Name brand vs store brand - Page 3

[hellyaellen]

i mostly get store brands. dh is particular about the brand of green beens he wants, and sometimes soup though.

[krisnic]

Most stuff I buy store brand. Meijer has a great organics line, and I get tomato sauce and milk from that.

[Siennaflower]

I get store brand versions of items that get mixed in during a recipe (canned beans, soup or veggies mostly). That way, if the taste is a little off its hardly noticeable. Bread, spices, condiments and stuff like A1 sauce are all name brand with the exception of mayo, which I happen to prefer the store brand

When I lived near a Costco (and oh how I miss it! Sam's is no comparison IMO) I did use a lot of Kirkland brand things and I do think they were very close to their name brand counterparts, if not darn near identical. And I LOVED their sposie wipes...Target brand soft wipes are a close second though.

[EFmom]

The only brand name things I routinely buy are mayo (Hellmans or Kraft) and bread from a local bakery. I like some stores' house brands of certain things better than others.

[phathui5]

I've always been pleased with the store brands from Trader Joe's and Whole Foods. We generally don't end up getting them at say, Superfresh, just because we try not to buy a lot of conventional packaged food.

[chel]

When I have a choice I usually go for store brand. lots of great organic tomato stuff out there.

[sarah10998]

I buy on a case by case basis as well. I like some brand names (heinz ketchup,miracle whip and mayo) I like store brand bbetter on some things--Western family canned veggies and tomato products. I like some kirkland stuff but hate their ham (too salty for me which is amazing because I love salt). Some Kroger stuff is great but other is awful. I just keep trying things because I like to. if it was a hassle I would find one brand and stick to it. Sarah

[cristeen]

I'm on a case by case basis as well. For mayo, it was always Best Foods (Hellman's), until the price jumped to $4/qt, when i decided to start making my own.

Anything I can buy in bulk I do (whether that's rice at the HFS or fresh produce by the flat at the farm). Anything I can buy at Trader Joe's I do (TJ's house brand usually). Whatever is left I get at Safeway (Kroger's), and is usually brand name. The only things I go searching for a particular brand (rather than any brand with an ingredient list I find acceptable) are Muir Glen Organics Fire Roasted Tomato products (although I also buy TJ's brand of tomato, depending on the use), Laura Scudder's Old Fashioned Peanut Butter, Tillamook cheese (cheddar, jack, pepper jack) and Knudsen's Sour Cream (oh, and Quilted Northern TP, cause it's the only one DH will use). Most everything else I buy a particular brand because I've read the label and like the ingredients, or because there's no alternatives (I still have to like the ingredients though, or do without). But, I buy very little pre-packaged food (usually 2 or 3 items a week of staples). I also found that buying frozen fruit/veggies is usually cheaper than canned (and I have more freezer space than pantry space), and if I can buy it fresh in season on sale (can it or freeze it myself) it's usually cheaper than frozen.

Switching to buying in bulk and buying at TJs has cut about 1/3 off my weekly food bill. Of course, now that we're in fresh produce season, I can cut another big chunk off of it by shopping Farmer's Markets.

[monkeysmommy]

Trial and error. Some store brand things are okay and some are just gross. The Safeway organic stuff is pretty good. Trader Joe's brand stuff is usually good, except for the salsa that's in the refrigerated section. Also their fake sausage patties are disgusting.

Store brand dental floss always sucks.

[crunchy_mama]

I do not buy a lot of packaged or canned food; when I do the number one thing I check is ingredients and additives. Whatever brand; store or name that is free of anything "offensive" and is the cheapest is what I buy. I prefer organics as well. On things like cheese dh is kind of picky.

[monkeysmommy]

I am enjoying some trader joe's brand peanut butter this morning.

[cupofjojo]

We are 6 of one half a dozen of the other on store brand vs. name brand.

Name brand musts for me: Reynolds wrap, Philadelphia Brand Cream Cheese, Planters Roasted Peanuts and our Shaklee supplements and cleaning products.

The other name brands that we buy but only on sale are: Classico Spicy Pepper Pasta Sauce, Annies Cheddar Bunnies which seem to go on sale once a month in our grocery store, Ken's salad dressing when I don't make my own.

Everything else we buy what's cheapest.

Fresh produce is a whole other area for us. Some organics, some farmers markets etc.

[eldadeedlit]

I can tell the difference with some things, with others I can't. I buy storebrand milk for instance, and store brand (Price Chopper) mac and cheese because we actually like it better than Kraft and it is significantly cheaper. Some things I can definitely tell the difference. Store brand Cheerios are gross IMO for example. It is hit or miss. I try the store brands and if there isn't much of a difference I use them. Some things though, we stick to the brand names.

Veronica

[Jennisee]

Case by case basis for us. Some store brand items are the same, some are better, and some are worse. I have had good luck with Kroger's natural/organic line and Trader Joe's store brand. If I recall correctly, Kroger's policy is that if you don't like the store brand version, they will give you the national brand free.

[Minerva]

The sum total of convenience items --

Store brand: tomato sauce, beans, pasta, frozen corn, tortillas, soap

Name brand: tortilla chips, tissues & toilet paper, cat food, chocolate, yogurt, oats if the bulk bin went empty, cow's milk (no store brand ), shampoo, hand cream

We rarely buy processed stuff; better to buy bulk ingredients and make stuff from scratch.

[barose]

I look at the quality of food itself rather than brands. I look at:

Is it organic?
Does it have preservatives, MSG, artificial sweeteners, etc?
Does it have gluten?
Does it have refined sugar or HFCS?
How much sodium?

I do like certain brands like Eden, specific brands for coconut ooil and other supplements but for eggs, olive oil, etc, we get them from a small farm (at the farmers markets), and so on.

I like 7 Gen brand paper products, Bio Kleen, Aubrey Organics, etc - though. But lables are first, brand loyality is secondary.

[Mama Dragon]

Mayo and bread are the main things that I will not buy generic. Almost everything else depends on ingredients, where it was made, price and past experience (there's a certain ketchup brand I will not buy, it's just so nasty).

[SugarGlider]

Case by case here too. We buy some mid price (angel soft toilet paper) and tiny bit of high price (can only use dixie paper plates!) and most store brand On the not store brand stuff I buy the biggest package I can to save money.

[tarheelbaby]

It's a case by case basis here, too. I can only think of a few thinks I prefer the name brand on, actually. Ketchup, mayo, ziplocs, TP, mustard.


@ Jillison66--You are SO RIGHT about tea bags. I live in NC, and sweet tea is a staple here too. DH complained my tea was inferior to my mom's and I asked her what kind of bags she was using. I was using the expensive Lipton's, she was using the cheap store brands. Learned my lesson on that.

[tiffany21074]

My hubby just stopped running maintenance in a manufacturing food plant, and yes, often times all they do is switch the labels when they bottle a different brand. It depends on what the manufacture wants.