Slash Your Grocery Bill With Store-Brand Products
Published on - September 15th, 2009 (by J.D. Roth) 
The October 2009 issue of Consumer Reports contains an article extolling the virtues of generic store-brand products. While shoppers used to sacrifice quality when choosing generic, that’s no longer the case. From the article:
If concern about taste has kept you from trying store-brand foods, hesitate no more. In blind tests, our trained tasters compared a big national brand with a store brand in 29 food categories. Store and national brands tasted about equally good 19 times. Four times, the store brand won; six times, the national brand won.
In other words, store brands offer roughly the same quality as national brands, but at a much-reduced cost. How much reduced? Consumer Reports says that the store brands they tested cost an average of 27 percent less than the name brand equivalents.
How much can you save?
Sometimes theory is one thing and reality another. It’s nice that Consumer Reports can score great deals on store brands. But could I? Last week, I walked to two local grocery stores to do my own research. First I looked at Safeway, where Kris and I shop most often. Next, I walked across the street to Fred Meyer, a store we usually try to avoid. (The store is huge and its layout makes little sense to me.)
I spent an hour in each store, roaming the aisles, looking for representative prices on a variety of items. I tried to pick one item at random from every section of the store. When I’d finished, I had a list of 25 products for which each store carried the same name brand and their own store-brand equivalent.
The results actually surprised me. You can save a lot of money with store-brand products — far more than I suspected. Here’s the raw data from my research:
Click to open larger image in new window
The first column lists the name-brand item I used as a basis for comparison. I’ve given each store two columns, one for the price of the name-brand item, and one for the generic item. On each line, red text indicates the highest-priced option and green text indicates the least expensive option.
Here’s a closer look at some of these comparisons:
- I’m out of my Head and Shoulders shampoo. I just threw away the bottle this morning. Normally I buy actual Head and Shoulders at Safeway, which costs me $5.99 if it’s not on sale. If I were to instead buy the Fred Meyer store brand, I’d only pay $2.49 — a savings of nearly 60%!
- At Safeway, standard Charmin two-ply toilet paper costs $10.99 for 12 rolls. At $9.49, the store brand isn’t much cheaper. But if I were to go across the street to Fred Meyer, I’d pay just $4.89 for the store brand. (Actually, Kris and I get our toilet paper at Costco, and I have no idea what we pay.)
- Hungry? For $2.17, you could buy a can of generic chicken noodle soup, a box of generic saltine crackers, and a bottle of generic root beer at Fred Meyer. To buy name-brand equivalents at Safeway would cost you $6.18. (You could eat three of those meals using generic Fred Meyer food for the price of one meal from Safeway.)
You get the idea. Buying store brands at Safeway would save nearly 22% for the items on this list. At Fred Meyer, I could save over 36%. And Fred Meyer store brands cost 44% less than name brands at Safeway — without the need for a “loyalty card”.
Running the numbers
I learned a number of things from this project. First off, we’re shopping at the wrong grocery store. Buying name-brand products at Safeway is the most expensive way to go. Based on this list, shopping at Fred Meyer instead would save us nearly 12%, even without moving to generics.
Second, generics are not always a bargain. On 10 out of the 25 items, the Safeway generic cost as much (or more!) than the name-brand equivalent at Fred Meyer. On the other hand, Fred Meyer store-brand items offer fantastic savings, especially when compared to Safeway’s name-brand selections. (The items on this list were 44% less expensive!)
Another factor to consider is that some stores have a better selection of store brands than others. Subjectively speaking, Fred Meyer seemed to have about double the number of generic items that Safeway had — and often had multiple sizes or varieties. They carried several types of store brand salsa, for example, while Safeway’s selection was more limited. At both stores, the generics were generally staple items: rice, toilet paper, tomato sauce, etc.
Conclusions
“We should buy more generics,” I told Kris after collating my data.
“We do buy generics,” she said.
“We do? Like what?”
“…” she said (proving for once that Kris is not always right!).
