Own Brand vs Big Brand: Where UK Supermarkets Actually Sell You Protein

TL;DR

• The word “protein” on packaging typically adds 30-80% to the price without adding a proportional amount of protein.
• Own-brand Greek yoghurt, cottage cheese, tinned fish and frozen chicken deliver 10-12 g of protein per 100 g at a fraction of branded cost.
• High-protein puddings sit around 15-20 g of protein for £1.80-£2.50, roughly triple the cost per gram of the plain yoghurt next to them.
• A handful of branded items genuinely earn the premium: whey powder by the kilo, and skyr where the own-brand version is thin.
• Compare pence per gram of protein, not price per pack, and your weekly shop drops without your intake moving.

Supermarkets worked out years ago that “high protein” on a label lets them charge more. Some of those products are good value. Most are the same food as the one beside them, in a louder wrapper, at twice the price. Here is where the premium is real and where it isn’t. If you want the fuller store-by-store breakdown first, our UK supermarket high-protein shopping list covers Aldi, Lidl, Tesco and M&S side by side; this post is about the own-brand-vs-branded question within each of those aisles.

The only number that matters

Price per pack tells you nothing. Price per 100 g tells you slightly more. The number that actually decides whether something belongs in your trolley is pence per gram of protein, the same logic we use when reading a nutrition label properly rather than trusting the front of the pack.

The arithmetic is simple. Take the price, work out the total grams of protein in the pack, divide. A £2.00 pot containing 500 g of yoghurt at 10 g protein per 100 g holds 50 g of protein, so 4p per gram. A £2.30 high-protein pudding containing 20 g of protein is 11.5p per gram. Same aisle, nearly triple the cost for the same macro.

Anything under 3p per gram is excellent value. 3-6p is normal for good whole food. Above 8p you’re paying for convenience, branding, or both, which is a legitimate choice as long as you’re making it knowingly.

Where own brand wins outright

Greek and Greek-style yoghurt

Own-brand natural Greek yoghurt across Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Aldi and Lidl runs 9-10 g protein per 100 g in 500 g to 1 kg tubs. Typically 1.5-3p per gram of protein. The branded equivalents sit at the same protein density for considerably more money.

Watch the wording. “Greek style” is often lower in protein than true strained Greek yoghurt, sometimes 5-6 g per 100 g rather than 10. Check the back of the pack rather than the front, because the difference is nearly double.

Cottage cheese

Consistently one of the cheapest protein sources in any UK supermarket. Own-brand plain cottage cheese sits around 11-12 g protein per 100 g for 60-90p per 300 g tub, comfortably under 3p per gram. Flavoured versions cost more and add sugar without adding protein.

Tinned fish

Own-brand tuna in spring water gives 24-26 g protein per 100 g drained. Aldi and Lidl multipacks land near 2p per gram. Tinned sardines and mackerel are similar value and bring omega-3s with them. Branded tuna in fancy tins is the same fish at two to three times the price.

Frozen chicken breast

Frozen own-brand chicken breast fillets, usually 1 kg bags, run £5.50-£7.50 depending on retailer and week. At roughly 23 g protein per 100 g raw, that’s 2.5-3.5p per gram. Fresh, branded, pre-marinated chicken can hit 8-10p for the same protein, with added oil and sugar in the marinade.

Eggs

Boring and unbeatable. Around 6-7 g of protein per medium egg at 20-30p each, so 3-5p per gram, plus fat, choline and whatever micronutrients the rest of your day is missing. If eggs and the rest of this list feel unglamorous, they’re also the backbone of most of our high-protein breakfast ideas, because unglamorous is what actually gets eaten every day.

Where the premium is defensible

Whey protein by the kilo

Protein powder looks expensive as a single purchase and is cheap per gram. A 1 kg tub at £16-£22 with 75-80 g of protein per 100 g of powder delivers around 750-800 g of protein, so roughly 2-3p per gram. That competes directly with whole food on cost and beats almost everything on convenience. If you’re choosing between whey, casein or a plant-based powder, our complete guide to protein powder types breaks down which is worth the money for your goal.

Single-serve shakes and ready-to-drink bottles are the opposite. A 20-25 g protein bottle for £2.20 is around 9-11p per gram. Useful when you’re out and have no alternative; poor value as a routine.

Skyr

Genuine skyr sits at 10-12 g protein per 100 g with very little fat, and in some supermarkets the own-brand version is noticeably thinner and lower in protein than the branded original. This is one of the few categories where reading the label may push you towards the brand. Compare and decide per retailer.

Where the premium buys you nothing

High-protein puddings and mousses

Typically 15-20 g of protein in a 200 g pot for £1.80-£2.50. That’s 10-13p per gram. The same money buys roughly 60-80 g of protein in Greek yoghurt. They are pleasant and they fit a sweet craving, which has genuine value if it keeps you on plan, and they show up regularly on our list of high protein snacks for weight loss for exactly that reason. Just don’t mistake them for an efficient protein source.

Protein bars

15-20 g of protein for £2-£3 puts them at 10-18p per gram, alongside a texture most people tolerate rather than enjoy. Keep one in a bag for emergencies. Don’t build a day around them.

High-protein bread, pasta and crisps

These generally add 3-6 g of protein per serving over the standard version for a 50-100% price increase. The protein gain is real but small; the cost increase isn’t. Buying normal bread and adding an extra egg achieves more for less.

Anything labelled “protein water”

Around 10-20 g of protein for £2-£2.50, in a format that doesn’t satisfy hunger. Approximately the worst pence-per-gram in the shop.

Building the shop

A realistic weekly protein base for one person, own-brand throughout: 1 kg frozen chicken breast, a dozen eggs, 1 kg Greek yoghurt, two tubs of cottage cheese, four tins of tuna, a bag of frozen white fish, a pack of lean mince, and a bag of red lentils. That is comfortably over 500 g of protein for something in the region of £20-£25, depending on retailer and week. It slots straight into the wider approach in how to track macros on a budget, if you want the rest of the weekly shop sorted too, not just the protein.

Add a kilo tub of whey to cover the days that go sideways and you have the protein side of a week sorted for less than most people spend on a Friday takeaway. Once you know roughly how much protein you’re aiming for, our guide on how much protein you actually need per day is worth a read to check the target itself, not just the price of hitting it.

Make the comparison once, not every week

The pence-per-gram figures above don’t shift much month to month. Do the sums once for the ten items you buy most, write them down, and shop from that list. Logging the results in Chowdown will tell you within a fortnight whether your protein actually held up on a cheaper shop, which is the only test that matters.

Cheap protein isn’t a compromise. In UK supermarkets it’s usually the same food with a quieter label.