Lidl vs M&S: The Easter Egg taste test 2011

It's time for our annual Easter egg taste test. Who will be the winner this year?

Easter is just over a week away. And that can only mean one thing. It’s time for the lovemoney.com annual Easter egg taste test!

This year we opted for a good mix of low, medium and high priced eggs to see which offered the best value for money. Would a more expensive egg guarantee a tastier one or are some of the cheaper old favourites just as delicious – if not more so?

In total, there were eight Easter eggs to taste and as usual, volunteers were not hard to come by, with many of them drooling in anticipation several days in advance...

The test

Each taster was given an Easter egg to rate in terms of overall look, who they would give it to, and how much they would be prepared to pay for the egg.

After that, it was time for the blind taste test to begin - in which the volunteers were asked to rate the eight eggs out of ten. Testers were asked to start at different points to ensure that no egg had first-taster advantage.

Of course, as usual, this taste test wasn’t the most scientific experiment that’s ever been conducted, but as Easter is approaching, we thought it would be a bit of fun. And of course, it’s easy for you to replicate at home!

The line-up

Just like last year, we couldn’t find an own brand Easter egg at Lidl, so we used an Easter bunny instead. And once again, it was the cheapest purchase at just 90p per 100g, or £1.79 in total.

The most expensive egg per 100g was the M&S egg (although it was closely followed by the Burnt Sugar egg), while both the Lindor and Divine Easter eggs were the most expensive overall at £10 each.

So let’s see how the results turned out.

Lidl Bunny

Lidl always performs particularly well in our annual mince pie taste test and it also did well in our sandwich, steak pie and Valentine’s Day chocolate taste tests. However, when it comes to Easter chocolate, it doesn’t perform as well – in fact, last year, the Lidl Bunny came last!

So how did it do this year?

Daniel Culpan, an intern for our sister site lovefood.com, reviewed it this year.

Daniel’s verdict: ‘Great, novelty-looking bunny (with a slightly scary expression). Plastic wrapping a bit cheap-looking and dull – a box would have looked much better.’

Suitable for: ‘Children – my nieces would absolutely love it. Also perhaps my nana or animal lovers.’

Blind taste test comments: Our testers could not have had more mixed opinions about this one. Some described it as ‘one to impress the wife with’, ‘very creamy and sweet, but not too sweet’, ‘expensive’. Others said it was ‘cheap’, ‘sugary with bad aftertaste’ and ‘rubbish’.

That clears that up then... 

Overall position: Lidl came in last place last year. This year, it did slightly better, coming in at number five.

M&S Milk Chocolate and Hazelnut Egg

lovemoney.com Editor, Donna Ferguson, took a closer look at this egg.

Donna’s verdict: ‘Quite feminine and adult. Looks delicious, not too big or silly. A simple, but good quality egg.’

Suitable for: Mum or sister. 

Blind taste test comments: The majority of the testers enjoyed this egg, describing it as ‘enjoyably creamy and expensive tasting’ and ‘very smooth and moreish’. However, one taster said it tasted a bit artificial and ‘plasticky’.

Overall position: M&S’ offering scored fairly well last year, taking position three out of six. This year it did even better, coming joint first! However, don’t forget, per 100g this was also the most expensive egg at £4.19/100g.

Lindt Lindor Milk Chocolate Egg with Lindor Milk Chocolate Eggs

I have to say Lindt is one of my favourite chocolate brands, and it was Publishing Director, Emma Davies’ turn to tackle this one.

Emma’s verdict: ‘Doesn’t look very Easter-orientated apart from the delicious chocolate egg. It looks more Christmassy and the Lindt branding is very dominant. But looks nice and quite big – would be happy to receive.’ 

Suitable for: Ladies of the house - mum, gran, aunty. 

Blind taste test comments:  Again, the majority of testers enjoyed this egg. Comments included, ‘very smooth and velvety, melts in the mouth’, ‘tastes very authentic – big fan’, ‘strong rich taste’ and ‘nice texture’.

However, a couple of samplers disagreed and said it tasted ‘cheap’ and ‘not overly chocolatey’.

Overall position:  The Lindt Lindor egg scored very highly and took joint first position with the M&S egg! However, again, this was one of the more expensive eggs at £10, or £3.11/100g. Still, if you’re prepared to pay it, the recipient is bound to love it!

Cadbury’s Buttons Egg

It was Deputy Editor, John Fitzsimons’, job to review last year’s winning egg. Will it have performed as well this year?

John’s verdict: ‘Simple, child-friendly.’

Suitable for: ‘Children – or at least, the young at heart.’ 

Blind taste test comments: This egg proved very popular again this year. But despite the unmistakeable taste of Cadbury’s, a couple of testers still thought the egg tasted expensive.