Though Kris and I do a lot of things to save money, we don’t actually buy a lot of store brands. We’re not opposed to them — we just stick to brands we trust. This brand loyalty costs us money. Here’s how Consumer Reports put it in the article that inspired my research: “Switching to store brands can be a painless way to cut your grocery bill.” They’re right.
After conducting this experiment, I realize there are four key steps to saving big bucks on groceries. More than anything else, these actions can help struggling families cut costs:
- Grow whatever produce you are able. The more you grow, the more you save.
- Buy store brands whenever possible.
- For everything else, do your best to purchase items only when they’re on sale. (This may mean developing a grocery price book.)
- Learn to clip coupons, especially for processed foods.
This exercise was eye-opening in another way. I discovered that shopping at Safeway costs us money. If the data here is representative, then switching to Fred Meyer could save us over 10% on our grocery bill. That’s enough to let us dine out one extra time per month. Or it’s more money we can save for our trip to France next year.
Kris and I are both wary of switching from Safeway to Fred Meyer — as I mentioned, there’s more to this decision than price — but I suspect that if we give it a chance, we’ll find ways to deal with Fred Meyer’s annoyances and save money in the process.
GRS is committed to helping our readers save and achieve your financial goals.Savings interest rates may be low, but that’s all the more reason to shop for the best rate.Find the highest savings interest rate from Ally Bank, Capital One 360, Everbank, and more.
This article is about Food, Frugality, Shopping
Disclaimer: This content is not provided or commissioned by American Express. Opinions expressed here are author's alone, not those of American Express, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by American Express. This site may be compensated through American Express Affiliate Program.
Discover is a paid advertiser of this site. Reasonable efforts are made to maintain accurate information. See the Discover online credit card application for full terms and conditions on offers and rewards.
SEARCH FOR RECENT ARTICLES
One item that I will never buy generic: dry pasta.
Every single time I buy off brand, like American Beauty, Creamette, Kroger, etc, I regret it.
Pasta is so cheap anyway, no reason to be miserable eating it.
loading....
Wherever you shop, whatever you buy, shop your values. Sometimes lowest price is the most important thing, but sometimes an increased price comes with an increased value. I’ve been shopping more at a small local grocery, despite the slightly higher prices, because they’re just barely holding on. I value their presence in my neighborhood and see the many elderly people able to walk there. The closest big store is about 2 miles away, nearest discount grocery about 6 miles. If this store closes many people will lose their independence and it matters to me that they don’t.
I’m not suggesting that everyone here should share my values (not that I’d object, mind you), but just that you consider all the costs associated with your choices. Maybe you value local jobs, a tighter community, keeping your money in your local economy, increased competition and choices, or maybe you don’t or don’t think your grocery choices affect these things. Maybe you can’t afford my luxury of choice, or maybe all your local stores have already closed. It’s just that I forsee a dystopia of our only shopping choices being WalMart, HomeDepot and Costco, and if this admittedly somewhat paranoid vision comes to pass, I don’t see how my choices will be any less limited than they would have been in, for example, the Soviet Union in the 80s.
loading....
another good solution, for many families, is to fix your diet.
stop eating processed foods entirely, and stick to the outside of the store. all the fresh food (vegetables and meat) are along the outside edge. Doing this alone will do a few things for you.
1.) save you a ton of money
2.) keep you from eating crap food
3.) makes it easy to go to the grocery store, regardless of whatever stupid layout they use.
then you only have to go down the aisles for a couple things, like spices and personal products.
it also makes it super easy to find the best deals in town, because you are buying the raw ingredients, and comparing “apples to apples”.
loading....
I live in the Seattle area and enjoyed this post–it was interesting to see Freddy’s and Safeway matched up like that. I switched from Safeway to FM a couple of years ago because little by little I started noticing price differences on many of the items I bought regularly. Your chart confirmed my decision. Certain items at Target and Fred Meyer are cheaper (or better) than at FM, too.
loading....
The point about unit pricing is a good one. We had a guest post about unit pricing last year. But for this experiment, all package sizes were equivalent, which makes unit pricing moot.
loading....
