Store Brands v. Name Brands? Reasons to Buy Generic Groceries
My mother always bought name brands. Was it the taste? No, she didn’t want the black-n-white generic cans and boxes in the cart. What would people think?
Luckily, food manufacturers and marketers have become smarter and that part of my mother didn’t rub off on me. And in these tough economic times, frugality rules!
Most people think the generic brands taste bad or are of low quality. On the contrary, the ‘generic’ foods of today, smartly packaged as “store brands” are often times your favorite brands with a different label. HUH?? Name brand companies compete for the lowest bid to get the store brand label. From apple juice to grass-fed New Zealand lamb in the butcher case. It optimizes their factory output and allows them to average out costs of ingredients. It allows the food manufacturer to hedge their bets in a sense by playing both ends of the grocery shopper market.
How can you tell?
Look at the label and list of ingredients. If they are the same or near-same, give the store brand a try. I’m at the point now that I forgot I used to buy the name brand on some items. I simply couldn’t tell the difference in a taste test.
Generic Groceries to Buy
Staples such as rice, flour, sugar, salt, milk, applesauce, apple juice, frozen vegetables, frozen juices, vinegar and pull-ups for the toddler all make for great store brand or generic purchases. Some items I just can’t leave the brand - Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, toilet paper, certain salad dressings… no generic substitutes that are comparable so far. (Note: if you have children, do not try and swap out the Kraft Mac & Chew or you will forever be stuck with the generic on your shelf.. mine is going to the food bank).
How much can you save?
Plenty! On average I’m finding by buying the store brand I can save 30% or more on my entire grocery bill. This does not include store specials or coupons which also come in handy and can help with the grocery budget. While this post is a few years old, it does a great job of showing the generic v. brand price on the grocery list.
Who’s buying generic?
These days it’s the same as asking “who’s going green?” The answer - who isn’t? Even the Wall Street Journal covered our changing habits in frugality at the check-out referencing a report out by Information Resources Inc. (IRI) titled ”Shopper in Crisis” citing
41% of upper-income consumers reduced spending on nonessential groceries, and a fourth of these consumers said they gave up favorite brands over six months in 2008. Nearly one-third of high-income shoppers said they bought more private-label products during the second quarter, up from about 20% in the first quarter of this year.
So Today’s Budgeteers - what do you buy generic and what brands won’t you part with, even when it comes to your last dime?
Comment by Sammy on 7 November 2008:
I never used to buy generic products, but this last month I did and there was surprisingly little difference in quality, but the price difference was quite big
Comment by Jennifer on 7 November 2008:
I’ve been buying more generics over the course of this year. My husband works in construction as a foreman, and while things are going fairly well for us now (he’ll make over 105K this year), we saw the black clouds on the horizon as early as late spring. Thus the push to start saving every dime.
Good generics: condensed tomato, chicken noodle or cream soups; baking staples (as you mentioned); frozen vegetables; tomato paste; canned veggies and fruit
There are many things I insist on NOT getting generic/store brand (olive oil, pasta, cheese). Where I can I buy these items in bulk or use coupons. I rarely pay full price for anything these days. Stocking up on sales is the key.
Comment by canoer on 7 November 2008:
Another source for “generics” besides the store brands are the bulk bins. I get my white and brown sugars, rice, spices and nuts there. I don’t buy much breakfast cereal (and gravitate towards GrapeNuts), but my store has a wide variety in bulk, along with quick and regular and steel-cut oatmeal. You have to be careful on the bulk sweets aisle! There’s even dog food and treats in bulk.
I also get the grind your own peanut butter so at least I’m not paying extra for hydrogenated vegetable oil and sugar.
One staple I do splurge on is King Arthur Flour.
Comment by H Lee D on 8 November 2008:
I have also cut out HFCS from my diet. I notice that while many name brands have it, many generics don’t (which is interesting, since supposedly, they use it because it’s cheaper - I’d expect the opposite).
Comment by Michele @ The Integrated Mother on 11 November 2008:
I used to be a name brand snob, but that was before I had so many hungry mouths to feed! I happen to love CostCo’s signature generic brand of products, and also buy some items generic at the local grocery store. There are some items I won’t go generic on though - like many personal care products.
Comment by sam @ moneypenny on 7 April 2009:
I’m a huge fan of buying generic! Another great way to get more bang for your buck at the grocery store. In Australia though, it seems that now there are even different “classes” of generic brands - Coles (a major supermarket) even has two different store brands and an organic line as well.
Wonder how long it will be before the “luxury” generic brands creep into the traditional brand name price bracket?
Comment by eve isk on 8 April 2009:
both brands i ever purchased, and for the category/price/promotion.hehe
Comment by miranda on 24 June 2009:
I have friends who tell me they wont touch generics. I think its just stubern. Most of them tast just fine. I have even found a few that top the name brands in my book. The only thing is I dont often finds store brands in bulk. Stocking when prices are low saves you too.