Canstar Blue’s 2021 seasoning & spices review has seen Hoyt’s, MasterFoods, Old El Paso, Woolworths, McCormick, McKenzie’s and Coles compared on taste, range variety, packaging design, value for money and overall satisfaction.
See our Ratings Methodology.
Hoyt’s was rated best in Canstar Blue’s 2021 seasoning & spices review, scoring five stars for taste, variety, value for money and overall satisfaction.
If you’d rather say orega-no to a pinch of coriander because it leaves you with a soapy aftertaste, don’t worry. There’s still ‘thyme’ to ‘Spice Up Your Life’, as the Spice Girls would say, with plenty of other seasoning options to garnish your steak or stir into your marinade, aside from the stock standard salt and pepper.
In fact, nearly one in five consumers we surveyed (19%) make sure to pick up some seasoning and spices during their regular grocery shop, with half having tried multiple brands (50%) and a third of consumers (35%) sticking to the same brand each time.
To help you find the best seasoning and spices for your taste and budget, Canstar Blue surveyed more than 1,400 Australian consumers for their feedback on the seasoning and spices they bought and consumed from a supermarket or grocer in the last three months. Respondents scored brands on taste, variety, packaging design, value for money and overall satisfaction. Those that received the minimum survey sample size (30 responses) are included in our results.
In our first-ever seasoning and spices review, Hoyt’s shook things up with five-star ratings in the majority of categories ─ including overall satisfaction.
Here are the best brands of seasoning & spices, as rated by consumers in Canstar Blue’s 2021 review:
Hoyt’s topped our inaugural seasoning and spices review, rating best for overall satisfaction with five stars. MasterFoods, Old El Paso, and Woolworths followed behind on four stars, while McCormick, McKenzie’s and Coles settled on three stars for overall satisfaction.
Meanwhile, MasterFoods and Old El Paso took the lead for packaging design with both brands achieving full marks for the category. MasterFoods got extra brownie points for variety with another five stars, and Old El Paso achieved the same result for taste.
From humble beginnings that apparently saw Hoyt’s being ‘born out of a suitcase’ after a young Hungarian immigrant began supplying households and shops in Melbourne, the company has since grown into one of Australia’s leading brands for pantry essentials. Hoyt’s has been spicing up Aussies’ mealtimes with a variety of herbs and spices, sauces, spreads, legumes, cooking oils and pickled vegetables. Some options from the Hoyt’s range include:
Products from Hoyt’s usually check out for $1.30 to $2.60 for small 25g bags of herbs and spices. You’ll need to fork out more for jars which can cost between $2.70 and $5.09.
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: Casanisa / Shutterstock.com.
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 and consumed seasoning or spices (including individual spices, mixed herbs & spices and Mexican seasoning) from a supermarket or grocer within the last three months – in this case, 1,414 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.
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