Store/generic brands

[potsticker]

Does anyone use a lot of store or generic brands for things? There are some things that I really can't tell too much of a difference between generic and name brands and there are some that are a world of difference.

Discuss.

[John DePaula]

Generally, I find the store brand at Whole Foods "365 Everyday Value" to be of, well, good value. Olive Oil, Rice Milk, etc. all seem to be pretty good esp. when compared to prices on anything else.

DISCLAIMER: I sell my chocolates there, just so you know.

[Dianabanana]

Seconding the Whole Foods 365 store brand. Also Safeway Select.

[home cooking]

I like the Archer Farms line at Target. I just purchased some artichoke spreads and dips for $2 each in the 9-11 oz square jars. Some were in the Christmas clearance section, but the full selection was in the grocery dept.

Wife likes the AF hot chocolate tins better than the holiday packs because she wont use all the flavors in the packs.

Target has 2 house brands: Market Pantry and Archer Farms.

The AF chips and salsas are pretty good. I noticed they had a pretty good selection of dried spice blends also. But we get our dried spices, oatmeal, etc. from bulk from the health food store. Its usually the Frontier brand and way cheaper than the packaged.

Sams Chioce house brand clear plastic wrap at Walmart is easiest to handle for the $.

I think dairy, fresh pkg produce, and fresh juice products are mostly branded items coming from the same place as the national brands. We try to get organic dairy, free range eggs and/or imported cheese without the added BGH and antibiotics.

And on the other end most any 2 ply quilted toilet paper works well!

Of course , we live in Florida and on the podunk spacecoast we have a culinary wasteland in restuarants which helps us keep up our food prep skills.

[SuzySushi]

Seconding Safeway Select. But I avoid the Safeway Lucerne dairy brand like the proverbial plague.

Also, anything we've bought under Costco's Kirkland brand has been superior to comparable name-brand products.

[John DePaula]

Seconding Safeway Select. But I avoid the Safeway Lucerne dairy brand like the proverbial plague.

Also, anything we've bought under Costco's Kirkland brand has been superior to comparable name-brand products.

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Yeah, I like the Kirkland brand, too. Very good at a good price point.

[Chris Amirault]

Having read a few grocery industry magazines I spied on desks here and there, I had gotten the sense that most store brand products actually come from well-known corporations who make and then relabel package the products for different chains. A quick check online suggests that this is very true indeed. Consumer Reports points out not only that store brand quality is often very high but also that many "store brands" are sheep in wolf's clothing:

Of the thousands of manufacturers of store brands, many are national-brand companies. But, neither retailers nor big-brand manufacturers are anxious to reveal that information, and you won't find any clues on product labels. That doesn't mean that national brands simply change the label on the same products. They sometimes manufacture a different type of product to be sold as a store brand, and even if it's the same type, they make it to the store's own specifications, which could mean a change in ingredients or quality.

They then list a few of the companies that supply store brands, like Alcoa (Reynolds Wrap), Birds Eye, Chicken of the Sea, Del Monte, etc. A 2003 Fortune article explained the need of heavily branded food corporations expanding into store brands as a matter of economic necessity:

[E]ven as they cull their stables to the strongest horses, many branded manufacturers are pursuing a fallback strategy. Years ago a Gillette executive equated producing private-label razors to "selling your soul." Now Kraft, Nestle, Kimberly-Clark, H.J. Heinz, Del Monte, Unilever, and others have selectively taken an "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" strategy. "Ten or 15 years ago branded manufacturers wouldn't [make] private labels, or, if they did, they lied about it," says retail consultant Bill Bishop. "Today more and more have a strategy to do both." Even Campbell Soup--its classic label iconized by Andy Warhol in the '60s--turns out soup for European retailers. "Many of our products are made by the same guys that pack national brands," says Bill Moran, CEO of the 1,170-store "extreme value" chain Save-a-Lot. "We have to be careful how we tell people about that. For instance, [ConAgra's] Chef Boyardee packs our canned pasta products. They wouldn't want you to know that."

