Butter Ratings

ALDI knows how to make things ‘butter’

Butter is the unsung hero of any muffin, croissant, crumpet or morning 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 your meals and desserts, butter needs to have the right blend of taste and value, so which brand do Aussie shoppers love most in the dairy aisle?

Canstar Blue surveys thousands of Aussie consumers every year to find out what they think of the groceries they buy, including butter. Brands are rated on a number of factors relating to the type of product, and when it comes to butter, this included factors like taste, texture, packaging and ease of spreading.

This year, close to 2,000 shoppers took part in our butter ratings, and while eight brands received the minimum sample size to be included, only ALDI’s Beautifully Butterfully butter received five stars from consumers for overall satisfaction. It’s the fourth year in a row that ALDI has topped this food category. It also earned five-star reviews on texture, value for money and packaging design, as well as four stars for taste and ease of spreading.

The eight brands in our 2019 butter review were rated in the following order for overall satisfaction:

• 1^st ALDI Beautifully Butterfully Butter
• 2^nd Mainland
• 3^rd Lurpak
• 4^th Western Star
• 5^th Devondale
• 6^th Woolworths
• 7^th Coles
• 8^th Black & Gold

While ALDI took top spot, Mainland, Lurpak, Western Star and Devondale all scored four stars overall. Supermarket brands Woolworths, Coles and Black & Gold (IGA) got only three stars apiece for overall satisfaction. Other results of note include Mainland being the only brand to score five stars for taste and ease of spreading. It also achieved five stars for texture, along with this year’s winner.

What to consider when buying butter

Apart from discovering which butter brands Aussies love most, our research also identified some key findings. One in four survey respondents (26%) said they eat butter every day, making it a staple on the grocery list. A third (31%) primarily use butter for cooking. Additionally, 38% have tried multiple butter brands and types. Here are some of the other key findings from our survey:

Taste

As an important ingredient in so many meals – as well as simply the thing we put on toast – taste is naturally a key factor in determining customer satisfaction. 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.

• Mainland was the only brand to get five stars for taste in our review, with ALDI, Lurpak, Western Star and Devondale on four stars and the rest on three.

Texture

Texture was also found to be an important driver of customer satisfaction when it comes to butter.

• The two brands rated five stars for texture were ALDI Beautifully Butterfully and Mainland. Lurpak, Western Star and Devondale got four stars apiece, while the rest got three stars.

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 about one in five consumers (21%) said they always buy the cheapest brand, and almost two in five (36%) always buy the same brand.

• ALDI Beautifully Butterfully was the only brand to achieve five stars on value for money, with Lurpak on three stars and the rest on four.

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. Have you seen the length of the butter aisle – where do you even start? 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.

• This year’s overall winner, ALDI, got five stars for packaging, with the rest securing either three or four stars.

Ease of spreading

Last but certainly not least, having butter that’s 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.

• Mainland was the only brand to get five stars on ease of spreading.

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

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