We’ve always been a fan of store brands, especially Target, Kroger and now Safeway. I don’t have a Trader Joe’s near by or I would go get the ketchup everyone is raving about. Instead I’ll wait till we can get over to that neighborhood. For the most part, we use store brand canned stuff in recipes like casseroles and crock-pot dishes. Many times though we can get brand name cheaper with coupons when the items are on sale. That’s actually what my DH loves to do. He pours over the coupons and ads everyweek and usually ends up with a good amount of stuff super cheap. Last time he went he saved 47% on the bill. Plus he will go to 3 different stores to keep our weekly bill between $50-75 for the 3 of us.
And, although, I would love to go organic or just plain super-healthy, we can’t due to our debt. We do go to a produce market and get as much fresh fruit and veggies that we can purchase on sale. I mean how can you pass up a $1.99 pineapple?
loading....
If anyone lives near a Wegmans (mostly in the northeastern part of the country), I suggest you try their store brands. My fiance and I used to only buy name brands, but we’ve found that all the Wegmans brand foods we’ve tried are excellent and much cheaper. In fact, I don’t think our favorite Blueberry Muffin Squares cereal even has a name brand counterpart
loading....
So now it’s down to the decision: Do I jump in the car to make the trip over to Fred Meyers or do I continue to just walk across the street to Safeway?
One option is certainly more convenient, but the potential savings are enticing.
loading....
I’ll do generics for just about anything except Oreos.
For oatmeal, we get whole rolled oats (I like the texture!) and I have never noticed a taste difference.
loading....
#1: We moved from the PNW to Cali a few years ago and, without a doubt, miss Freddie’s more than anything else. There’s no equivalent down here. You have to go to several stores to find all the stuff you can get there. I heart Fred Meyer.
#2: I started a little mini-pricebook recently and was shocked to find that Safeway had nearly identical, if not higher, prices than Whole Foods! I would highly recommend that everyone challenge their assumptions, and perform their own ‘scientific’ research on neighborhood stores’ pricing.
loading....
As a former Portlander, I implore you to shop at Fred Meyer. I miss it sooooooo much.
I hate Safeway if only for that blasted intrusive pain in the neck membership card. I boycott them as much as possible. (which is: very)
loading....
@amber if you don’t like it, I suggest bringing it back. Why should you treat the grocery store unlike every other store. I’ve started to do this. Once, when the cold cuts were disgusting. Looked OK; taste lousy. Next time, I bought SUGARED pepsi; mistaking it for caffeine free diet coke. (Yeah, I know blind and stupid.) Since I’ve retired again (unemployed?), I’ve become very picky!
loading....
The Walgreen’s mouth wash I bought for $1.5 just doesn’t taste the same as ACT though
loading....
I admire all of you who are willing to shop at three or four different places to get the best prices. Have to confess I don’t … between full time & part time jobs, I feel my time is so overcommitted anyway!
This weekend I discovered I can get duck breast at Whole Foods for just over half the price that Bristol Farms charges. I was appalled. These are the only two local stores that carry it and I haven’t gone into Whole Foods before because 1) I assumed it would be even more expensive and 2) it’s annoying and inconvenient to get in and out of.
Fortunately, my DH goes to WF often for his raw milk products, so now I can just ask him to pick up some duck once in a while, and I won’t ever need to go to BF again.
One other thing … a lot of commenters have mentioned soda (I would include “sports drinks” and “tea drinks” in the category). This is zero-nutrition, high-cost, high-waste stuff and it’s well worth trying to break the habit. You might try “stepping down” by getting seltzer water (not club soda) with natural lime or lemon flavor … then plain seltzer … finally plain (tap) water.
loading....
@Tyler (#58)
Dude, I know roughly where you live. You have a Fred Meyer within about a mile of your house, right? I walk a mile to my Fred Meyer. You can, too!
But you’re right: These sorts of decisions involve a variety of variables. Kris and I really would like to shop at the Thriftway in Canby, which is where we bought most of our groceries for a decade. But we don’t live in Canby anymore. Now it’s a 20-minute drive. That doesn’t make much sense. So we stick to the two stores within a mile of our house. We do try to squeeze in a couple of Thriftway trips each year, but they’re few and far between.
loading....