[prasantrin]

Many of the President's Choice line products are very good, but they have limited distribution in the US, I think. There's a topic somewhere in eGullet specifically about PC products.

Also, there is a difference between generic brands and store brands. Generic brands are "no-name" products, cheaply-produced products, usually with very simple packaging (two colours), and they are much cheaper than store brands.

Store brands are often re-branded private label products, or goods manufactured by the stores, themselves. They're usually on-par with national brands in terms of quality and price.

[feedmec00kies]

Usually I'll go for generics because they're cheaper and are mostly worth it.

However, although I agree that most of the Whole Foods 360 products are good, there are 2 I came across that I won't buy again. The first is their not-from-concentrate ruby red grapefruit juice (thin and not very good flavor-wise) - I prefer to just wait and buy grapefruit juice elsewhere because the 360 brand is the same price as "name brand" other places around me. The second is their tahini/sesame paste. Overwhelming bitter flavors dominate any nuttiness. I should have just bought the joyva tahini. I admit that there might have been something off about the particular batch or whatever I bought a carton/jar of, but they weren't cheap enough to warrant me trying them again.

[Malkavian]

I also am a fan of the Kirkland's stuff from Costco.

I find Harris Teeter's HT Traders line of international items passable, but admittedly I've only sampled a few of those (curry paste, olives, some of the Asian sauces)

Store brand eggs and milk, cottage cheese, yogurt, etc without a doubt.

Canned fruits and veg I'm ambivalent about--No encounters memorable enough to make me go "avoid/prefer this or that" so I pick based on stuff like sodium content and cost/unit.

For me "store brand" is almost always either Food Lion or (preferably) Harris Teeter.

(I can just imagine someone going "He eats food lion what? *shudder*" )

Edited January 2, 2008 by Malkavian (log)

[SuzySushi]

Having read a few grocery industry magazines I spied on desks here and there, I had gotten the sense that most store brand products actually come from well-known corporations who make and then relabel package the products for different chains. A quick check online suggests that this is very true indeed. Consumer Reports points out not only that store brand quality is often very high but also that many "store brands" are sheep in wolf's clothing:

Of the thousands of manufacturers of store brands, many are national-brand companies. But, neither retailers nor big-brand manufacturers are anxious to reveal that information, and you won't find any clues on product labels. That doesn't mean that national brands simply change the label on the same products. They sometimes manufacture a different type of product to be sold as a store brand, and even if it's the same type, they make it to the store's own specifications, which could mean a change in ingredients or quality.

They then list a few of the companies that supply store brands, like Alcoa (Reynolds Wrap), Birds Eye, Chicken of the Sea, Del Monte, etc. A 2003 Fortune article explained the need of heavily branded food corporations expanding into store brands as a matter of economic necessity:

[E]ven as they cull their stables to the strongest horses, many branded manufacturers are pursuing a fallback strategy. Years ago a Gillette executive equated producing private-label razors to "selling your soul." Now Kraft, Nestle, Kimberly-Clark, H.J. Heinz, Del Monte, Unilever, and others have selectively taken an "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" strategy. "Ten or 15 years ago branded manufacturers wouldn't [make] private labels, or, if they did, they lied about it," says retail consultant Bill Bishop. "Today more and more have a strategy to do both." Even Campbell Soup--its classic label iconized by Andy Warhol in the '60s--turns out soup for European retailers. "Many of our products are made by the same guys that pack national brands," says Bill Moran, CEO of the 1,170-store "extreme value" chain Save-a-Lot. "We have to be careful how we tell people about that. For instance, [ConAgra's] Chef Boyardee packs our canned pasta products. They wouldn't want you to know that."

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That's true to a point, but some retail chains, such as Safeway, actually have their own manufacturing facilities for their store brands. There are also some very large -- as well as small -- manufacturers that specialize in private label products.

[Darcie B]

Sometimes you can tell who manufactures a store-brand product. The manufacturer's code on canned goods is very specific, down to the color of ink. I have found a few that way, but have not always been able to make a determination.

For the record, Aldi brand Macaroni 'n' Beef is made by Chef Boyardee. Not that I would ever eat it, mind you.

