Supermarket own-brand milk chocolate outperformed Cadbury Dairy Milk in a five-bar taste test, with every retailer bar ranked ahead of the classic brand. The bars vary in weight and size, and ingredients differ between retailers, but chocolate prices have risen sharply recently like most groceries, so price was a factor.
Cadbury Dairy Milk received just one out of five, and the writer said they were not sure they would buy it again unless things change. Aldi's Dairyfine scored four out of five.
Palm oil-free own brands win praise
A 180g Cadbury Dairy Milk costs £2.75 at Tesco. Excluding M&S, all four remaining supermarket bars of a similar or slightly larger size cost less. Online reviews show several customers feel many own-brand options taste better than Dairy Milk, and shoppers are praising retailers for palm oil-free recipes while Cadbury Dairy Milk still contains palm fat.
The Tesco Milk Chocolate Bar (200g) at £2.30 was rated 3/5. It had a creamy taste and would work well for baking or as a cake topping. The writer preferred Tesco Ms Molly's Milk Chocolate Bar (100g) at 59p for its cocoa butter flavour. One online review of the standard Tesco bar says: "Very nice taste, My goto chocolate bar now that I've stopped buying Cadbury. No palm oil. Well done, Tesco."
M&S and Sainsbury's step up
M&S Choc Marks Milk Chocolate (180g) at £3.50 was rated 3/5. It was solid and tasty, more chocolatey than creamy, and a clear step up from Cadbury. The smaller Choc Marks Small Bars (50g) cost £1.40 and make a decent afternoon treat. The rating reflected the price and the fact that dried whole milk appears before cocoa butter on the ingredients list.
Sainsbury's milk chocolate bar surprised the writer given some negative reviews online. The taste and ingredients were very good, with a rich, smooth texture, a chunky shape, and no palm oil. Some customers had complained about price rises and said the recipe had "changed", but the writer rates it highly and says it easily beat Cadbury Dairy Milk.
Aldi and Morrisons add variety
Aldi's Dairyfine Milk Chocolate was rated 4/5. It was cheaper than Sainsbury's, slightly sweeter, and great value for money. On first taste it seemed quite sweet, but on a second try it felt well-balanced. Aldi's Choceur, a more premium option, was very creamy, much like Dairy Milk used to taste.
Morrisons was rated separately because the bar tried included extra ingredients. The retailer already sells a basic Savers Milk Chocolate bar (100g) for 80p and a 200g Milk Chocolate at £2.30, but a newer product caught the eye. After launching its Chunk chocolate range last year, Morrisons introduced Chunk Belgian Chocolate With Blueberry, Raspberry, Cookie and Brownie (140g) at £2.50, which received 3/5. Many shoppers gave it five stars online, with one saying: "This chocolate is so good! Well done, Morrisons." Some compared it to Tony's Chocolonely, though Tony's has bigger chunks and stronger flavours at £4.00 for 180g.
Morrisons Chunk contains at least 30% cocoa solids and arguably tastes better than Dairy Milk, but some products in the range contain palm oil. Tony's stands apart by being palm oil-free across its entire range and promoting sustainable farming. Cadbury Dairy Milk lists palm oil as an ingredient in bars sold across Europe, though not in the US or Australia.
Palm oil does not improve taste
Setting aside the wider palm oil debate, it is broadly agreed that palm oil does not improve the taste of milk chocolate. Most chocolate lovers would rather taste good-quality cocoa butter alongside a straightforward, smooth milk flavour.
