Brand loyalty?

[ERObjd]

Are there any consumer products that you are always brand loyal to?


My wife and I use a lot of house brand products and grocery generics like HY Vee or Our family or IGA. Most generics seem to be the same as name brand and are cheaper and I usually cant tell the difference. Some things we do use brand name. My wife is a school trained chef, so on baking supplies and spices she chooses brand names like McCormick or Watkins.



My wife does prefer Butternut coffee but I can drink any brand, whatever is cheapest house brand ..Dollar general,Our Family. Hy Vee, whatever. as long as it has caffeine in it I don't care what brand it is. Wife and I do differ on toothpaste. I like regular old Colgate and she likes the regular Crest. Crest tend to make the roof of my mouth feel irritated. When kids were still home, they used Aquafresh,I guess they liked the stripes. She does prefer Cascade dishwasher soap, I dont know if it is any better than generic ,but bought some generic dish soap one time and she said it did not clean the dishes very well so I don't argue with her on that one.





I quite a bit of grilling and make my own rib rubs and sauces, but I am brand loyal to charcoal. When I do ribs or briskets I always use B&B charcoal because I have tried other brands and they just don't last long enough to finish them out. Cost a couple $ more,because it will burn for 4-5 hours low and slow. Now for simple grilling of burgers or brats any generic cheap charcoal will work and I will use house brand cheap charcoal for that. I guess I am brand loyal with charcoal and toothpaste.

 

[Stormy Kromer]

I'm a house brand guy for almost everything. Exception is Kethcup, that has to be Heinz. I get spices and seasonings at the Hardware Store or Fleet Farm. I grill a lot on a pellet grill and insist on Traeger pellets, they're the best and are worth it. For food not all store brands are the same, Hy Vee has some of the better ones. Great stores.

 

[Lewis Clark]

I'm not brand loyal to many products, but I will only buy Heinz ketchup. I've tried others over the years and the difference is noticeable to me.

 

[braumeister]

For many years, I've found that Kroger's upscale "Private Selection" brand has been a wonderful choice. At least as good as, if not better than, the equivalent national brands, at a better price. Offhand, I can't think of an exception to this.

 

[Ole Red 29]

I use Walmart Great Value and Equate brands for the most part. Huge savings most of the time. However, I still compare prices because they are not always the best value. I don't perceive any difference in quality.

We have friends that insist on buying top brands. They are convinced they are better quality.

 

[mystang52]

As I've gotten older I tend to buy more brand name vs store brand. Intellectually, I'm sure store brand version of Excedrin would be fine; but I know that Excedrin brand knocks out my debilitating headaches so I won't use anything other than Excedrin. Others: Heinz ketchup, Kraft mayonnaise, Bay's English muffins, Scotch tape, Charmin, Bounty, and many others.
Store brands: canned corn, canned crushed pineapple, cold medicines.

 

[Lewis Clark]

Intellectually, I'm sure store brand version of Excedrin would be fine; but I know that Excedrin brand knocks out my debilitating headaches so I won't use anything other than Excedrin.

Have you ever checked the active ingredients list? The store brands often have the exact same active ingredients as the national brands.

 

[MRG]

Have you ever checked the active ingredients list? The store brands often have the exact same active ingredients as the national brands.

I can't make this comment about food but I worked in auto parts when I was a kid. Walker, NAPA, Sears, Montgomery Ward, Kmart were the exact same clamps, pipes, and mufflers from the same factory with different labels. We got in tractor trailer loads twice a year and had to replace the non-Walker labels by hand..[emoji4]

That said most brands I don't care about, ketchup is one, although I seldom use it.

 

[cathy63]

I like Thomas' English Muffins much better than the sliced ones. And Cascade Platinum dishwasher pods removed the tea stains from my mugs while nothing else had. Otherwise, I usually buy the Kirkland brand if it's something I get at Costco, or whatever is on the shelf at the grocery store.

 

[Boose]

I've been loyal to L'Oreal Mega Hold hair gel since the '80s, through many different hairstyles. But I tried some other brands recently and -huh!- they work just as well for less $$. Guess it's good to shake it up every decade or so.

 

[Midpack]

I’m sure we’re all a mix of brand loyal and not in varying degrees. There are many things we buy that are only one or a narrow group of brands, and other items where the cheapest is more than good enough based on our experience. The exception for us - we’ve only had one bad experience * with Kirkland Signature products, and dozens of great experiences. I’ll buy Kirkland without hesitation.

* “Their” golf balls after the first year have been pure junk - it’s excess capacity from almost any Asian ball manufacturer each year. It’s never been the same ball from one year to the next, the consistency/quality is among the worst you can get. The studies are out there for anyone to see. You’d be better off selectively playing balls you find and saving the $25...

 

[ls99]

None!

