We compared Trader Joe's versions of iconic brands like Oreo, Cheerios, and Reese's to the originals to see which is better

We went shopping in a New York City Trader Joe's and a local drug store to find similar products to test out.

We hit Trader Joe's first and picked up products that looked like they would be easy to find under other brands in another store.

Next, we stopped by a Duane Reade in Manhattan's Financial District and matched the products as best as we could.

All in all, it looked like we had all the ingredients for a fair taste test and we were excited to begin.

1. HONEY NUT CEREAL — Our first comparison was between the Trader Joe's Honey Nut O's and the General Mills-brand Honey Nut Cheerios. The Trader Joe's-brand cereal for $2.29 was markedly cheaper than the Honey Nut Cheerios, which was $5.99, even though it came with more.

When it came to nutrition, both cereals had almost identical features, according to the labels. However, the taste was not entirely the same.

We found that the Honey Nut O's were overall sweeter and had a lighter taste that we enjoyed. On the other hand, the name-brand Honey Nut Cheerios had an oven-roasted taste that wasn't as appealing as the lighter Trader Joe's cereal.

WINNER: Trader Joe's — From price to taste, the Trader Joe's brand won in the cereal department.

2. PEANUT BUTTER CUPS — The Trader Joe's dark chocolate peanut butter cups are hard to beat. We picked up Reese's dark chocolate cups to have a similar comparison.

The two cups had different colored foil wrapping on the outside but seemed pretty similar in size. The Reese's package cost $5.49, whereas the Trader Joe's cups cost $0.99, but came with way fewer.

Once unwrapped, the two peanut butter cups were hard to distinguish from one another.

The most notable difference at this stage was the dollop of chocolate atop the Trader Joe's-brand cup, which suggested a difference in the production process between the two brands.

WINNER: Trader Joe's — We liked how the Trader Joe's peanut butter cup had a richer flavor than the Reese's cup. The Trader Joe's cup also had more peanut butter filling and a harder outer chocolate shell that made for an appealing texture.

3. HUMMUS — Next, we moved on to hummus. We picked up a classic Trader Joe's hummus for $2.99 and matched it with a miniature Sabra hummus pack for the same price.

Before we tasted them, we could already see that the textures and colors of the two brands were vastly different. When we tasted them, we found that the Trader Joe's hummus had a creamier texture and was overall saltier and more compact.

WINNER: Name-brand — We liked the name-brand hummus better because of its fluid texture and richer, classic taste.

4. SANDWICH COOKIES — We were very excited to compare the sandwich cookies, as both Oreos and Joe-Joe's have their own devoted fans. We picked up Joe-Joe's for $2.99 and Oreos for $5.69.

We opened the package and found that both cookies were organized in a similar three-legged arrangement.

In general, both cookies looked pretty similar, but there were still notable differences. The Joe-Joe's lacked the Oreo logo on the surface and had a denser layer of creme in the center.

In order to properly taste the cookies, we had to bring in a glass of almond milk for dipping so we could get the full effect.

True to its self-ascribed descriptor, Oreos were definitely milk's favorite cookie. The Oreo absorbed the milk much better than the Trader Joe's cookie did and it provided a better dunking experience overall.

WINNER: Name-brand — The Oreo was the clear winner over the Trader Joe's Joe-Joe's. Though the Joe-Joe's had a thicker creme layer, they had a blander taste than the Oreos and didn't fare well in the milk test. Oreos remain the superior sandwich cookie.

5. BROWNIE CHIPS — Finding the two bags of brownie chips was easy. Trader Joe's was selling them for $2.99 and we picked up the mainstream Brownie Brittle for $4.99.

Even the style of the packaging looked similar here. But when we opened the bags, we were surprised at the differences that were present.

The Brownie Brittle was cut into smaller rectangular shapes while the Trader Joe's Brownie Crisps were cut into squares.

The Trader Joe's Brownie Crisps had slightly fewer calories per serving size than the name-brand version.

WINNER: Trader Joe's — The Trader Joe's Brownie Crisps were notably crunchier than the regular name-brand brittle. We also liked the deep cocoa flavor that characterized that Trader Joe's product. The well-known Brownie Brittle tasted more artificial.

6. PITA CHIPS — We easily found both versions of the classic pita chips in both Trader Joe's ($1.99) and Duane Reade ($4.99).

The bags were similar in size and the nutritional facts on the back of the bags were practically identical in every category.

WINNER: Tie — The two brands of pita chips looked and tasted exactly the same. With basically identical nutritional facts, we concluded that the two brands probably come from the same supplier.

7. SPICY CHIPS — We compared the $2.49 Trader Joe's chili and lime-flavored tortilla chips with $1.99 Takis. This was one of the few instances where the name-brand product cost less than the Trader Joe's product.

The difference between the two was evident from the moment we opened the bag. The Takis had a more artificial-looking red color and had fewer chips in the bag.

WINNER: Name-brand — The two spicy chips were very similar, but the Takis won because of the flavor. They were spicier and overall richer.

8. ORANGE JUICE — Our last head-to-head was in the juice department. The Tropicana orange juice for $2.19 was cheaper than the Trader Joe's juice we found for $2.29.

The two juices were bottled similarly, but we knew they would taste differently based on the advertising on the wrapper. The Tropicana juice was not freshly squeezed like the Trader Joe's juice was.

The Trader Joe's juice also contained fewer calories overall.

WINNER: Trader Joe's — Though slightly more expensive, the Trader Joe's juice tasted fresher and more natural overall. The Tropicana orange juice was too sweet and slightly more acidic tasting.

Trader Joe's was the overall better brand — it won over the name-brand products in four categories: cereal, brownie chips, peanut butter cups, and orange juice.

The name brand Oreos, Takis, and Sabra hummus won in the cookie, spicy chips, and hummus categories, respectively. When it came to pita chips, the result was a tie.

The cheap prices of Trader Joe's and its overall winning products made it the store that we will most likely return to for our future grocery needs.