Do You Prefer Name Brands?

[MikeD]

I prefer name brands over generics. I have yet to see a generic brand as good as a name brand. Especially food. I am dismayed by the recent news that most young people don't appreciate name brands. I guess that explains why almost everything in the grocery store is house brand.

Mike D.

 

[harley]

Personally I think most generic brands ARE name brands, just not under the big name. I've had some experiences where the generic brand was of significantly lower quality, but most times they are indistinguishable. In those cases I'll take the price savings of the generic anytime.


One place where I always stick with the name brand is my diet cola addiction. I've rarely found a store or generic brand that tastes as good. So instead I shop the "buy two get three free" type sales. And then add to the wall of 12 packs in my garage.

 

[athena53]

On food: I read labels. Sometimes the generics have higher salt content or other undesirable features. Canned veggies may include a few fibrous ends. Most of the time I go with brand names after testing the generics.

Other items such as clothing: what's important to me is the quality and the country of origin. I try to avoid China (nearly impossible with electronics) and will actively search for things made in the US, frequently with success. With so many high-end names outsourcing their manufacturing to China and other countries where they can freely exploit the workers (Coach, Kate Spade, Ralph Lauren, you name it), I don't give a fig about whose name is on the label.

 

[RunningBum]

I prefer name brands over generics. I have yet to see a generic brand as good as a name brand. Especially food. I am dismayed by the recent news that most young people don't appreciate name brands. I guess that explains why almost everything in the grocery store is house brand.

Mike D.

I don't see that at all, except at places like Trader Joe's and Aldi. Other grocery stores have their own brands, but almost always offer an alternative name brand. Where are you seeing this?



I usually buy name brands over the store brand, but not always. It does not bother me what other people prefer. I suspect some are motivated by the cheaper price.

 

[JOHNNIE36]

I prefer name brands over generics. I have yet to see a generic brand as good as a name brand. Especially food. I am dismayed by the recent news that most young people don't appreciate name brands. I guess that explains why almost everything in the grocery store is house brand.

Mike D.

Mike, with regard to food products, I will use generics based on my own trial and error methods. We do most of or grocery shopping at Publix and some at Walmart and Costco. At Publix, their own generic products are just as good as the name brand. Some generic cereals I don't care for, but they are OK. Things like chicken broth and milk, I always use the generic brand. Paper products? I always buy the Kirkland brand at Costco. Even Consumer Reports rates their paper products very high. Trial and error is the best method.

 

[easysurfer]

I don't go out of my way to get name brands and prefer a bargain over name brands.

However, one exception is Scott Toilet Paper. Happy to splurge on good, quality toilet paper .

 

[MikeD]

Where are you seeing this?

I shop primarily at Wegman's. They are almost all store brand and I don't think it's as good. If something sells in the name brand, a few months later, up pops a house brand and then no more name brand.

I only care what other people do because of this. I lose the ability to buy what I want because Wegman's caters to what the most people want to do, of course.

 

[RunningBum]

This is one reason I don't like shopping at Aldi. IIRC from the one time I went, all they had were their brands. I didn't feel like doing trail and error on everything, so I walked out empty and never went back.


I'm not that crazy about Trader Joes for that matter, but I like their frozen seafood, and their beers. I also read that their cat food is healthier than some of the much pricier brands, so I stock up on that every few months. My cat loves it and seems very healthy. Unfortunately my other cat developed a tumor and died at age 7, but I don't think that was due to the food. I suppose it's possible.

 

[Aerides]

Of course it depends on the store and the item. My main grocery store is publix. Things like packed or frozen veggies, milk, etc., no brainer.

Pasta sauce, no way - much more sugar and sodium.
Coffee - bleh, no
Ice Cream? Eh, the brands usually have more creative flavors (if I'm gonna cheat, I want B&J)
Cereal - not a thing for us
Cat Food - wet - yes, dry - no

Trial and error, contents matter most for me.

 

[RunningBum]

Yeah, Wegmans does go a little heavy on their brands. The one nearest me isn't all that convenient so I don't use it for regular shopping anyway, but sometimes it's on my way home so I'll stop in for a few things. They also have a really good beer selection.


Kroger and Martin's are my regular stops, and I haven't noticed them push a name brand off the shelf. I actually really like Krogers Private Selection deli meats over Boar's Head.

 

[mamadogmamacat]

Agree Kroger private selection deli meats are just as good and in some cases better than Boar's Head. However, Boar's Head cheeses I find to be much better than Kroger cheeses. It really is a trial and error process. And not only that, one has to be cognizant of how products change over time. I used to always prefer Palmolive dish detergent over all other brands. Then about 6 yrs ago, Palmolive changed the active ingredient to something "greener" unfortunately i did not pay attention to/notice this change right away, What they changed to one of my cats is allergic to (lactose intolerant and the new ingredient was a form of lactic acid). Was making my good big boy cat sick every time I washed his dish and bowl. Finally I noticed. Switched to Walmart Great Value as it had the old less "green" active ingredient, and found it to clean just as well, so that was a bonus. No I check every time I buy any cleaning product just to see what if anythnig has changed.

 

[Bestwifeever]

When he was ten, DS decided we needed to use Tide, so we did and still do . I think he liked the fragrance, or maybe one of his friends' moms liked it so he thought we should too. Hellman's mayonnaise. Heinz ketchup.

 

[audreyh1]

I prefer name brands over generics. I have yet to see a generic brand as good as a name brand. Especially food. I am dismayed by the recent news that most young people don't appreciate name brands. I guess that explains why almost everything in the grocery store is house brand.