I like buying generics or store brands whenever I can. I really dig the Market Basket/DeMoula’s brand of natural shells & cheese as a substitute for Annie’s Mac & Cheese, and their no salt added canned diced tomatoes are the best by the numbers, nutritionally, gustatorially, and economically.
I do have many of the same issues as people have already expressed in terms of quality (taste, durability, etc.), but it’s especially true when it comes to the nutritional information. I’ve noticed that many generic/store brand items will often, but not always, contain significantly more fat and/or sodium (especially sodium, which irks me a lot), than name brands. Sometimes — again, not always — the ingredients listing in the store/generic products contains more additives and/or coloring than name brands.
Sometimes you get what you pay for when it comes to less expensive brands. However, as is the way with items like the mac & cheese (no extra coloring or other weird preservatives and not high in sodium for a processed food), diced tomatoes, and even Target paper towels I like so much, I save money and get I you want. Just be sure to read the labels to see exactly what you’re getting for your money, brand name or not, when you’re checking the prices.
loading....
I would expand your steps into these:
1. Waste less – Find ways to use any leftovers instead of throwing them in the garbage. Many can be mixed into soups, salads or pasta dishes.
3. Eat less – Don’t overeat and don’t consume empty calories. (I could use a lot of work on this one!)
4. Grow more of your own food – Focus on things that grow well in your area.
5. Do more of your own processing – Do your own cooking if you eat out, cook more from scratch if you cook at home.
6. Choose less expensive dishes – When choosing between dishes with similar levels of nutrition and satisfaction, choose the cheaper one. (For example, I choose spaghetti over lasagna at home, usually.) Try more new recipes with cheaper ingredients and fewer with more expensive ingredients.
7. Use expensive ingredients as a treat instead of a regular thing or as a flavoring instead of a main dish. Substitute less expensive ingredients when they are just as nutritious and tasty.
8. Comparison shop – Use a price book, check your sales and coupons, compare store brands, check the bulk section of the store, find the clearance section, and try farmer’s markets, ethnic grocers, warehouse stores, and online sellers. (Don’t forget to include the cost in time, gas, and frustration.)
loading....
My wife and I moved into an apartment complex right by an Aldi and we checked it out. All I can say is wow. We’ve had fantastic luck on all sorts of off-brand food and it’s made a big difference in our budget.
We actually started keeping a blog and rating all the new foods we try out, so if you aren’t sure about a food, check offbrandblog.com first and see if we’ve tried it
loading....
Slightly off topic but if you really want to save money on shampoo you might want to try going without it.
I fought with dry flaking scalp for seemingly my first 35 years of life. Then one day at a random barber shop the older Ukrainian-born owner suggested that my hair just didn’t need the shampoo. Just rinse and scrub by hand and that’s it.
It’s now been about 4 years since then and I couldn’t be happier. No flaking, no problems, and saving money to boot!
No, my hair isn’t greasy. No, my hair doesn’t stink.
This trick might not work for everyone but if you are constantly fighting with dry flaking scalp give it a month or two and see what happens…
loading....
Re: the cheaper store being farther away
I do infrequent trips to the cheaper store to stock up on staples and non-perishables. I go to the closer, more expensive store for perishables and anything I’ve missed during the larger trip. I’m not always getting the absolute best price, but I’ve found it to be a good compromise when considering the time and gas spent.
loading....
I got hooked on store brands when I found that kroger (Smith’s, Fred Meyer) brand tuna, just the basic light tuna in water, is so much better than either chicken of the sea or starkist! It’s flaky, and really “chunk light tuna” and not like crumbled up cat food.
Our local Walmart will also match any local grocery specials, so we take the ads for all the stores with us, and get all the best deals in one fell swoop!
loading....
Just to offer a different opinion here… I don’t really think it’s “worth” skimping on your food sources. And I don’t mean “name brand” vs. “generic”, I mean buying the highly processed junk food you find in most of the Safeway and Fred Meyer aisles to begin with.
Americans in general already spend a much lower percentage of their monthly income on food than other first-world citizens do, and a lot of that is absolute garbage like 100-calorie snack packs and “go-gurt”.
