'Name brands' vs. 'Store brands' - what do you buy ?

[Ali Gator]

Just saw a segment on CNN which says 'private labels' in supermarkets are really taking off with consumers, and will increase over the next year 'under the new economy'.  Private labels are usually 25% off the name brands (on average), and as prices rise this year due to the tariffs, both brands will raise their prices. 

I live alone, and usually shop at Market Basket in my area (an expanding privately-owned market chain in MA / RI /NH). If I'm not in the area to shop there (or their parking lot is packed), I will go down the street and pick up a few things at Price Rite (aka 'Shop Rite' or 'Bowl and Basket' in other regions). 90% of the time I will buy the store brand (dairy items, bread items, condiments, canned goods, sliced deli cheese or meats, etc.) and have never seen a difference in taste or quality. If I'm saving 25%, I'm happy with it. 

I also belong to BJ's Club, buy gas at their gas station, buy all my papergoods there (the BJ's brand) and it lasts me for months. I've also bought clothes at BJs - most recently some (pastel colors) cotton Spring pull-over sweaters under their name for under $20, and have gotten dozens of compliments on them in the past week or so. 

How do you shop, and do you think you will make changes in the coming months ?

Edited April 5 by Ali Gator

[+ Vegas_Millennial]

39 minutes ago, Ali Gator said:

How do you shop, and do you think you will make changes in the coming months ?

I have preferred brands for most products.  Very few of them are store brands.

The only change I have made recently is I have stopped buying products with Spanish instructions/warnings (mostly on cleaning products).  My housekeeper speaks English, so the Spanish is not needed.

Edited April 5 by Vegas_Millennial

[Ali Gator]

4 minutes ago, Vegas_Millennial said:

I have preferred brands for most products.  Very few of them are store brands.

The only change I have made recently is I have stopped buying products with Spanish instructions/warnings (mostly on cleaning products).  My housekeeper speaks English, so the Spanish is not needed.

Actually, I must confess - when it comes to cleaning products (including laundry detergent, floor detergents and dishwasher detergent, etc) I do indeed buy name brands. I have found the store brands to be inferior (especially CVS' "Total Home" crap). That's where I splurge. 

[+ Vegas_Millennial]

20 minutes ago, Ali Gator said:

Actually, I must confess - when it comes to cleaning products (including laundry detergent, floor detergents and dishwasher detergent, etc) I do indeed buy name brands. I have found the store brands to be inferior (especially CVS' "Total Home" crap). That's where I splurge. 

The only store brand I buy is for single-serving ice cream cups.  Most of the name brands have better ice cream, but come with plastic spoons.  I long for the taste of wood on my tongue👅 when I eat ice cream, as a nostalgic reminder of my youth.  The store brand at my local grocer sells single-serve ice cream cups with wooden spoons, so that's what I buy and keep in my freezer for a treat.

[+ jeezopete]

40 minutes ago, Vegas_Millennial said:

I long for the taste of wood on my tongue👅

I'm pretty sure this phrase has been used in multiple threads...   😜

[Ali Gator]

I always crave wood on my tongue.

[mtaabq]

This is kind of on topic ... this goes back to the 2008 financial crisis. At one discount grocery store (I forget which) generic Dr. Pepper is (or was) called "Dr. Best". My friend's son was complaining - "Dad! What is this crap?" (Kid was maybe 10?) Dad looks at his kid and says, "Son, the way the economy is going, the next time your mother and I go grocery shopping instead of 'Dr. Best' we'll be buying 'Dr. Sucks'. So drink up." The kid was not mollified but I busted a gut. 

[maninsoma]

I definitely have preferred brands, but usually not a single brand.  For example, if I'm buying ice cream there are many brands I find acceptable so I will buy, for example, Haagen Dazs when it's on sale versus a more expensive specialty brand.  Better yet, if I just want a basic flavor then Trader Joe's has good vanilla, mint chip, and coffee ice creams (and sometimes specialty flavors like ube) at every day prices that are similar to sale prices for Haagen Dazs. 

I do prefer Heinz ketchup so I will likely buy that even if another brand is less expensive when I need to buy it.  Oddly, my favorite cola is actually Safeway's private label variety but given that Safeway has jacked up their prices for everything I can typically find Coca Cola (my next preferred brand) for less at other stores.

Edited April 6 by maninsoma

[+ FrankR]

It very much depends on what I am buying. As examples: Store brand dish soap works just fine for me. But store brand corn flakes is horrible and barely toasted so get too soggy  - I stick to Kelloggs. 

[+ jrhoutex]

3 hours ago, Ali Gator said:

How do you shop, and do you think you will make changes in the coming months ?

I also try the store private label brand to see if I like it.  Probably 75% of the products I try are fine.  There are exceptions where I prefer the national brand - like English muffins (oroweat extra crisp).  For household supply items, I frequently pickup at Costco and find the Kirkland brand to be good value.  I've generally been pleased with the Kirkland products.  And, if not, I know I can always return it to Costco, no questions asked.  

In the coming months, I think consumers will be careful in their spending habits and will shift more to lower cost goods.

[+ Gar1eth]

I go back and forth,  and it may depend on my mood when I'm shopping.  
 

Here are some examples off the top of my head.
 

Pepperidge Farm has a cinnamon swirl raisin bread which I really like. I tried the Walmart brand, and it wasn't anywhere near as good. I also tried the Walmart instant mashed potato flakes. They were nowhere as good as Hungry Jacks. (Speaking of Hungry Jacks-I'm having trouble finding them at Walmart. Anyone else having trouble finding them?).
 