Mike D.

Are you talking about food?

No, I don’t usually buy the larger name brands. I may have certain brands we use - usually smaller companies. We shop mostly produce and meat/seafood/poultry. I tend to buy the higher end store brands like HEB or Central Market versus the cheaper Hill Country Fare for canned and dry goods, although some specialty brands like Muir Glen Fire Roasted Tomatoes get my vote.

At Costco I often choose Kirkland.

 

[brett]

We often by store brands in favor of name brands. We do find a difference between some generic labeled brands and store brands. The latter being consistently better in our experience. Many chains offer high quality store brands in order to foster store loyalty.

The store brands that we do buy (including Costco Kirland brand) tend to be name brand products but at a lower price point. It is the same reason we buy generic drugs in some cases over name brands. We are not brand loyal per sae and we prefer not to subsidize their marketing and advertising campaigns.

The last time were were buying allergy meds we held up two packages to the pharmacist. One was a store brand, the other a well recognized, well advertised brand. Asked the pharmacist the difference....his comment was 'about $9 and they are identical from the same manufacturer'.

 

[Car-Guy]

Depends (not those) on the product. I found that things like tools, electronics, guns, automotive parts, home appliances, outdoor equipment are usually better quality from the big names. Sometimes much better. Same with most food. Occasionally I find a generic or off brand that is comparable with the big names, but not that often so I tend to stick with the brand names. Especially true with most (not all) brand name vs generic prescription meds in my experience. However, I don't feel that applies to as many of the OTC meds.

One notable exception with something I buy a lot of is gasoline. I can't tell much diffidence between brands. Same mileage, same performance, etc. I do buy from a big name supplier but that's because I get a nice lifetime discount due to past employment.

I guess I feel the old adage is pretty good, you get what you pay for. Most of the time.

 

[davebarnes]

I prefer name brands.
Price is not important to me. Am I going to go broke paying $3.29 for cheese instead of $2.98? No.

 

[braumeister]

In general, I find Kroger Private Selection and Costco Kirkland products to be top quality and at least as good as name brands.

We buy very few processed food products (mainly just shop the perimeter of the supermarket and avoid the central aisles).

 

[Midpack]

Depends entirely on the item. There are some items I am looking for cheapest or at least best value period, and other items where I won’t consider a house or unknown brand. Several here have assumed this thread is about food?

Like Audrey said above, IME most Kirkland (Costco) products are every bit as good as big name brands. There are others. And there are generic OTC drugs that are identical to the name brands.

And like others above have said, “house brands” are made by manufacturers who sell under their own name(s) too. What house brand is made only for in house?

 

[Texas Proud]

I am a bit like most posters.... it makes a difference on what I am buying..


But I prefer to buy non-name brands if I do not see a difference in quality... as an example aspirin... there is zero difference between name and generic or house...


For clothes I usually buy what I can on sale where ever... sometimes it is name and sometimes not...



As someone else mentioned, I buy named for cola (Dr. Pepper for me).... the house brands do not taste the same....

 

[ChicagoGal]

Totally depends on the item. I'll often try them out side by side. Recently, I did that with a new store. Their bacon was just as good as Oscar Mayer (and 60% of the price). Shredded cheese was slightly lower in quality (a little more cornstarch?) but pretty comparable. Frozen chicken thighs were inedible -- freezer burned and tough.

In general, I have found generic brands of tin foil and baggies to be entirely useless. And I'm not experimenting with toilet paper!

At Jewel, most of their house brands are pretty sub-par. But then, the whole store has gotten so bad that I pretty much don't shop there any more.

 

[NgineER]

For some things I buy brand name, others not.

Yesterday I was working on building a bathroom open vanity and used sand paper that came with my sander to sand it. The sand paper lasted on average 1-2 minutes before tearing apart. Didn't think too much of it, thought it was due to the slats in the design of the vanity. Once all the 60 grit samples were consumed, I brought out some 3M sand paper 60 grit sand paper. This paper did not tear at all and 10 minutes later I had finished sanding that grit. I threw out the rest of the free sand paper that came with the sander and brought out some more 3M brand sand paper and finished the job without any torn sand paper.

In this case, brand name clearly mattered.

 

[RunningBum]

The last time were were buying allergy meds we held up two packages to the pharmacist. One was a store brand, the other a well recognized, well advertised brand. Asked the pharmacist the difference....his comment was 'about $9 and they are identical from the same manufacturer'.

Any chance there are different quality acceptance standards?

 

[FANOFJESUS]

I think walmart, sams and costco do a good job on generics. Other stores I am not so sure. I think it depends heavy on the store you are in and not the fact it is generic.

 

[donheff]

For most stuff I go with the house brand, particularly Kirkland at Costco. Better prices and often better quality. I recently picked up a pair of Kirkland shorts that beat all the similar shorts I had seen earlier in the week at Macy's.

 

[aja8888]

A little trivia..

Years ago, I was in Puerto Rico at a tuna canning plant doing an engineering project. To better understand this, the plant was owned by Bumble Bee and they can for many brands under contract (hey, tuna is tuna! - not really).

I was talking with the Production Manager about sorting by quality before retorting (cooking) the cans and who gets the "best" grade of tuna. He said that the Kirkland cans were given the highest quality of the various tuna grades (Costco!).

Oh, BTW, ALL the tuna goes into some salable product, which includes the guts, fins, scales, bones, etc. And the tuna fish arrive at the plant in a completely frozen state prior to processing.