Frugality is great, but we shouldn’t forget that good, wholesome, nutritious food is a “need”, not a “want”, and that it’s almost always “worth” putting better quality food in your body. Clip coupons, shop farmer’s markets, avoid “luxury” items, sure, but surely there are less important things to cut from a budget before quality food? I’d much rather eat locally-sourced produce and organic mac and cheese than anything made by Kraft or Frito-Lay, and if that means getting all my clothes at Goodwill and going without cable TV, I’m happy to do it.
loading....
I grew up on cheap, off-brand ice cream. When I went off to college, I was introduced to Breyer’s. I WILL NEVER GO BACK. Dairy products, in my opinion, must be name brand. Store/generic brands are… UGH. Anything but Tillamook cheese makes me shudder.
I live in the Portland area and prefer to shop at Fred Meyer. I can pick up needed household items at the same time, and their prices are definitely better than other grocery stores (save Winco, which I find annoying and time consuming to shop) in the area. I often buy store brand household items, however.
I agree with Linear Girl re: shopping your values, however. I don’t care how cheap it is – I will not shop Walmart. I try to buy better quality items that won’t fall apart the first time you use them, and as for food, you are what you eat…not to mention their impact on local businesses, etc.
loading....
I read the Consumer Reports article, too, and had to wonder if my tastes would agree with theirs — taste really is individual…
One thing about generics/store brands is that some stores have different levels, a “really inexpensive” level, a “comparable to national brands level,” and sometimes even a “specialty level” (terms I just made up…). Also, at least here in the midwest, there are store brand organics, and we’ve had great success with those, although we do buy a lot of our organic stuff from the local coop which also tries to source locally as much as possible, even for things like honey, jam, etc. …
loading....
I’m willing to bet that you will only buy non-name brand anti-dandruff shampoo once. It’s oddly gloopy.
loading....
I agree that most generics are about the same as brand names but you still have to be conscious of what you are buying.
We like these generics:
Food
365 – Whole Food Market
O Organics – Safeway
Trader Joe’s
Non – Food Paper towels, toilet paper, mouthwash, other toiletries
Up – Target
Trader Joe’s
Some Fred Meyer non-food items are good and cheap!
Bottom line – read the ingredients. For those of you loyal to heinz you should try Trader Joe’s organic ketchup. heinz is made of corn syrup!
loading....
JD,
I’ve never read about Trader Joe’s here. Do you ever go there? If not, you are missing A LOT. I’m curiouse to see if you guys shop there. If it is too far then at least give it a try and compare the quality and prices.
-Charlotte
loading....
I used to buy store brands all the time to save money – and it did help a lot.
What I’ve found recentely, though, is that I can save even more money buy shopping sales and combining them with coupons. I’m frequently buying name brand products these days and still saving 30%-60% off of my total grocery bill.
Store brands and generics are not always less expensive!
loading....
Fred Meyer and Safeway are our chain options for grocery stores in Anchorage. Fred Meyer is almost always significantly cheaper and the prices at Safeway tend to blow me away. Safeway meat, when you shop the loss leaders and sales, is always of a higher quality than Fred Meyer, and I buy grade B eggs there [repackaged Eggland's Best and organic when one breaks.] Safeway is much closer to us, and we do our emergency shopping there, but I prefer Fred Meyer. Truly though, Costco tends to be cheaper overall with much higher quality, so for a family of 6, we buy most things there.
It’s true that the store brands are not all equal: you have safeway, then safeway SELECT, and sometimes the quality is really different. I’m lucky enough to have the freedom these days to be picky. We haven’t always been that lucky. And yes, generic dandruff shampoo is extremely drying and kinda gross. Try the no-shampoo that guy mentioned. I’ve had success with it different times of the year.
loading....
I shop at two nearby grocery stores, usually rotating between the two.
One store, Hen House, is local to this area, carries a lot of local foods including a brand of meats, milk, chickens, and eggs that are raised without non-therapeutic antibiotics or hormones. I know something about the farms that these products come from and I choose to use less but better quality animal products. Per pound they cost more but the way the animals are raised is important to me. The meat isn’t pumped up with water either. And it tastes better.
