Cheese and onion is a flavour so robust that mediocre execution still produces something edible. Sainsbury’s proves this theorem perfectly.
The cheese is tangy. The onion is present. Orange dust transfers to fingers. All contractual obligations fulfilled. But there’s nothing here that rewards choosing Sainsbury’s over any other option. No distinctive character. No memorable quality. No reason to exist beyond filling shelf space.
The supermarket own-brand problem
Own-brand cheese and onion crisps are developed by people who don’t eat crisps passionately. They’re created in meetings, tested in focus groups, optimised for inoffensiveness. The result is product that technically qualifies as cheese and onion without capturing what makes cheese and onion enjoyable.
Walkers is mediocre but at least it’s specifically Walkers mediocre. You know what you’re getting. Sainsbury’s cheese and onion is generic in a way that defies memory. You could eat these daily for a year and still struggle to describe them.
Functional. Empty. Fine.