I use Kroger brand items for some things (sour cream, canned tomatoes, milk, eggs, butter, and a few others) but don't use them for pasta, canned beans, and most cheeses. I have used trial and error to determine which store brand items are good/superior and which are not.

[Grovite]

I actually go out of my to pick up Central Market/HEB branded items. They are all of high quality and from my experience, better than a lot of the national brands.

And this is not a store specific generic, but one of my guilty pleasures are the Malt-o-Meal bagged cereals.

[jsmeeker]

I actually go out of my to pick up Central Market/HEB branded items. They are all of high quality and from my experience, better than a lot of the national brands.

And this is not a store specific generic, but one of my guilty pleasures are the Malt-o-Meal bagged cereals.

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I like their stuff, too. Many of their best products are things that are a little "unique". Like their Italian sodas. Great stuff there.

[BekkiM]

I'll add a third (fourth?) for the 365 brand items at Whole Foods. I especially like the unsalted butter and the eggs, which are significantly cheaper at Whole Foods than at my local Albertsons/SafeWay/King Soopers. Unfortunately, that savings is offset if I set foot in the cheese section...

I used to like the Kirkland olive oil at Costco, but lately I've been getting the Cost Plus brand--it's inexpensive and inoffensive, particularly for sauteeing, etc.

I'm sure flour is flour is flour (esp. when you're baking simple things like banana bread and pancakes), but for some reason I can't bring myself to buy the store-brand. If available, I spring for King Arthur, but I'm fairly certain that's just food-snobbery, since my palate can't taste the difference. Ditto with sugar, white, brown, or powdered...

Some things just aren't the same, though... I buy the Albertson's version of GrapeNuts every now and then since my husband goes through them so quickly (big bowl every morning) and cereal is sooooo over-priced, but he's never very happy with me when I do.

Safeway Lucerne is just foul. Don't know why, but it is. As is the Albertson's Good Day brand. Yuck.

[pax]

I made a leap of faith on Harris Teeter's Traders French Roast Whole Beans and it was terrible. Never again.

Ditto World Market's brand bagged French Roast Whole Beans which had WORMS in it.

The truth is, I guess, that I'm so grossed out by what our food chain has become in general, I hate going into the grocery store, period.

That said, the Safeway bakeries in our area makes an apple fritter which is heaven. I could eat a dozen of them.

[mizducky]

I have a lttle mental list of food items/categories for which I feel free to substitute any generic or house brand for everyday utility purposes (unless a sale drops the price of a national brand below the generic/store brand version). The list includes: apple and orange juices, peanut butter, milk, eggs, frozen broccoli and spinach, yogurt (plain or with fruit), canned soups, canned tomatoes (okay, if I were making a pasta sauce where the tomatoes were the main event, I'd go a bit more upscale with the canned tomatoes if I couldn't find good fresh ones; but for chucking into a dish with a whole bunch of other flavors, I find the generic tomatoes are just fine for my purposes).

There are actually vanishingly few items about which I maintain any kind of brand loyalty. Even my beloved Hellman's/Best Foods mayonnaise has received a challenge to its supremacy from Trader Joe's mayo (looser texture, tangier flavor than the Hellman's/Best Foods). In fact, I almost want to put TJ's store brands in a whole separate category, given that TJ's whole pricing shtick is based on its house brands. Alas, their canned whole peeled Roma tomatoes are no longer quite the bargain they used to be. TJ's Garden Patch juice, on the other hand, remains a significant bargain compared to V8 Juice--and I happen to think it tastes better too.

[MarketStEl]

Having read a few grocery industry magazines I spied on desks here and there, I had gotten the sense that most store brand products actually come from well-known corporations who make and then relabel package the products for different chains. A quick check online suggests that this is very true indeed. Consumer Reports points out not only that store brand quality is often very high but also that many "store brands" are sheep in wolf's clothing:

Of the thousands of manufacturers of store brands, many are national-brand companies. But, neither retailers nor big-brand manufacturers are anxious to reveal that information, and you won't find any clues on product labels. That doesn't mean that national brands simply change the label on the same products. They sometimes manufacture a different type of product to be sold as a store brand, and even if it's the same type, they make it to the store's own specifications, which could mean a change in ingredients or quality.