The alternative week I shop at HyVee which has more generics and I buy more packaged goods there. They actually carry more organic canned goods and sometimes I make that choice. I’m not a purist but like to be mindful about the impact of my habits. By switching back and forth I balance economy with quality. When I was younger and poorer, I was more likely to focus only on cost and I understand some people have to do that.
Another reason that I enjoy switching between the two stores – only about a mile apart – is that they have very different, but overlapping, clientelle and I like seeing a broader range of the city’s inhabitants.
loading....
@Charlotte (#77)
Kris and I love Trader Joe’s, and I’ve mentioned them a couple of times. I only eat two types of salsa: our homemade best salsa ever and Trader Joe’s salsa autentica. Yum. I also love their salty rosemary bread, their blueberry instant oatmeal, and more. The only drawback is that the nearest store is about 15 minutes away. Still, with my newfound love of biking and busing, I may try to make more trips to TJ’s.
Today, though, I biked on errands around my house. One of those errands was a trip to Fred Meyer, where I purchased store-brand shampoo (the very shampoo listed above), store-brand raisin bran, store-brand garbage bags, and store-brand milk. (I wish I could have walked on my errands, as I have been doing, but I seem to have hurt my foot somehow. I’m limping around!)
loading....
On a totally different note:
I almost didn’t read this article because the title was so generic! Ho-hum, I thought, I already know that store brands are cheaper. I only kept reading because *you* were writing, JD. Turns out you were testing that assumption, not just repeating it. I wish you had worked the “Test” aspect into the title!
loading....
I always at least try the no name brand but have not found the quality as good on some of the products.
loading....
The bottom line: It all depends.
In our area, we have a 99 cent store. Beats almost all ‘generic brands at big name stores.’ Many times the brand name items are there too!
You might recall that during the depths of the recession panic earlier this year, there were TV commercials promoting brands in general. No specific brands, just to use brand-name products. It’s obvious why… when people want to cut back, the right way is to cut out unnecessary expenses.
loading....
I hate going to the grocery store, Mr. Sam does most of our shopping, but I am a big fan of the Publix generic products, all super yummy and most of the time you can’t tell the difference but there are not a whole lot of generic began products so we are limited in how much we can save on my veggie products.
loading....
Safeway – traditional hi/low retailer, uses promotions to bring in shoppers and makes margin on high everyday prices. Usually makes 30-40% margin on everything they sell.
Thriftway – traditional hi/low retailer, pricing comes directly from Safeway. These guys do have a middle-man, Unified Grocers, who places an upcharge on all products in order to make their money. These are locally-owned stores
Wal-Mart – everyday low price (EDLP) retailer, uses all promotion money from consumer goods manufacturers and smoothes it out over the entire year so, while you won’t see hot promotions, you’ll get a price that reflects a portion of those savings everyday
Fred Meyer – owned by Kroger, used to be traditional hi/low but is not moving to a hybrid strategy where some of their items are EDLP but some are still hi/low
Winco – hybrid retailer, employee owned company (not publicly held) so each employee has a stake in the company’s success, these guys are growing fast so manufacturers are giving them extra money because they can really move product
Albertsons – traditional hi/low retailer
Costco – EDLP but you have to buy in large quantities to get the discount
IMO, the best way to shop would be to cherry pick the best deals using the ads provided by the various grocery stores. As for the stuff that you need as it runs out such as PAM spray, flour, butter, deodorant, shampoo, etc., you should buy from Costco, Wal-Mart, or a hybrid retailer that has those items at an everyday low price. With produce and fresh meats/fish you can once again cherry pick the best deals but you’ll want to scout a store out before deciding to buy because one look at their butcher or fish counter will tell you how fresh, clean, and tasty their product will be.
One last point. Promotions at retailers are funded almost exclusively by the manufacturers. This being the case, those manufacturers try to make sure the deals line up with coupon inserts in the Sunday paper. This means you’ll usually receive a valuable manufacturer’s coupon at about the same time the grocery store is running a promo on those items. Stacking the coupons on top of the promotion is key in maximizing your ability to cherry pick deals.
loading....
