Do You Buy Store Brands ?
There was a news item on tv today saying that Americans have started buying "store brands" to save money in this economy.
I dont know about anyone else but I have always bought store brands, mostly for one simple reason. Lets say you want to buy a bottle of sweet relish. The store brand might cost $2.50 while the brand name might cost $3.50. Guess what, in many cases these two items are produced at the same factory.
There is such a thing as "liking" a brand , for whatever personal reason, for example you like the taste. But the truth is many store brands taste just like "brand names" for the simple reason that they have the same ingredients.
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Why Many Store Brands Taste Like Name Brands
Many store brands can taste just like their name-brand counterparts because they are often private-label products made by the same manufacturers using the same recipes, ingredients, and production lines discountr.com +1 .
How Private Labeling Works
In the food and household goods industry, large factories produce huge batches of products like ketchup, pasta sauce, frozen vegetables, or cereal. These facilities run multiple packaging lines at once — one for a national brand and another for a store brand. The only difference is the label and price discountr.com . This means the first few ingredients on the list, nutritional content, and even packaging can be identical.
When the Difference Is Minimal
For commodity items — such as basic pasta, sugar, flour, or canned beans — the raw materials are nearly interchangeable, and the process is standardized. In these cases, store brands can match name brands in taste, texture, and quality discountr.com . Even for more complex products like cereal, many store brands use the same oats, sugar, and fortification, just with a different box
discountr.com +1 .
When the Difference Matters
While many store brands are close matches, some use slightly different formulations to lower costs — for example, a different sweetener, less expensive oil, or reduced seasoning discountr.com +1 . These tweaks can affect texture, flavor intensity, or mouthfeel. For example:
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Peanut butter : Some store brands may be oilier or sweeter than name brands
foodiesdeli.com .
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Soda : Generic versions may have a different aftertaste or fizz profile
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Ice cream : Often less creamy and more icy due to higher air content
How to Tell if They’re the Same
Look for:
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“Manufactured for” or “Distributed by” labels — if the same company is listed, it’s likely the same product Grocery Coupon Guide .
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Plant codes on dairy, meat, and some packaged foods — identical codes mean the same facility Grocery Coupon Guide .
- Ingredient order — the first few ingredients should match for similar taste Grocery Coupon Guide .
Bottom Line
If you’re shopping for taste and quality, many store brands are functionally identical to name brands in the same category, especially for basic pantry staples and processed foods. The biggest savings come from comparing ingredient lists and nutritional labels, and sometimes doing a blind taste test at home discountr.com +1 .
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One thing for sure I would buy store brands for is frozen vegetables. Getting "Green Giant" because you like the label on the package is a waste of money imo.
I'm coming up on my 1 year anniversary of not going into a grocery store, since I get my groceries delivered now. it doesn't take a detective to figure out who actually made the store brand if you're willing to read the label.
I dont go to the grocery store much anymore either. Delivery is too easy.
And you're the people I resent because I don;t trust someone to pick out my produce. So the pickers are blocking the aisles and will not get the hell out of the way.
There are some things you just have to do for yourself
I prefer to shop myself. I prefer to pick out my own produce as well.
We have Wegmans (NYS grocery store that has grown to other states). I buy a lot of their store brands because they stand behind their brands. If there is anything reported to not be safe then all of that product is pulled from their shelves. Recently went through that with the packaged deli meats (Wegmans brand). Not sure what was wrong, but for a couple of weeks they didn't have their brand, so I had to shell out an extra $1.50 for Hillshire Farms (quality was on par with Wegmans brand). The prices of Wegmans are on par with Walmarts. I haven't stepped foot a Walmarts in over a decade.
My meats I purchase at a local farm or a specialty meat store (that I contacted about the imported beef - they will be selling the usual certified angus locally sourced beef).
Some Walmarts now have grocery and meat and bakery depts that are as large as a good size grocery store. Groceries are a huge part of their business.
I do know that - still won't set foot in one.
I do the same thing-- I always do my own food shopping.
For the same reason you just stated (picking produce). And there's another reason-- sales. Somes I decide on a vegetable for dinner-- and there's a different one that I like just as much. So I buy that one (and if its something I like on sale I may buy two-- or more!)
