When you shop for groceries, do you only buy name brand products or are the store brands good enough for you? For the most part I am wallet loyal, not brand loyal. If the difference is pennies I will buy the name brand. However if there is a big price difference I will usually get the store brand. About the only exception to that rule is soda. I will normally buy Diet Coke or Diet Pepsi, whichever I can find on sale.I do not see a huge difference in taste or quality when it comes to food items. When dealing with cleaning chemicals or paper products there is enough of a difference to check closer. a lot of chemicals are watered down somewhat, so there it is better in most cases to get the name brand. The same can be said for paper towels and toilet paper, but if you look around enough you can get some quality products. Of course then you have to decide if shopping at different locations saves enough to pay for the gas going to the store. If you spend $5.00 in gas to save $2.00, well I will let you do the math there.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution just did a story about this. Another interesting article can be found here. Some people will only buy name brand products. I have always looked at it from a retailers point of view. If you feel better paying more, I am more than happy to take your money. There are levels in store brands. Wal-Mart's store brand is Great Value. There is a higher quality level offered under the Sam's Choice label. Most stores offer the two levels now. Kroger has even taken it one step further with a third choice. You have Kroger Value, which has mostly a white package, Kroger brand, and President's choice.
With the economy today it makes sense to save every way you can. You should at least try the store brands before totally writing them off. If you don't like it, fine. You tried. If you do like it, your wallet will thank you.
3 comments:
There are some food were I can never tell the difference between the store brand and the name brand. Like ketchup. Others are just obviously different. Like cereal. Some of my decisions are determined by what I am using it for.
Sometimes I go the cheapo route if it is like a background taste in something I am cooking.
Peanut butter, cola: definitely name brand.
Most other things depend. For instance, frozen pizza. I honestly can't tell the difference between the name brand and the copycat except for the price.
In one of John Stossel's books, it's shown that, nutritionally, there's no difference between store brands and name brands of canned foods. I'll try the store brands, and if I like the taste, I'll go for it.
Stossel also said, like you, that with chemical products, you're mostly better off with the name brands. In other words, never get your cleaners at Dollar Tree. :)
I do draw the line at soda. No store brand clone of Mountain Dew tastes right to me.
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