We live overseas, moving from place to place on average every three years due to my job. We go back to the States in between, always to the east coast. I have to say that those trips back to the US put the largest dent in our pockets. While in the US, when possible, we shop at places like BJs (similar to Costco), and try to shop as little as possible. The less often I shop, the less I spend!
Some things we’ve learned through living overseas. Wherever possible, get a store card and use it. Those points add up and mean savings or gifts.
What we buy and where/when we buy it are driven sometimes by need, other times by a great bargain on things we like/trust being on sale or just being available (then we stock up).
I am very ingredient conscious and very health conscious. How will ingredients in any product affect us not just now, but years down the road if we continue using it. Recent food news in Asia focused on tainted milk products which caused severe illness in children. These same ingredients are used in products around the world. It is always a challenge to find healthy local products, but we do our best.
Currently we buy beef in the local market (imagine the work area of a US butcher) and prepare it ourselves. I invested in a Waring Pro meat grinder. This was a costly initial outlay, but I know exactly what is going into my ground beef. I also invested in a Zojirushi bread maker and a yogurt maker and now make all our bread and yogurt as local brands didn’t taste right, and I had concerns as to the origin of ingredients.
For me, there are several issues that I take into consideration when shopping: how healthy is it, how does it taste, how well does it work for our family, how much does it cost. I try to find a good balance. I too, frequent Salvos stores, garage sales and flea markets. We don’t care so much about styles as quality and an item serving the purpose for which it is bought (shoes, for example, do they support the foot well? do clothes hold up? we have four sons and as they outgrew shirts/pants, they often passed them on to a sibling. Initially I may have spent more on the original purchase, but some items last six years, and then are recycled as rags!).
Many times I do internet research seeking customer comments on items we buy. The GRS forum is also a great source of information and ideas! I ask locals for recommendations. We are frugal by necessity, but also by choice, and take those other aspects I mentioned into consideration when shopping.
loading....
Anybody unwilling to use generics at least for a short period of time in order to save money must not want to save money that bad.
First, there is no real difference in taste. Second, any minimal differences can be gotten used to in only a matter of time.
I made the switch to save money, and though I could easily afford to go back to brand name items, I have yet to because there is no reason to.
loading....
WARNING !!!!!
Store brands, generics are not always about “it tastes the same” or “it is the same thing with a different label”…
Brand names go to a very high level of safety and sanitation levels to make sure that they keep the risk to their brand name as low as they can.
For instance, cinnamon is cinnamon, right? It all tastes the same, yes?
…but cinnamon A, the more expensive, comes from a high quality source, and has a lower incidence of particulate matter.
Cinnamon B comes from a cheap source, and is full of bug parts and rodent hair. But it all gets ground up so why worry, right?? Might still meet safety standards, but it was cheap for a reason !!
The Name Brand would never use this for fear of damaging their reputation of wholesomeness if something like that were to come out.
2. Name Brands, run their own facilities so they can keep strict control over the manufacturing process, the sanitation of the facility, the cleanliness of their employees.
Store brands, or generics use “contracted facilities” where they send their packaging material and the privately owned manufacturer just fills the box and ships.
Conditions at these type of facilities is typically “variable” to say the least. Hairnets, rodent control, infestation control, etc. is all left up to someone else.
Is the .50 you save worth this? Not to me.
loading....
Sometimes, the store brand is literally the same exact thing as the national brand. Remember the Peter Pan scare last year (It was last year, wasn’t it?)? They were recalling Peter Pan AND Wal-Mart store brand peanut butter. Obviously this was made by the same people, with the only difference (Besides price) being a different label slapped on each jar. One of my co-workers used to work in a food plant, and they would literally run generics and then national brands on the same line, and just use a different label.
loading....
@KAD (#82)
Titles are my weakest link. I feel like if I could create better titles (or headlines, if you prefer), I could get more attention for GRS out in the world at large.
For this article, my original title was “Store Brand vs. Name Brand: How Much Can You Really Save?” I think that would have implied the testing aspect of the post. In the end, I opted to go with something more…I don’t know, sensational I guess. I feel like I need a class in headline writing!
loading....