Actually there's a third reason. Sometimes they start to carry a new item. Sometimes something I'd want. Might be a long time before I'd find out about it if I never entered the store!
Then again, when you buy dry goods like cereal, the results can be very disappointing.
It is a two edged sword.
At this point in most cases I get the same item everytime. I eat Whole Foods brand Organic Steel cut Oats (Never the instant) every day for breakfast. I am not interested in trying any other cereal.
I also eat 100% Organic only except when eating out.
store brands don't carry the stigma that generic brands suffered from 40+ years ago ...
Sometimes I do. I'm picky about my pasta and coffee tho. And Walmart makes terrible tea
Coffee brands all taste a little different, even the name brands, so it makes sense to stick with what you like. I'm not so sure about pasta, but after I put sauce and spices on it I couldnt tell the difference anyway.
There's an Italian chef I follow on Face book and he swears that good pasta is the key to the dish
chef boyardee?
I buy Wegmans pasta - I can't afford Barilla. Wegmans also sells stuffed pastas in the dairy dept. The gnocchi & tortellini is to die for.
the fresh is different from the store brand boxes.
Wegmans is "a cut above".
Most canned items I buy store brand, But I like Campbells Chunky soup and some brand name things
I buy Woolworths own brand in canned Alaskan pink salmon..was produced, packed in Canada or USA..
But some stupid influencer has rabbited on about god knows what and now there is a shortage of salmon and sardines.. everyone is buying them..
But I have now noticed the Alaskan salmon is being packed in Thailand..so stopped buying that but found a name brand alternative which is packed in USA..but for how long who knows...
There's a reason for that. Salmon and Sardines are very high in "Omega 3 Fat." That's considered to be extremely healthy.
(There are some other fish that also have that but they are higher in Mercury which is not good. You can research it online, but generally speaking the smaller the fish the lower the Mercury level).
However Sardines are high in Purines which is a no-no if you have Gout.
P.S: "Wild -caught Salmon is better than farmed.
The only fish I eat is wild caught Pacific Salmon.
(For health reasons-- although I also really like the taste of Salmon)
Yes that's why I buy them plus I love them on toast with tomato sauce..no one cared about sardines before until some air brained influencer flapped her gums about them..now there is a rush on them..
I buy the Canadian sardines and after two months still none on the shelves..not a happy Vegemite...
I bought a can of sardines from Poland but haven't opened them yet...will try one more time for the Canadian then will have to resort to them..😬
what, no vegemite as well? added just to touch on all 4 corners of absolute culinary revulsion ...
have you checked the ingredients on the cat's dinner? or do you need me to send you a few tins packed in mustard?
I go to some extremes to eat ultra-healthy. So I only buy cans labeled "BPA free". Only buy Tomato products in glass jars, never in cans.
(I realize my style of eating is not for everyone.LOL)
P.S. there are some delicious soups that are in cans. But even if the can is "BPA free" I avoid some because so many canned soups have too much Sodium (from excess Salt).
I buy Amy's brand canned soup-- it meets all my obsessive criteria and they taste good. (She actually has 2 lines of soups-- regular and Lite in Sodium. I only buy the latter).
I buy store brand - canned goods, frozen vegetables, Greek yogurt, french fries, tater puffs.
Also most Wegmans have a cheese shop so I buy their provolone, mozzarella and cheddar.
I buy the store brand frozen garlic bread & frozen pizzas.
I buy Winco store brands and they are good quality. I grow most of my own veggies. The Costco (Kirkland) brands are for the most part really good especially the toilet paper.
I've heard that the Kirkland brands are usually top quality.
Buying store brand is a no-brainer for me. Every once in a while you find something that isn’t as good as a name brand so you learn what to avoid. Dry pasta is dry pasta, so I always wonder who is buying the boxes that cost twice as much? It’s not about the pasta, it’s about the sauce - and Food Lion Alfredo sauce is also half as much as name brand. Add about 1/4 cup of pasta water to it, sautéed onions and mushrooms, crockpot meat - it goes a long way and is delicious.
I also always buy meat that is marked down because it’s close to the sell by date. My freezers are full of it and it’s no different than full priced fresh meat, the store just needs it gone.
I'll buy whichever is cheaper or offers the better value.
I buy store brand as long as it tastes good. Sometimes they are good; sometimes not. But I don't mind testing them out.