Australian shoppers prefer Aldi’s homebrand products over those of Woolworths and Coles, a new survey has found.

Aldi-branded fresh milk, long-life milk, butter and multigrain bread scored top ratings by consumers for overall satisfaction measured by taste, packaging design and value for money, according to Canstar Blue’s latest report.

The comparison site surveyed 6000 shoppers and found Aldi was aisles ahead of its competitors for the overall quality and satisfaction of its food products.

Aldi Farmdale topped Canstar Blue’s customer ratings for fresh milk and long-life milk, each receiving five-star ratings from shoppers.

Similarly, Aldi’s multigrain bread, Bakers Life, and its butter, labelled Beautifully Butterfully, earned five stars almost across the board.

Woolworths was given the lowest or joint-lowest ranking for its wholemeal bread, white bread, block cheese, margarine, butter, long-life milk and jam and fruit spreads.

Coles also received just three-star reviews overall for its jam and fruit spreads, fresh milk, wholemeal bread, white bread, block cheese, margarine and butter.

Canstar Blue editor Simon Downes said Aldi had managed to strike the “perfect balance” between price and quality.

“Aldi has really struck gold in terms of getting that balance right,” Mr Downes said.

“It’s almost like Coles and Woolworths are missing out because they’re not striking the same balance between price and quality.”

Aldi has come out on top for consumers for several years, he said.

“In terms of those everyday basic essentials, Aldi can kind of almost do no wrong in the eyes of shoppers.”

He said Aldi was proving good quality can be had at a cheaper price.

While Aldi consumers are happy with the quality and price of certain supermarket items, there are still categories where consumers favour premium brands like Mersey Valley for block cheese and Helga’s for wholemeal bread, Canstar found.

Retail expert Dr Gary Mortimer, from QUT Business School, said it was important to note the results were based on the perceptions of consumers’ overall satisfaction.

And Canstar “may not have accounted for the fact they were surveying Coles shoppers who may not necessarily always buy the Coles-branded milk, butter or bread”, Dr Mortimer said.

Because Aldi has fewer product options, it must optimise the quality of those products, he said.

“Aldi is almost duty-bound to get the quality off the products spot on because there is no other options.

“If you walk into an Aldi store, essentially you’ve got Aldi bread. If they don’t get the quality right of that one product, there is no other option.”