Want to save even more money. In the east we have a grocery store called Aldi. They are all store brands, with occasional name brands. The prices are almost 30-50% of what you would pay even for many store brands in other places. They keep costs down by making you bag your own groceries and requiring $.25 deposit so you will return the cart to the corral. The store is small with great choices of different foods. It fast and easy to shop because you only have one brand of every item.
loading....
JD,
You can learn to write titles from my husband’s blog about green living:
Titles Include:
Soda is So 80s
Microwave Unsafe
Bridge to Somewhere
Water Down the Drain
Compact Fluorescent Lights – A Billiant Idea
http://www.greencropcircles.com
loading....
I wish we had a Trader Joe’s. Everyone raves about it online.
I’m always surprised when people say there’s no taste difference with generics. Maybe some people just aren’t that sensitive. Some things I can deal with crappier taste, like junky snacks I shouldn’t be eating anyway, but some things aren’t worth it. Like our local generic ketchup, which is so cut with vinegar that it gives me an acid stomach ache.
loading....
I agree with Scott that quality food matters, and not in the sense of generic versus store brand. I also found J.D.’s comment about “trusting” certain brands interesting. I think he meant that in the sense of “it’s familiar and we know we like it”, but it still made me think: why do we trust a lot of these brands/companies at all? It’s so disheartening to realize all of the harmful things that are put in our food.
Still, I don’t make a lot of money, so I compromise on the food question: I buy the healthier foods whenever I can afford them, but when emergencies come up (for example, last month my dog needed surgery) I temporarily switch to the cheapest foods I can eat that are reasonably healthy– the key word being temporary. I’ve found it a great way to avoid/reduce tapping into my emergency fund.
loading....
For all those saying if you combine a sale with coupons, it’s cheaper…..I’m constantly reminding the housemate to do the math. Many times even on sale, with a coupon, the store or non-national brand is cheaper. Always check. On sale is not automatically good price.
loading....
We shop a lot at Trader Joe’s and BJs; I feel like the local supermarkets (Hannaford, Stop & Shop) are outrageously priced — what I really don’t understand is the coupon thing.
I’m happy to use BJs coupons when possible and I always look at them. Trader Joe’s doesn’t offer them (that I know of, but a lot of their prices are better anyway and have fewer ingredients).
I can’t see how people pay 10 or 15% of their total bill by using coupons unless they’re buying processed foods. I do not buy those. I buy (GASP) fresh fruit, vegetables, milk, cheese, eggs, fish, meat. I buy things on sale and freeze them. I have been known to buy my kids Trader Joe’s brand cereal bars and pretzels. Given that this is how I shop, could I really cut my grocery budget by clipping coupons? I would really love to know. I should also add that if possible I prefer to be environment-friendly — shop local and locally grown foods and not produce tons of waste like extra plastic containers.
loading....
The bottom line is we all have different tolerances. When I shop, I don’t see a point of cheaping out on “pleasure items” (soda, desserts, etc.), since the whole purpose of buying that item is to enjoy it. If I can’t afford the brand I like, I’ll cut it out until I can afford it. The same goes for condiments: the whole purpose is flavor. However lightly processed staples like oats, pasta, oil, vinegar, sugar, peanut butter etc. I always buy store brand.
However, I think it would be a good experiment to buy *everything* store brand for a month, just to see what I really can tolerate. That’s the only way I can decide what does and and doesn’t work for me personally.
loading....
Clearly the right choice to make when buying products to remain financially sound. Been buying generic OTC drugs and perishables for years. They are great!
loading....
Don’t know if someone said this already, but you can definitely save more $$$ by buying a lot of non-food items like shampoo, deodorant, shave gel, etc. AWAY from the supermarket. Stores like Target and Wal-Mart almost always have these things cheaper, even when they are not on sale. Pharmacies like Rite-Aid also have great deals, but generally only when there is an advertised special.
Also, Target and Wal-Mart have good store versions of many of these products. I’ve heard supermarkets usually mark up toiletries as much as 40% PERCENT! Stick to just buying food there…
loading....