A 59p tin of Sainsbury's Cream of Tomato soup has outperformed Heinz and other major brands in a blind taste test conducted by consumer experts at Which?. The budget soup impressed a panel of 77 soup fans with its rich and creamy texture, pleasant tang and strong flavour, tying with Tesco's own-label version for first place.
Top performers undercut Heinz by more than half
Sainsbury's Cream of Tomato, priced at 59p for a 400g tin, shared the top spot with Tesco's cream of tomato soup, which costs the same. Testers praised Sainsbury's for its ideal balance of 'tanginess and sweetness' and awarded it high marks for appearance and texture. Tesco's version was said to have 'excelled on every measure,' delivering the perfect flavour and tang.
Asda Cream of Tomato soup, also 59p, scored slightly lower but still won over the panel with its appealing look, aroma, taste and consistency, offering just the right level of creaminess. All three winning options cost less than half the price of Heinz, which retails at £1.70 for a tin of the same size.
Branded soups fall behind
Crosse and Blackwell earned the highest rating among branded soups in the taste test, at £1.25 a tin — still more than twice the price of most supermarket own-label varieties that scored better. Heinz placed third from bottom, with numerous tasters commenting that the flavour was too mild and lacked sufficient sweetness or creaminess. M&S, Co-op and Morrisons also caught the panel's attention but did not match the top performers.
Worst-rated soups named
At the opposite end of the spectrum, Aldi and Lidl's offerings — both priced at 59p — fell short on texture and creaminess. Waitrose came in below Heinz, propping up the supermarket own-label category, with the panel unimpressed by its flavour and creaminess. Finishing in last place was Baxters, the priciest soup of the lot at £2.05, with the majority of tasters feeling the flavour was underwhelming and the soup disappointingly thin.
