Canstar Blue’s fresh pasta review has seen Coles, Woolworths, Barilla and Latina Fresh compared on their taste, texture, variety, value for money and overall satisfaction.
Aussies have rated Coles the best brand for fresh pasta in Canstar Blue’s latest review, with five-star ratings across the board. This includes for taste, texture, variety, value for money and overall satisfaction.
Fresh pasta is ‘pastably’ one of the best dinnertime meals out there! Whether you prefer a spinach ravioli, farfalle, or beef lasagne, it’s never too hard to find a recipe that will please the whole family. This is perhaps the reason almost half of our survey respondents (47%) dish up pasta at least once a week. But, with so many different varieties of fresh stuff available, how do you find a type of pasta and brand that will tick all your boxes?
To find out, we asked nearly 400 Australian consumers to rate different packaged pastas they’ve purchased from a supermarket or grocer and consumed over the last three months. Brands were compared on taste, texture, range variety, value for money and overall satisfaction. Those that received the minimum required survey sample size (of 30 responses) were included in the final results.
So, what did we find? Our 2021 fresh pasta review featured four brands, but only one was rated numero uno – Coles! The brand cooked up five-star reviews across all categories.
Here are the best fresh pasta brands in Australia, as rated by consumers in Canstar Blue’s latest review:
Supermarket Coles took the lead in our latest fresh pasta review, rating best across the board, including for overall satisfaction! Woolworths landed on four stars overall, while Barilla and Latina Fresh rounded up the scores on three stars each.
Coles own brand is the supermarket’s line of ‘essentials’ for your home and kitchen. The private label offers a modest variety of fresh pasta products, including some organic options at affordable prices, compared to big-name brands. Here is a sample selection from the range:
Prices for Coles’ fresh pasta products start from $2.90 for 375g.
Woolworths feeds customers a variety of affordable fresh pasta options, most of which come in a form of ready-to-eat kits. Its creamy pasta is available in different sizes, including 250g, 400g and 800g. Keep in mind that products vary between store locations and states. Some pasta options you’ll find in Woolworths’ refrigerated section include:
Prices for fresh pasta from Woolies start from $2 and go up to $8.
With a history of making pasta since the early 1900s, Barilla knows a thing or two about the dinnertime staple. The brand offers a wide variety of pastas, including everything from lasagne sheets to angel hair pasta and filled three-cheese tortellini. Barilla has several ranges including Collezione, Classic Blue Box, Gluten-Free, Wholegrain and Legumes. Some products include:
Barilla’s range usually starts from $2.40 for 500g.
Latina Fresh is said to have started in Melbourne in the 1980s from humble beginnings and quickly grew to become one of Australia’s most renowned producers of chilled pasta products, sauces and ready-to-eat meals. The brand’s mission is to share simple, fresh inspiration, starting with what’s on the table. Here are a few products in the Latina Fresh pasta range:
Prices for Latina Fresh pasta products start from $4.50 for a 200g pack from the brand’s Latina Fresh Kids Mini range.
There are dozens of fresh pasta varieties to choose from, but ultimately your choice will depend on what you plan to dish up. Fresh pasta is made from a dough of eggs and flour which gets kneaded and rolled until it’s as thin or thick as desired. It then gets cut into strands of different widths to make different pastas like fettuccine or lasagne, or gets stuffed into tortellini and ravioli.
Our research revealed that one in four Australians (26%) pick up multiple packs of pasta during their regular shop, with a third (30%) preferring to stick to the same brand. A similar portion of people also said they make sure to buy different types of pasta from their favourite brand (37%). Aside from that, taste and texture are still the most important factors of customer satisfaction when it comes to pasta, while value for money appeared at the bottom of the list, suggesting Aussies are willing to pay a pretty penne for delicious pasta.
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.
Picture credit: Stockcreations/Shutterstock.com.
Our fresh pasta ratings saw Coles cook the competition in every category:
Canstar Blue surveyed more than 3,000 Australian adults across a range of categories to measure and track customer satisfaction, via ISO 26362 accredited research panels managed by Qualtrics. The outcomes reported are the results from customers within the survey group who have purchased (from a supermarket or grocer) and consumed fresh pasta in the last three months– in this case, 381 people.
Brands must have received at least 30 responses to be included. Results are comparative and it should be noted that brands receiving three stars have still achieved a satisfaction measure of at least six out of 10. Not all brands available in the market have been compared in this survey. The ratings table is first sorted by star ratings and then by mean overall satisfaction. A rated brand may receive a ‘N/A’ (Not Applicable) rating if it does not receive the minimum number of responses for that criteria.
2020