On the other hand-while I drink too much soda-the Walmart brand of root beer is excellent. And Walgreens has a fake cherry Coke which is pretty good too. 
 

I'll also use Walmart's Great Value canned green beans  I don't think they taste as good as the name brands. But they're a lot cheaper. And I can season them on my plate. 

Edited April 5 by Gar1eth

[samhexum]

I'm having a bowl of Stop&Shop Crispy Rice cereal with some Bowl & Basket skim milk for dinner.

[+ sync]

13 hours ago, samhexum said:

I'm having a bowl of Stop&Shop Crispy Rice cereal with some Bowl & Basket skim milk for dinner.

The Bowl & Basket chicken products are not so bad either.

[+ sync]

18 hours ago, maninsoma said:

I definitely have preferred brands, but usually not a single brand.  For example, if I'm buying there are many brands I find acceptable so I will buy, for example, Haagen Dazs when it's on sale versus a more expensive specialty brand.  Better yet, if I just want a basic flavor then Trader Joe's has good vanilla, mint chip, and coffee ice creams (and sometimes specialty flavors like ube) at every day prices that are similar to sale prices for Haagen Dazs. 

I do prefer Heinz ketchup so I will likely buy that even if another brand is less expensive when I need to buy it.  Oddly, my favorite cola is actually Safeway's private label variety but given that Safeway has jacked up their prices for everything I can typically find Coca Cola (my next preferred brand) for less at other stores.

I also stick with Heinz ketchup.  I was brand loyal to Hellmann's Mayonnaise until not long ago something changed, which turned me to Kraft.

I hate change! 

[+ poolboy48220]

I buy store brands with a few exceptions. Generic Q-Tips are horrible, verging on painful. 

My sister's boyfriend (later husband) was moving out into his first place, she'd been living on her own for years & was pretty thrifty. She took him on his first grocery shopping trip and was steering him towards store brands. When they came to the jelly, he objected saying "I was raised on Smuckers". 

[Ali Gator]

15 hours ago, Gar1eth said:

Pepperidge Farm has a cinnamon swirl raisin bread which I really like.

I've been eating PF cinnamon swirl since I was a toddler - my favorite breakfast. However, I've tasted a notable change over the years. Still better than the competitors, but not the same taste from the  60s - 90s. It's gotten a little more 'nursing home bland'.

[samhexum]

1 hour ago, sync said:

I hate change! 

 

[+ Gar1eth]

57 minutes ago, Ali Gator said:

I've been eating PF cinnamon swirl since I was a toddler - my favorite breakfast. However, I've tasted a notable change over the years. Still better than the competitors, but not the same taste from the  60s - 90s. It's gotten a little more 'nursing home bland'.

When I was a child, I was convinced Wonder Bread had a different taste (which I liked) compared to other brands of store bought white bread which pretty much all tasted the same. For some reason I didn't eat Wonder Bread after that for years.  Now when I eat it, it tastes the same as all the rest. I'm wondering if it's a combination of them changing the recipe over the years along with the decreased taste sensitivity that occurs as you age. 

[Beancounter]

Interesting topic.  There are certain products I simply won’t compromise on.  Examples include :

Kerry Gold or Plugra butter

Heinz ketchup

Manchego cheese from Spain

Swanson chicken broth

Gruyer cheese from Switzerland 

Global blend olive oil 

Gevalia French roast coffee 

 

Certain generic staple pantry items are fine with me….flour, sugar, rice, spices, beans.

 

Life is too short to compromise on the things you truly enjoy.  

[+ Gar1eth]

I had almost forgotten about the following until I used it today and realized it fit the category perfectly. 
 

As a dedicated non-ironer, this stuff from Dollar General is so good that it makes the concept of a Benevolent Higher Power that much easier to believe. It works as well as Downey Wrinkle Free for 1/2 the price. Unfortunately it's out of stock right now. Who knows when it will return?

Edited April 6 by Gar1eth

[Ali Gator]

2 hours ago, Gar1eth said:

I had almost forgotten about the following until I used it today and realized it fit the category perfectly. 
 

As a dedicated non-ironer, this stuff from Dollar General is so good that it makes the concept of a Benevolent Higher Power that much easier to believe. It works as well as Downey Wrinkle Free for 1/2 the price. Unfortunately it's out of stock right now. Who knows when it will return?

I'm going to have to try this ! I don't iron. 

[samhexum]

2 hours ago, Gar1eth said:

As a dedicated non-ironer, this stuff from Dollar General is so good that it makes the concept of a Benevolent Higher Power that much easier to believe. It works as well as Downey Wrinkle Free for 1/2 the price. Unfortunately it's out of stock right now. Who knows when it will return?

 

[samhexum]

10 best grocery-store brands of mac and cheese, ranked

Find out which store-brands taste the most like Kraft and Annie's.

 

[+ Alabastrine]

I was a dirt-poor college student once, and store-branded products were all I could afford. Depending on the store I was pleasantly surprised with the quality. It also opened my eyes to how overpriced some name brands are. To this day I'm happy with store-brand rice crispies and corn flakes, and found a few store-brand products that are far superior to major brand ones. There are occasional brand-name items that I haven't found store-brand dupes for, so I tend to buy a mix of store and name brand items. Costco's Kirkland stuff is passable, but the best "store brands" I've found so far are HEB, Kroger and Wegman's.

[+ JamesB]

I still remember the "generic" or "no-name" brand trend from the 1980s. Supermarkets and stores offered unbranded, budget-friendly items that came in plain, minimalist packaging, usually just white labels with black text naming the product, like "Beer," "Corn," or "Soap." Surprisingly, some of those products were actually pretty good.