There’s a rumour going around the internet. Some crisp fans claim to have found Aldi Potato Hoops lurking inside multipacks of KP Hula Hoops. And they think that both brands are exactly the same. Perhaps the mixup is not so surprising as both snacks are believed to be manufactured in the same factory. But are they the same product? Many people seem to think they are.
So, we wanted to know if any other own-brand hoops could match the taste of the market leader KP Snacks Hula Hoops. In the interests of science (and also because we love eating crisps), we taste-tested another copycat, Hula Hoop – Lidl’s Snaktastic Potato Hoops, against the original. We considered various factors, including price, taste, ingredients and value for money, to see which would wear the crown of the best potato ring-shaped snack! Here’s what we found.
The Hula Hoop Contenders
The original KP Snacks Hula Hoops
Lidl Snaktastic Potato Hoops
First Impressions
The packaging looks pretty similar, although Lid’s is just different enough to keep KP’s lawyers at bay. The original KP packaging is slightly more premium-looking, giving the impression of a better-quality product inside.
The Lidl Hoops were darker in colour than the KP Hoops, and there were a couple of broken ones in the packet. The sizes of the hoops varied in both packets, and there was little difference in appearance other than the colour.
However, the Lidl packets contain 25g of hoops, whereas the KP packs contain just 24g.
Price/Value For Money
KP Hula Hoops come in multipacks of 6 x 24g, and the cheapest we could find them on sale was on promotion at Morrisons for £1.75. Lidl’s Snaktastic Potato Hoops cost £1.85 for 10 x 25g packs.
This works out at £1.22 per 100g for KP Hula Hoops and 74p per 100g for Lidl Hoops—a saving of 48p per 100g!
Ingredients
KP Hula Hoops contains potato (potato starch and dried potato), sunflower oil, rice flour, maize flour, salt and potassium chloride.
Lidl Hoops contain dried potato, potato starch, vegetable oil (sunflower and rape seed), rice flour, maize, maltodextrin, salt, potassium chloride and natural flavouring.
Although Lidl contains maltodextrin (known to spike blood sugar) and added flavouring, the ingredients are pretty similar.
Taste
Both products taste remarkably similar, although Lidl’s definitely have more crunch. The darker colour suggests they were probably cooked longer, giving them a crispiness that Hula Hoops doesn’t have.
Hula Hoops have a very subtly smoother taste, and what they lack in crunch, they make up for in suckability (if that is even a word!).
Could Lidl Snaktastic pass themselves off as the real thing? Probably. They are an excellent copy of the original and are of great value for money.
Which Hoop takes the prize? Our verdict
That depends on how crunchy you like your snacks. If you prefer a smoother taste, KP is your choice, but if you like a good bit of crunch, Lidl is your choice. Honestly, there isn’t much between them.
This taste test has demonstrated that own-brand products are just as good – and sometimes better than their branded alternatives. Read more about supermarket own-brand products and the savings you can make here.
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