Butter Ratings

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Duck River toasts competition in butter ratings

Butter is the unsung hero of any muffin, croissant, crumpet or toast. It’s the staple that pops up in all kinds of recipes, so you’re bound to have it stocked in your fridge ready to be whipped into action. As the backbone to our meals and desserts, butter needs to have the right blend of taste and value. But which brand is the bread to our butter?

To find out, we’ve again surveyed nearly 2,000 Australian consumers about the butter they’ve purchased and consumed within the last three months. Respondents compared and rated their brands on a widespread of factors, including taste, texture, ease of spread, packaging, value for money and overall satisfaction. Those that received the minimum sample size (30 responses) are featured in this year’s report.

Our latest ratings saw Duck River wipe ALDI Beautifully Butterfully off the top, ending the supermarket’s five-year winning streak. Duck River was rated best for overall satisfaction and achieved five-star reviews across most of the table.

Best Butter

Here are the best brands for butter in Australia, as rated by consumers in Canstar Blue’s latest review:

1. Duck River
2. ALDI Beautifully Butterfully
3. Mainland
4. Lurpak
5. Western Star
6. Devondale
7. Coles
8. Woolworths
9. Bertolli
10. ALDI Just Organic

Duck River is the second brand to win Canstar Blue’s customer satisfaction award for butter, with ALDI previously championing the category every year since we started reviewing the grocery staple in 2016!

Duck River was the only brand to receive five stars for overall satisfaction as well as taste, texture, packaging and ease of spread. Although it’s worth mentioning that former winner ALDI Beautifully Butterfully managed to outdo Duck River on value for money, and scored an additional set of full marks for packaging.

ALDI Beautifully Butterfully ended up as runner-up and joined Mainland, Lurpak, Western Star and Devondale in scoring four stars for overall satisfaction. Coles, Woolworths, Bertolli and ALDI Just Organic rounded up the scores on three stars overall.

Butter Brands

Duck River

Duck River is perhaps one of Tasmania’s best-kept secrets, filling Aussie bellies with what they describe as an ‘all-natural, creamy premium quality butter’ since 1904. The range includes a soft butter blend and salt-reduced butter blend, both of which come in a 500g tub. Duck River also offers a pat of butter in either 250g or 500g options. Products from Duck River’s range include:

• Duck River Butter Pat (250g)
• Duck River Soft Butter Blend Tub
• Duck River Salt-Reduced Butter Blend Tub
• Duck River Butter Pat (500g)

You can expect to fork out $3.40 to $7.20 for Duck River butter.

• Duck River earned five-star reviews for most factors, including taste, texture, ease of spreading, packaging and overall satisfaction. The only exception was value for money, where it got four stars.

ALDI Beautifully Butterfully

Beautifully Butterfully is an ALDI exclusive brand of table spreads and butters. All spreads from the range are claimed to be Australian-made and contain no preservatives or artificial colours and are vegetarian friendly. The brand also offers a Halal-certified option. Here are some product options from Beautifully Butterfully:

• Beautifully Butterfully Dairy Blend
• Beautifully Butterfully Butter
• Beautifully Butterfully Unsalted Butter

Prices for Beautifully Butterfully butter start from $2.79 for 250g and reach up to $3.49 for 500g.

• ALDI Beautifully Butterfully was rated best for value for money and achieved five stars for packaging. It scored four stars everywhere else, including for overall satisfaction.

Mainland

According to Mainland, good things take time which is why its butter is crafted using only premium and natural ingredients said to be sourced from New Zealand. The brand is renowned for its dairy products, including cheeses and spreads, with classic butters and spreadable options also available. Mainland has three trademarked lines, namely ButterSoft, Organic Butter and Pure Butter. Here are some products from the range:

• Mainland ButterSoft Salt-Reduced
• Mainland Pure Butter Unsalted
• Mainland Organic Spreadable Salted
• Mainland Pure Butter with Real Sea Salt Crystals

A Mainland tub of butter can set you back between $5 for a 250g block and up to $6.70 for a 375g tub.

• Mainland achieved four-star reviews for majority of the categories, including taste, texture, ease of spreading and overall satisfaction. It got three stars for value for money.

Lurpak

Lurpak says it combines traditional methods with state-of-the-art technology to craft unmistakably fresh and ever-so-slightly aromatic Danish butter. Lurpak has been in the business of making premium butter ever since its inception in 1901 and now sells its products in more than 75 countries. Here is a sample selection from the Lurpak range:

• Lurpak Slightly Salted Spreadable Butter
• Lurpak Spreadable Light Butter
• Lurpak Danish Butter with Crushed Garlic
• Lurpak Softest Slightly Salted Spreadable Butter

Prices for Lurpak butter start from $5 for 250g at most supermarkets.

• Lurpak received three stars for value for money, but bumped up its score to four stars for overall satisfaction and everywhere else.

Western Star

Western Star has been dishing up different types of butters since 1926, describing its products as ‘expertly crafted from natural ingredients’. The brand offers thickened cream products and different butter products, including regular and spreadable options, with low-salt alternatives also available. Here are some products from the Western Star range:

• Western Star Soft ‘n’ Less Salt
• Western Star Spreadable Original Soft
• Western Star Unsalted Butter
• Western Star Chef’s Choice Unsalted Cultured Butter

Prices for Western Star butter start from $3.20 for 250g and go up to $7 for 500g products.