 

[skipro33]

I'm brand loyal to Subaru cars. I buy one every 4 or 5 years and we are on #5 right now. Recently the front brakes were acting up, so I took it in to the dealer service department. They replaced the brake pads and rotors. Later, a slight oil leak at the oil pan gasket, which they repaired quickly as well. I received an email from SOA (Subaru Of America) headquarters asking me to fill out a satisfaction survey based on my experience. I filled it out, letting them know politely that I was concerned about a new car needing brakes and fix an oil leak so early in it's life. They emailed me back and gave me a 6 year/100,000 $0 co-pay factory extended warranty, paid one month on my auto loan and sent me a Dyson stick vacuum cleaner with the Subaru brand name etched onto it. Oh, and a $250 certificate to use at their parts and service department which I'll probably use for weatherproof floor mats or something. That added up to over $2,000 worth of gifts sent to me and all I did was answer their customer satisfaction survey.
There have been other instances over the years where they did right by me, but not to this extent. All cars have problems sooner or later, but Subaru has always been there to stand behind the cars I've bought from them and will continue to buy in the future.

 

[ERObjd]

I use NAPA parts quite a bit and use Napa regular oil, andNapa oil is actually Valvoline as it says so right on the back of the bottle. Napa oil about $2 a qt vs nearly $5 for the same qt of Valvoline I get tires at Walmart and walmart brand tires are labeled as Douglas, but they are made by Goodyear and at least $20 less per tire.

 

[Jerry1]

I’m not name brand focused, but once I find a brand I like, I tend to stick with it. For example, I by the same condiments each time and they are name brands (Hellmans, Hines, Frenches . . .) but we found some pickles we like a lot that are not Vlasic and we stick with that brand now. For spices, I’m a snob. I go to a little spice shop near us or order from Penzeys. If I have to buy from the store, I wouldn’t care what brand it is. I expect it will be average at best no matter the brand. All my TV’s and monitors are Samsung. Very happy with them. Both my computers are custom built but phones and phone peripherals are Apple. Cars have all been GM. Mostly because my FIL was a GM lifer and we still get the employee discount. However, between Ford, Chrysler and GM, I’ve always preferred GM products. I’m sure I’d like higher end cars like Lexus, BMW, Mercedes, but that just a bit beyond my comfort zone of spending on a car, so GM it is. I’ve always bought name brand tools like Craftsman (when they were actually great and had a lifetime warranty) and Klein but if it’s a one time use tool, I don’t mind going to Harbor Freight and picking up a knock off.

 

[davebarnes]

Apple. No generics for us. iMacs, iPhones, iPads, Apple TVs, watch.
Blue Plate mayonnaise. Heinz ketchup.

 

[statsman]

There are certain brands we've stayed with over the years, but at times the manufacturers will change an item to the point where the loyalty is no longer there.

DW and I were big fans of Heinz's yellow and brown mustards. Much more so than the other brands, and that was the case our entire adult lives.

A few year ago Heinz decided to remove mustard bran from their mustard formulas. We could immediately tell the difference. Their previous rich mustard flavor was replaced with the typical mustard formula, especially with their yellow mustard. Some of our mustard purchases are with other brands now.

 

[MrsHaloFIRE]

Loreal hair color, which i now buy by the tube and not the box bc its less packaging waste and easier to change qty. And we tried housebrand ketchup and threw it out, which is a big deal bc we hate waste but I would not even use it for crockpot meatballs it was that bad. And Frank's hot sauce bc no one else makes it so its easy to be loyal.

 

[Music Lover]

We're not really brand loyal, we're country loyal and trying to support national (and of course local) businesses as much as possible.

 

[ERObjd]

your post got me curious about what type condiments is in our fridge. Ketchup is Hunts brand and the yellow mustard is Clover Valley which is Dollar General house brand. Also a nearly empty Hy Vee Ketchup We also have a Kraft spicy brown mustard and a jar of Kraft Horseradish. I often mix a bit of horseradish with yellow mustard. Oh we also have a small jar of Grey Puopon. I dont care for it that much but wife and kids always liked it. Sadly, sometimes food manufactures meddle with the process and recipes and cut corners which often results in an inferior product. Cutting corners at the expense of quality.

 

[Walt34]

I'll try the house brand of almost anything at least once, frequently the house brand is just as good and occasionally even better. Tools are a different story, there the difference in quality is often dramatic.

Cars, not so much. The quality varies so much from model to model and year to year it seems just a crap shoot so I'll just buy whatever seems the best for my purposes at the time.

 

[Maximus]

Thomas' English Muffins Accept no substitutes.

 

[finnski1]

Thomas' English Muffins Accept no substitutes.

Those are good.
Pepperidge Farms cinnamon raisin bread!

 

[Out-to-Lunch]

For spices, I’m a snob. I go to a little spice shop near us or order from Penzeys.

For me, Penzeys is the little spice shop near me! Win-win!

 

[Boho]

My cousin asked that question once. Hers was Heinz catsup. I used to be like that before price and health meant as much. Now I'm only brand-loyal in theory. If I had the money and I was outdoors a lot in cold weather, I'd want Gor-Tex fabric, but even then it could be any brand of coat. If I had a greater need for something reflective I'd want 3-M because I read it reflects best, but same deal about the actual finished product being any brand. I wanted the best OSHA rated ladder but that only narrowed it down to two brands.