comparing bought chocolate cake mixes

We bought 5 Chocolate Cake mixes from the local supermarkets.  We then baked and compared them.
Notes are ranked from least liked, to our favorite.
Side note: this was just before we got a new oven and the old oven baked quicker than the recipes suggested.

​Baking by Joni
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BAKELS GOLD LABEL PERFECTLY MOIST CHOCOLATE CAKE BAKING MIX

Bakels chocolate cake mix is 500g with no artificial flavors  or colours. 
​Bought at New World for $4.99.
Sugars per 50g serving size: 21.3g
Did not include any icing.

RECIPE ALSO NEEDED
1/2 C water
4 eggs
1 C vegetable oil
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The cake rose well and looked the same height as photo on the packet.  It was moist, but it had no flavor.  It just tasted sweet. So we added  some strong chocolate flavored icing.  This cake needed icing.  
Is it just us, that feels disappointed when someone presents you a chocolate cake with no icing?  It makes us wonder if the person doesn't like us.
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BETTY CROCKER SUPERMOIST DEVILS FOOD CAKE MIX

540g - Includes ready made icing.  No artificial colours.
Bought at Countdown for $5
Sugars per 45g serving size is 20.9g

RECIPE ALSO NEEDS
125g melted butter
3/4 C water or milk (we did water)
3 eggs

Confession:  Joni overbaked this, so we put this into consideration when reviewing.
It was still moist except for a dry line at the bottom, but it would have more moist.
This cake has a light chocolate flavor.  The icing was ok.  It tasted like icing sugar.  It was nice that it was ready made, and was the only mix that did this.
The cake rose well and seemed the same height as the photo on packet with a little less icing.

WOOLWORTHS CHOCOLATE CAKE MIX
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Includes chocolate icing mix
Bought at Countdown for $3 - this was the cheapest chocolate cake mix

RECIPE ALSO NEEDED
2 large eggs
2/3 C milk
70g soft butter
For icing
1 Tb milk
45g soft butter

This came out light and fluffy and not as moist as the others.  Reminded us more of a sponge cake texture.  This cake had a good chocolate taste compared to the previous two.
The icing looked a little different from the photo on the packet, but the cake height looked the same.
We quite liked this one and it was the cheapest.

CINDERELLA CHOCOLATE MUD CAKE MIX

No artificial colours or flavors.
530g with icing mix included.
Bought at Pak n Save for $4.49
Sugars per 90g serving size is 28.5g

RECIPE ALSO NEEDED
2 eggs
3/4 C water
4 Tb melted butter
for icing
2 1/2 Tb melted butter
1 1/2 Tb water

It may have been my oven or mixing, but it baked a little uneven.  At its highest it was the same height as the box photo.
The cake was moist and had a nice mild chocolate flavor.  There wasn't a lot of icing , but it did compliment the cake nicely, and the cake didn't taste like it needed a lot of icing.
This was quite yummy.

EDMONDS CAFE STYLE RICH CHOCOLATE CAKE - OUR FAVORITE

Bought at Pak n Save fo $4.49
Included icing mix
Sugars per 78g serving size is 24.9g

RECIPE ALSO NEEDED
2 eggs size 6
60g of soft butter
3/4 C water 
icing needed
50g butter
1 Tb milk

The recipe also had different measurement conversions to choose from.  You could use grams or teaspoons / tablespoons, or mls or cups as measurements.
The cake has a nice chocolate flavor that wasn't overly sweet.  It was moist, though not quite as moist as the Cinderella or Betty Crocker.  That may have been just baking times though.
The icing didn't look like in  the photo on the box.
This and Cinderella were pretty close with the family liking this one just a little bit more in taste.

FINAL THOUGHTS FROM JONI
I'm not sure how convenient these are.  If you have baking ingredients already in the pantry, you are not going to be saving a lot of time by using these instead of measuring out your own.  However if you don't have the baking ingredients already, this is a convenient way to buy them.

After baking all of these, I made my own chocolate cake mixes up in jars.  These look pretty in the kitchen all layered and make nice gifts too.  
I have written the base cake mix in the recipe blog here if you want to make your own cake mix:
DIY CHOCOLATE CAKE MIX