• Western Star maintained four stars across the board, including for categories such as taste, value for money and overall satisfaction.

Devondale

Devondale’s philosophy is that dairy is with you from childhood to adulthood, which is why it offers a wide variety of products. This includes milk, cheese, butter and spreads. Devondale offers several butter options in a variety of sizes, such as 250g, 375g and 500g. Some options from the range include:

• Devondale Salted Butter
• Devondale Dairy Soft Butter Blend
• Devondale Extra Soft Butter Blend
• Devondale Extra Light Butter Blend

A tub of Devondale butter can cost $5.70 for a 500g tub or $4.30 for a 250g block.

• Devondale was rated four stars in all categories, including taste, texture, ease of spreading, packaging, value for money and overall satisfaction.

Coles

Coles own brand is the supermarket’s ‘bread and butter’ line of low-price household and pantry essentials. The private label offers a small variety of butters, including regular and soft spreads, at affordable prices, compared to other commercial brands. Here is a sample selection from the range:

• Coles Salted Butter
• Coles Unsalted Butter
• Coles Regular Spread
• Coles Buttery Blend

Prices for Coles butter start from $2.80 for 500g, exclusive to Coles.

• Coles received four stars for value for money and texture but finished with three stars for overall satisfaction and the remaining categories.

Woolworths

Woolworths has a couple of affordable ranges for everyday items, including just ‘Woolworths’ and Woolworths Essentials, both of which have butter options. Woolies butter apparently does not contain any artificial colours, flavours or preservatives. Some products include:

• Woolworths Australian Butter Salted
• Woolworths Australian Butter Unsalted

Prices typically start from $3.25 for a block of 250g butter.

• Woolworths was rated four stars for value for money and texture, before ending on three stars for overall satisfaction and everywhere else.

Bertolli

The Bertolli legacy started hundreds of years ago and lives on through authentic flavours imbued in the brand’s assortment of table spreads, condiments and frozen meals. Bertolli offers a range of regular and soft butters, as well as margarine and olive oil spreads. Here are some products from the range:

• Bertolli Buttery Spread
• Bertolli Olive Oil Margarine Spread with Butter
• Bertolli With Butter Margarine And A Pinch Of Sea Salt

A tub of Bertolli butter costs on average $5 for 400g from most supermarkets.

• Bertolli scored four stars for value for money, before ending on three stars for overall satisfaction and everywhere else.

ALDI Just Organic

Aside from Beautifully Butterfully, ALDI also offers the Just Organic range as another affordable alternative. At the time of writing, there’s currently only one product available ─ the Just Organic Butter. This 250g block of salted butter is claimed to be made with natural ingredients and to not contain artificial ingredients. You can expect to buy it exclusively at ALDI for $3.59.

• ALDI Just Organic received four stars for value for money and packaging, before ending on three stars for overall satisfaction and everywhere else.

What to consider when buying butter

Apart from discovering which butter brands Aussies love most, our research also identified some key findings. Almost a third of survey respondents (28%) said they eat butter every day, making it a staple on the grocery list. A similar number (30%) said they primarily use butter for cooking. Additionally, 39% have tried multiple butter brands and types. Here are some of the other key findings from our survey:

Drivers of satisfaction for butter

Taste

As an important ingredient in so many meals – as well as simply the thing we put on toast – taste is naturally the most important factor of customer satisfaction, as shown by our survey results. If our ratings are anything to go by, there can be a big difference. So, if your butter isn’t providing you with that great taste you’re after, it’s easy to switch.

Texture and ease of spread

Texture was found to be the second most important driver of customer satisfaction when it comes to butter. But having butter that’s also easy to spread is a plus. It’s never fun when butter is rock hard and destroys the delicate little piece of toast that you’re trying to spread it on. Some brands boast their products as ‘spreadable’ on the packaging, but only you can be the judge of that.

Value for money

Value for money seems to be an important factor for Aussies, with ALDI scoring top marks in this area, while in some other categories it got four stars. When it comes to price, our survey identified that nearly one in five consumers (17%) said they always buy the cheapest brand, and almost two in five (39%) always buy the same brand.

Packaging

While packaging design shouldn’t make any real difference to the butter itself, it could certainly help convince you to try one brand over another. Although, majority of respondents to our survey said they last purchased a tub (45%), while nearly two out of five people opted for a block of butter (37%).

Some brands offer a measuring guide on their packaging, which removes the need to get your scale out when you’re cooking. You might also find some packaging is better than others after it has been opened. There’s nothing worse than butter going bad because the packaging lets you down.

So, there you have it! If your butter isn’t buttering you up anymore, there’s plenty of choice out there.

About the author of this page

This report was written by Canstar Blue’s home & lifestyle journalist, Tahnee-Jae Lopez-Vito. She’s an expert on household appliances, grooming products and all things grocery and shopping. In addition to translating our expert research into consumer-friendly ratings reports, Tahnee spends her time helping consumers make better-informed purchase decisions on all manner of consumer goods and services, while highlighting the best deals and anything you need to be aware of.

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Picture credits: Stockcreations/Shutterstock.com,/ 4 PM production / Shutterstock.com, / Lim /shutterstock.com.