Aldi shoppers rave about $1 dupe of popular Aussie health snack: 'Taste identical'

Whether you’re insulin resistant or just trying to cut back on sugar, you might be familiar with the popular low-sugar, low-carb brand Noshu. The Aussie confectionery company stocks everything from cookies to doughnuts, chocolate bars, and cakes — all touted as tasty alternatives to traditional sweets. It’s also easy to find in big supermarkets such as Coles, Woolworths and IGA.

One particularly popular Noshu product is its chocolate bars, including the dupes for Cherry Ripe and Bounty chocolates, but with 85 per cent less sugar. The bars generally retail for $8.90 for a pack of five at local supermarkets — but Aldi shoppers reckon they’ve found a dupe of the dupe at the discount grocer that’s almost half the usual price at just $4.99 for a five-pack, an incredible $1 per bar.

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One fan took to a popular Facebook group to rave about the Hillcrest Low-Sugar Choc Coconut Delight bar found at Aldi, which she claimed tasted “identical” to its Noshu counterpart.

“If you like Noshu bars then get on these,” she wrote alongside a photo of a choc-coconut bar. “They taste IDENTICAL and far cheaper.”

“The cherry one is better. So good,” another shopper commented on the post.

How does Aldi's low-sugar chocolate compare to Noshu's?

However, for the carb-conscious, one commenter pointed out that the Aldi version does contain more carbohydrates per serve than the Noshu bar.

So they’re not completely identical, but to the original poster’s credit, they’re pretty damn close.

For a quick comparison, Aldi’s dark chocolate cherry coconut bar has 8.3g of carbohydrates per serve to Noshu’s 5.5g, however, the Aldi bar only has 1.5g of sugar compared to the Noshu with 2.8g. Do with that information what you will.

“My hubby is diabetic and his endocrinologist is on board with the Noshu, not the Aldi ones,” one commenter noted.

To be fair, both options are far more dietary-friendly versus a typical Cadbury Cherry Ripe bar, which contains a whopping 24.3g of carbs and 20.4g of sugar.

“The cherry ones taste just like a Cherry Ripe, great for those chocolate cravings,” another enthusiastic shopper attested in the Facebook group.

“I’ve been buying the Noshu ones for ages and when I saw these at Aldi last week I grabbed them straight away!” a third chimed in.

Dietitian says low-sugar chocolate is 'ultra-processed'

Despite the chocolate bars being low in sugar and a good alternative to traditional chocolate, accredited practising dietitian Leanne Ward said on her podcast The Nutrition Couch that she wouldn’t recommend the Aldi bars for nutritional purposes.

“It looks delicious, let’s be honest… most people would pick this up and think that this a great choice, it looks like a good enjoyable snack and it’s low sugar,” Ward noted. “And the front of the pack says it’s an excellent choice of dietary fibre.”

However, she added that the bars were also very high in saturated fat, and highly processed.

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“My issue with this, besides the incredibly long ingredients list, is when you look at the top two ingredients — the desiccated coconut and chocolate coating — they add up to 53 per cent,” the dietitian explained.

“So my question is, what the heck is in the other 47 per cent of the bar? They’re not really ingredients I know too much about, so there’s no way I’d ever write something like this into a client’s meal plan because it’s so ultra-processed.”

If you’re looking for a nutritious snack, Aldi's Noshu knock-off might not be the way to go.

But as for a cheap, low-sugar alternative when those Cherry Ripe or Bounty cravings come knocking? Take my $4.99.

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