They then list a few of the companies that supply store brands, like Alcoa (Reynolds Wrap), Birds Eye, Chicken of the Sea, Del Monte, etc. A 2003 Fortune article explained the need of heavily branded food corporations expanding into store brands as a matter of economic necessity:

[E]ven as they cull their stables to the strongest horses, many branded manufacturers are pursuing a fallback strategy. Years ago a Gillette executive equated producing private-label razors to "selling your soul." Now Kraft, Nestle, Kimberly-Clark, H.J. Heinz, Del Monte, Unilever, and others have selectively taken an "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" strategy. "Ten or 15 years ago branded manufacturers wouldn't [make] private labels, or, if they did, they lied about it," says retail consultant Bill Bishop. "Today more and more have a strategy to do both." Even Campbell Soup--its classic label iconized by Andy Warhol in the '60s--turns out soup for European retailers. "Many of our products are made by the same guys that pack national brands," says Bill Moran, CEO of the 1,170-store "extreme value" chain Save-a-Lot. "We have to be careful how we tell people about that. For instance, [ConAgra's] Chef Boyardee packs our canned pasta products. They wouldn't want you to know that."

←

That's true to a point, but some retail chains, such as Safeway, actually have their own manufacturing facilities for their store brands. There are also some very large -- as well as small -- manufacturers that specialize in private label products.

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1) Perhaps we've come full circle, then?

The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company in its heyday carried just about nothing but house brands and had several facilities across the country that produced them. Eventually, though, the company closed the plants, as they became a drain on A&P's profits as customers came to prefer nationally advertised brands. The power of mass media advertising led shoppers to assume that house-brand products were inferior to the ones they saw on TV, and the stigma has remained attached to them ever since, though threads like this one suggest that savvy consumers no longer turn up their noses at them.

2) The boyfriend of a friend of mine (PGMC's Vice President of Production) works at the deli counter at a Genuardi's (Philadelphian for "Safeway") in the northern 'burbs. He tells me that Safeway's deli meat line, Primo Taglio, is first rate. Can you back this up from your own experience? I may have to succumb to placing an order at genuardis.com to try it (the chain refuses to open stores within the city of Philadelphia, honoring its founding family's hostility to unions).

I have a lttle mental list of food items/categories for which I feel free to substitute any generic or house brand for everyday utility purposes (unless a sale drops the price of a national brand below the generic/store brand version). The list includes: apple and orange juices, peanut butter, milk, eggs, frozen broccoli and spinach, yogurt (plain or with fruit), canned soups, canned tomatoes (okay, if I were making a pasta sauce where the tomatoes were the main event, I'd go a bit more upscale with the canned tomatoes if I couldn't find good fresh ones; but for chucking into a dish with a whole bunch of other flavors, I find the generic tomatoes are just fine for my purposes).

There are actually vanishingly few items about which I maintain any kind of brand loyalty. Even my beloved Hellman's/Best Foods mayonnaise has received a challenge to its supremacy from Trader Joe's mayo (looser texture, tangier flavor than the Hellman's/Best Foods). In fact, I almost want to put TJ's store brands in a whole separate category, given that TJ's whole pricing shtick is based on its house brands. Alas, their canned whole peeled Roma tomatoes are no longer quite the bargain they used to be. TJ's Garden Patch juice, on the other hand, remains a significant bargain compared to V8 Juice--and I happen to think it tastes better too.

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As TJ's is the Aldi of natural/organic foods retailers (literally!), your experience there comes as no surprise. I have yet to encounter an Aldi product that is clearly inferior to either nationally advertised or regular supermarket house brands. Can't say the same for Save-a-Lot, but I'm not surprised to find out that brand-name manufacturers are making products for that chain under the table too.

