced sweet and savoury taste.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source (2 outlets · 2 distinct) via Liverpool Echo as of Aug 31, 2026, 4:17 PM UTC, South Wales Echo as of Aug 31, 2026, 4:17 PM UTC
ClaimM&S biscuits were too hard to break apart.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source (2 outlets · 2 distinct) via South Wales Echo as of Aug 31, 2026, 4:17 PM UTC, Liverpool Echo as of Aug 31, 2026, 4:17 PM UTC
ClaimAsda's biscuits were noted as sweeter than the rest.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source (2 outlets · 2 distinct) via South Wales Echo as of Aug 31, 2026, 4:17 PM UTC, Liverpool Echo as of Aug 31, 2026, 4:17 PM UTC
ClaimLidl's biscuits had a peculiar flavour reminiscent of a Rich Tea biscuit.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via South Wales Echo as of Aug 31, 2026, 4:17 PM UTC
ClaimLidl's biscuits were scored 2/10.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via South Wales Echo as of Aug 31, 2026, 4:17 PM UTC
ClaimM&S biscuits were scored 5/10.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source (2 outlets · 2 distinct) via South Wales Echo as of Aug 31, 2026, 4:17 PM UTC, Liverpool Echo as of Aug 31, 2026, 4:17 PM UTC
ClaimAsda biscuits were scored 6/10.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source (2 outlets · 2 distinct) via South Wales Echo as of Aug 31, 2026, 4:17 PM UTC, Liverpool Echo as of Aug 31, 2026, 4:17 PM UTC
ClaimMcVitie's biscuits were scored 9/10.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusMulti-source (2 outlets · 2 distinct) via South Wales Echo as of Aug 31, 2026, 4:17 PM UTC, Liverpool Echo as of Aug 31, 2026, 4:17 PM UTC

Transparency & Audit Trail

2 distinct · 2 mastheads · 2 articles consulted: Liverpool Echo, South Wales Echo 23 claims extracted Version 1 Written 2026-08-31