Brand loyalty and the recession

[Katie Meadow]

I'm pretty loyal to the products I like. Canned Italian tomatoes, Best Foods mayo (same as Hellmans), Edmund Fallot dijon mustard, Adams pb, Strauss organic milk, De Cecco pasta, Kosher or organic chicken. I still buy expensive dried beans mail order--I've tried a variety of bulk or other packaged beans and I don't like them as much. My husband bakes a lot of bread and he swears allegiance to King Arthur. I'm totally sold on TJ's handmade flour tortillas, and won't buy any other kind. I also think TJ's brand edamame are better than others. My brand loyalty exists only as long as I think it's the best of its kind.

We have significantly cut our monthly spending in the last year. We eat less red meat than we used to and at least half our meals now are veg. I don't shop the farmers' market as often as I used to, so our produce costs less; less of it is organic, which is another savings, since organic veggies can cost almost the same per pound as steak around here. I rarely use canned broth, and typically make all my own stocks; I'm not sure if any dollars are being saved that way, since marrow bones and ham shanks aren't exactly a steal (chicken feet are still a lot of bang for the buck, though!), but my soups taste great. We make a big pot of beans just about once a week. I now often buy bulk steel-cut oats instead of my favorite Scottish Pinhead oats; not quite as good, but about half the price. I no longer buy my favorite olive oil for salads, but have found a source for bulk Italian or CA that works for everything and is good enough. I've given up buying jams and marmalades from my favorite farmers' market purveyor and I have severe pangs of guilt whenever I see her. My husband and I now make a years' worth of marmalade every Jan/Feb, and that's a significant chunk of change saved.

[Susie Q]

mayo - Best Foods

sugars - C & H

a/p flour - Gold Medal

ketchup - Hunt's

fish sauce - 3 Crabs

cake mix (when scratch isn't possible)- Duncan Hind's

[KarenDW]

My DH claims to prefer brand name butter, but complains about the price every time he shops ($5.50/lb in our neighbourhood). The generic stuff is about $3.75, and I can't tell the difference in most dishes.

[CaliPoutine]

For me, Flour is the big one. Only Gold Medal or KA. Even though I live in Ontario, I still buy my flour in Michigan. I dont like Canadian flour, I guess I'm just used to baking with US flour.

I'll only buy Hellmans AKA Best Foods Mayo. Oh and Jif Peanut butter for eating. I'll bake with other brands, but for a PB&J sandwich, its only Jif.

[della206]

Except for a few things like soy sauce and tea , where there is a noticable difference, I haven't had a lot of brand loyalty to begin with, unless you include being loyal to store brands(some are actually very good.)

I think that shopping at Costco-like places, which I never did a lot of, has made people less brand-loyal. They will often stop and start brands according to whim and customers have to deal with it. It used to be that way anyway.

But things change. For example, Medaglio d'Oro used to be the only instant coffee I would consider but now Starbucks has one that isn't bad although they insist on putting it in little packets instead of a jar. Now Trader Joe's is re-introducing instant coffee. I haven't tried it, but since it's Trader Joe's , it's probably pretty good.

When it comes to things like canned tomatoes or paper products, I could never understand why people didn't buy generics.

[della206]

I used to like Robin Hood flour when I was in Canada. But that was in the seventies. I especially like the cookbooklets, and still use a Black bottom pie recipe from one.

I preferred the Canadian way of packaging some things, for example a pound of butter in paper instead of individual quarters in a box. Fred Meyer and occasionally Trader Joe's will sell it that way here.

[Darienne]

I preferred the Canadian way of packaging some things, for example a pound of butter in paper instead of individual quarters in a box. Fred Meyer and occasionally Trader Joe's will sell it that way here.

Interesting. After spending decades fighting with huge honking blocks of butter, I really prefer the American sticks.

[emmalish]

Yeah, I've always been jealous of the small sticks of butter. It's not so bad now that I have a scale, but trying to trim 1/4c of butter off a 2c block by sight is far from accurate.

[emmalish]

The recession coupled with other financial issues has left me re-evaluating my grocery list. I have always had a great deal of brand loyalty which was not always based on logic. I once worked for a company that produced its own brand and a generic brand. I knew that the only difference was which labelling line the product was steered toward. Still I bought Robin Hood Flour, Reynolds aluminum wrap, as well as numerous other products based on my belief that brand does matter. I don't doubt that it still does for some things. But I have switched to a no-name aluminum wrap that costs less than half for the same quantity as Reynolds and generic flour that is always at least $2 cheaper per 2.5Kg bag. The difference is not detectable by me. I will be evaluating other products to try and determine when brand matters and when it simply doesn't. How about you? Have you loosened the bonds of loyalty?

I work in design & advertising and I know for a fact that the only difference between most brands is in the packaging, yet I still will buy the higher priced item because of a "perception" of higher quality. I know better, but I'm a total sucker for a nice design.

So yes, in many things I will still buy the brand name item.

[Wholemeal Crank]

Where I buy generic and where I buy brand name items hasn't shifted with recession. I tend to stick with a brand when I've had disappointing experience with the alternatives. Sometimes the bagged or bulk cereal is just as good or better as the name brand, sometimes not. If I find a good generic, I'll stick with it until I can't get it any more.

[nbaines]

I wouldn't say I have any brand loyalty as such, I do tend to buy Bacofoil as opose to supermarkets own as it is much tougher, and I have my favourites of canned tomatoes, sauces etc but my loyalty tends to stay to the local butchers, grocer and deli. Over the past few years since living in the area I have built up relationships with them all, If we all retreated to the supermarket they would close before long. I have worked it out on more than one occasion and on many products it works out cheaper to buy my groceries from the grocer than at a big supermarket, as im regular I get the odd discount here and there and the occasional extra large portion, same goes for the butchers with the exception of the deli being the more extravagant shop I go to. I buy my fish from a fisherman who rows out off the beach nearby and I can buy fresh Dover Sole for as little as £2.20! I have been directly affected by the credit crunch having lost my job and having to find bits of short term work where available. The recession has made me put more effort into sourcing my food but I kind of find that fun. I sometimes cook a little more frugally too.

[JTravel]

Since we are retired we have not been too effected....unless you count the stock market.

Wegmans' own brand is very good and I buy whichever is on sale. I started years ago using R0-Tel tomatoes with peppers...an exotic product then. When Wegmans brought out theirs I switched. Now I often buy a similar and fine house brand at Aldi. It seems that house brands at the discount places are becoming brands on their own. Yesterday I got a popular Aldi brand of "leftover"....good till Feb..... chilled cookie dough, at $.50 a pound. Kids won't care about the brand, or the tiny fall leaves mixed in.

Mayo is Hellman's or Wegmans, Ketchup is Heinz, but otherwise is is what is on sale. Locally now flour is $1. for 5 pounds at several places. So the pantry will get filled again.

I love the thrill of the hunt at Big Lots and Ollie's Outlet and will at least give odd brands one try.