Shopper finds unexpected brand inside bag of Smith’s chips

A shopper was left furious after purchasing a multipack of Smith’s original chips – only to find that a bag inside didn’t match what she had paid for.

A picture of a bag of chips “proves” an age-old theory many shoppers have had about supermarkets.

Reddit user @gemmahli456 took to the social media forum to post a picture of a six-pack of Smith’s Original chips.

But, she was surprised when one of the smaller packets inside the big bag was labelled as “Sprinters Original”, which is a brand found on the shelves at Aldi.

“Smith’s scam! I just opened a packed of Smith’s Original chips and found a packet of Aldi’s brand chips in there,” the Reddit user captioned the image.

“Obviously Smith’s also manufacture the Aldi brand which is significantly cheaper! Is this a thing?!”

Bag of chips picture ‘proves’ a theory many shoppers have had about supermarkets. Picture: Reddit

It’s a long-held theory that home brand products are made in the same manufacturing site as common brands. However, just because the products are made in the same building doesn’t necessarily mean they follow the same recipe.

Social media users appeared to believe this image proved that was indeed the case.

“Wow! You’ve hit the mother lode and confirmed a long held conspiracy about name brand products,” one social media user said.

Another said they work at an Australian confectionary manufacturer, and the exact same product goes into that particular brand’s packaging as what goes into the Aldi version.

“Aldi guarantees its sales, buys in bulk and cuts out all the extra charges like rebates that other majors or minors include. These things allow for a cheaper price from manufacturer,” the confectionary worker explained.

Abitger added: “A mate of mine had one of those calorie counting apps that uses bar codes to figure out how many calories you’re consuming.

“He said a bunch of Aldi ‘home brands’ come up as better known brands, because while they’ll change the packaging they’re too cheap to apply for a new barcode.”

Sprinters is an Aldi brand. Picture: Jeremy Piper/NCA NewsWire

Others said the fact that more cost effective options are actually the same as the name brands was “well known” but some people won’t buy from places like Aldi as they “don’t recognise the brands”.

But others disagreed, saying just because it was made in the same factory didn’t mean the recipes were the exact same.

One social media user said: “I’m not convinced tbh that they are the same. At least in terms of Salt & Vinegar they are wildly different. Different crunch, way more salt and vinegar flavouring, and it tastes different too.

“Trust me, I’m autistic and eat like 2 bags a week of S&V chips. Smiths are the #1, Aldi is close behind but are too strong for my taste.

“I’m not surprised if they were the same brand making them, but they aren’t the same chip I’m sure.”

Another echoed this point: “Just because they come from the same facility, doesn’t mean they follow the same recipe.”

Aldi declined to give comment, and news.com.au has reached out to PepsiCo, the owner of Smith’s, for insight.