Comments included, ‘yummy’, ‘thick, creamy, lovely’, ‘melts in the mouth, nice aftertaste’, ‘lighter than the other eggs’.

That said, a few other testers did think the egg tasted cheap, with one taster saying it was ‘boring, boring, boring’ and another saying it had an odd initial taste. 

Overall position:  Having come first last year, the Cadbury’s egg still managed to put in a noble performance, taking second place. Given that it was the second cheapest egg at £1.54/100g this is especially good!

Nestle Smarties Egg

lovemoney.com intern, Mandy Le-Vesconte, took on this egg, so how did it score?

Mandy’s verdict: ‘Colourful, eye-catching, fun. But a bit cheap.’

Suitable for: Children.

Blind taste test comments: Opinions were fairly mixed about this Easter egg. Some testers said it was ‘creamy, rich, full-flavoured’ ‘could keep eating it and not get bored’ and ‘great’. Others said it was ‘boring’, ‘quite sugary and bad aftertaste’ and ‘bit dry and dense’. 

Overall position:  The Smarties egg won our taste test two years ago. However, last year it didn’t perform quite as well, dropping to fourth place.

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This year, however, it came third! Again, given that this egg was one of the cheapest at £2.50 (or £1.58/100g), this really is great value for money!

Burnt Sugar Milk Chocolate Honeycomb Egg

This rather glamorous-looking egg was reviewed by Head of Consumer Finance, Ed Bowsher. It also came with a box of chocolate honeycomb pieces.

Ed’s verdict: ‘Impressive! I like the fact that this egg is a bit different – using honeycomb, and the packaging explains that. Looks smart too. Gold-wrapping of egg makes it look posh.’

Suitable for: ‘I’d happily give this egg to my mum or my girlfriend.’

Blind taste test comments: Most of our testers liked this one, although there was some disagreement. Comments included, ‘big fan of the crackle in the chocolate – very exciting’, ‘a playful little egg’, ‘nice with the crispy bits for texture.’

However, others begged to differ, with one sampler stating the egg was ‘horrible, bad chocolate. No amount of honeycomb could improve that.’ Another said it was ‘a bit too sweet and cheap’.

Overall position:  Clearly causing mixed opinions, overall this egg scored reasonably well, coming in at fourth place. However, it was also one of the more expensive eggs at £4.18/100g, or £8.99 in total.

Monty Bojangles Best of British Sticky Toffee Pudding Egg

I love the name of this egg and it was lovefood.com intern, Kirsty Page, who examined this one.

Kirsty’s verdict: ‘Quite trendy packaging, but it did remind me a bit of a coffin!’

Suitable for: Brother, uncle.

Blind taste test comments: Reviews for this egg were pretty poor. In fact, it did not go down well with our testers at all! Several samplers thought it tasted cheap and comments included ‘odd, metallic taste’, ‘I don’t like it’, ‘erh!’, ‘gross, tasted like crisps’ and ‘very bland’. Several also commented on the bad aftertaste.

However, one tester said he was a big fan! So it just goes to show that not everyone has the same tastes...

Overall position:  As would be expected with comments this poor, this Easter egg came in second from last.

Divine Milk Chocolate Easter Egg with Praline Milk Chocolates

Finally, lovemoney.com writer, Rob Powell, assessed this fancy-looking egg.

Rob’s verdict: ‘Fairly expensive, but also very ethical. I enjoyed reading the “story of the egg” which is printed on the side.’

Suitable for: Hippie girlfriend. A champagne socialist brother or sister. Anyone who likes the idea of ‘the big society’.

Blind taste test comments: Again, this egg did not prove popular with our samplers. Comments included, ‘nasty aftertaste – tastes like cooking chocolate’, ‘tacky texture’, ‘very sugary and sweet rather than chocolatey’, ‘bland’.

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However, one person liked it and said it was ‘serious stuff and very filling and creamy’. What’s more, it was ‘very, very thick, like wading through chocolate river’.

Overall position:  Unsurprisingly, this egg came in last, just two points behind the Monty Bojangles egg. It was also one of the most expensive eggs at £3.85 per 100g or £10 in total. So it just shows that expensive doesn’t always mean tasty.

The outcome

Well, this year, there’s really been a mixed bag of results. Two of the most expensive eggs in the taste test were indeed the most delicious – M&S and Lindt.

However, the bottom two places were also taken up by fairly expensive eggs – Monty Bojangles and Divine. So obviously, paying more for your Easter chocolate doesn’t guarantee a tastier egg – which is very good news if you’re on a budget!

In fact, given that two of the cheapest eggs came in second and third place, this proves that classic eggs such as Cadbury’s and Nestle will always go down a treat, meaning you can save some pennies at the same time!

Here’s a quick reminder how each egg rated in terms of taste:

Happy Easter!

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