I'll second the endorsements of both Brand 365 and Archer Farms. In general, I will buy store brands unless I've discovered a good reason not to. The Acme (Albertson's) store brand is generally very good -- but I avoid their New York State cheddar, which has an off-taste I find off-putting; America's Choice, the Super Fresh (A&P family) regular store brand, is better. I have had generally poor experiences with house-brand refrigerated orange juice, though.

Master Choice, the Super Fresh premium store brand, is an outstanding value -- their products are the equal of brands that cost two to three times as much, yet cost no more than Brand 365 does. (I do note that Brand 365 products, while competitively priced, do cost a little more than regular supermarket store brands.)

[mizducky]

2) The boyfriend of a friend of mine (PGMC's Vice President of Production) works at the deli counter at a Genuardi's (Philadelphian for "Safeway") in the northern 'burbs.  He tells me that Safeway's deli meat line, Primo Taglio, is first rate.  Can you back this up from your own experience?  I may have to succumb to placing an order at genuardis.com to try it (the chain refuses to open stores within the city of Philadelphia, honoring its founding family's hostility to unions).

The local Vons here in San Diego carry the Primo Taglio lines. I think the only ones I recall sampling were the roast beef and the head cheese. The roast beef was fine. The head cheese was just okay--but then, as one of the few fans of head cheese out there, I have often found that most commercial brands of head cheese are just okay. I don't think many commercial manufacturers appreciate head cheese either.

... I have had generally poor experiences with house-brand refrigerated orange juice, though.

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I mainly get frozen orange juice concentrate--I think that stuff, by its very nature, tends to be more homogenous in quality.

(The IMO absurd proliferation of varieties of orange juice--who can tell apart all those different quantities and qualities of pulp?--is probably a topic for another, erm, topic ... though I'm not motivated to start it at the moment. )

[Pierogi]

2) The boyfriend of a friend of mine (PGMC's Vice President of Production) works at the deli counter at a Genuardi's (Philadelphian for "Safeway") in the northern 'burbs.  He tells me that Safeway's deli meat line, Primo Taglio, is first rate.  Can you back this up from your own experience?  I may have to succumb to placing an order at genuardis.com to try it (the chain refuses to open stores within the city of Philadelphia, honoring its founding family's hostility to unions).

I shop at the West Coast translation of Safeway (Vons or Pavilions) pretty regularly, and have purchased quite a few of the Prim9o Taglio products and I usually find them to be excellent. Prosciutto, pancetta, sliced and grated cheeses (asiago, swiss, bleus come to mind) have all been regulars in my fridge. No, its not prosciutto de Parma, nor Parmigiano Reggiano, but they're still pretty darn good. Good selections of salamis as well.

[CaliPoutine]

When I lived in Cali, I used to get the Primo Taglio meats at Von's. I recall them being very good.( I still prefer Boar's Head though).

[berniemiller]

I too am a Kirkland's products fan...I'm partial to the EVOO.

For what it's worth...most if not all store branded refrigerated dough, y'know the stuff in the paper tubes, are Sara Lee bakery products.

[MomOfLittleFoodies]

2) The boyfriend of a friend of mine (PGMC's Vice President of Production) works at the deli counter at a Genuardi's (Philadelphian for "Safeway") in the northern 'burbs.  He tells me that Safeway's deli meat line, Primo Taglio, is first rate.  Can you back this up from your own experience?  I may have to succumb to placing an order at genuardis.com to try it (the chain refuses to open stores within the city of Philadelphia, honoring its founding family's hostility to unions).

I shop at the West Coast translation of Safeway (Vons or Pavilions) pretty regularly, and have purchased quite a few of the Prim9o Taglio products and I usually find them to be excellent. Prosciutto, pancetta, sliced and grated cheeses (asiago, swiss, bleus come to mind) have all been regulars in my fridge. No, its not prosciutto de Parma, nor Parmigiano Reggiano, but they're still pretty darn good. Good selections of salamis as well.

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It's Safeway in Northern California, and Vons/Pavillions in Southern California.

The Primo Taglio turkey products are very good. I love the pan roasted turkey, and my 10 year old could live on the pepper turkey.