Generics vs Brand Names

[HeatherFeather]

I am often torn between picking up a brand name item or a generic. If the price difference is huge, I often will go ahead and at least give the generic a try. Some brands are perfectly fine and are just repackaged versions of the brand name version anyway, so there is little to no difference. Others are more like a knock-off, one that tries very hard to look just like the original Brand, but doesn't always measure up.

I just tried a generic brand of Spam from Winn Dixie. Very disappointing, The can lid refused to pry off entirely, which made getting the meat out very difficult. I gave up and and cut the meat inside the can in half, pulled out one half, then shook the can to gain access to the rest of the meat trapped under the can. Much more soft and mushy than Spam and way too salty. I don't use tons of Spam, but from now on I think I will stick to the original version when I do.

Great Value Toilet Paper - love it!! Walmart has a few of its own brands, but the great value kind has roses imprinted in the tissue (just a textured design, no pictures or anything). It is septic safe, soft, durable,and inexpensive. I dont' even look at the brand names anymore and just buy this brand.

Viva paper towels - I love them and for some reason, no one has put out a generic for them (no idea why). I won't buy any other paper towels and just wait for the big pack of these to go on sale (which it manages to do usually around the time I need to buy more anyway)

Cereals - a lot of the generic cereals are very good! I can't let my DD see that I bought them or she won't touch them. If she doesn't see the packaging, however, she usually is perfectly fine with most of them.

Orange Juice - ugh, way too many of the generics taste so watered down to me. I have a few brands I like that I will buy when they are on sale. I don't stick to only one brand, just whichever of the ones I know I like is on sale that week.

Milk - I love the generic milk from my grocery store (Publix)! They don't add antibiotics or anything, just like the organic brands, but without the higher price tag. The slim plastic bottle comes in just the right size I need and at a great price. However, some of the other stores also have their own generic milks that seem to always spoil so quickly.

There is a packaged wheat bread with oats on top of it that Aldi sells (part of their own Market line, can't remember the exact name), It is very good! Their chocolate chips, however, are horrible.

[BrownieBar]

This here is an interesting topic. I have to use Brand Name Heinz Ketchup and Dial soap. Nothing else compares to these two products!

[Sue]

Here I go food snobbing. I try to avoid buying canned things if I can. I can't drink milk unless it is organic. I don't buy eggs unless they are organic. I will buy some non-organic vegetables. I don't like bread in a plastic bag. I don't buy juice very often and it's better to just get some oranges for the amount I can have. Toilet paper I only want to use the Charmin 2-ply- I bought some a couple months ago that wasn't that type but was on sale and it was awful. Fingers went right through it and I had to use more than double the usual amount to get by so I actually spent more for a crappy brand. I don't usually use coupons from the paper since i realized they were enticing me to buy things I would not have bought otherwise. I will buy some "generics" but it depends on what it is. But mostly I try to avoid buying things that have a brand name at all, because it is usually processed food. We are not much for cereal unless it is oatmeal or some other cooked type like cream of rice.
I do buy specific brands of things like flour, bottled sauces like sriracha in a specific brand, specific brands of basmati rice, certain seasonings I get in a specific brand. Health and beauty products I am very brand specific. Cat food is very brand specific because they give their brand 5-stars and diss anything else.
For me, it is better to buy what I can not in a package at all, but I do understand where you are coming from being on a very tight budget. I try to buy what I think is the best quality and not worry about price, but that comes at a price.

[HeatherFeather]

I absolutely agree with you on buying things that don't come in a package in the first place. That is always my first goal whenever possible I try to reduce the amount of processing to a minimum whenever I can.

I like organic foods best too, for most things. I keep my eye on prices and get them on sale. I love to get most of my fruits/veggies at a local farmstand.

[Deepster]

There are very few things that I am brand specific on. One that Sue mentioned is hot sauce. For just regular use I will buy only Texas Pete. I will only buy Dawn dish soap. As for meat, I will buy certain organically produced items....PROVIDED the price is at least "fair". I don't trust most beef, pork and chicken producers, no matter the claims regarding their product. Otherwise, I'll just try to avoid meat altogether. I recently read something interesting regarding the "organic" claim, I can't recall where, but the term can be used so loosely now as to be rather useless. If a meat product product is at least stated as antibiotic free, I'm likely to buy it.

I have found that many of the WMART "Great Value" items are as good as name brand. As well, there are other "store brand" products are just as good as national brands. Whenever I see a "store" alternative, I might try it at least once. I really like to be a smart shopper, and buy the cheaper brand IF it meets my standards.

I could likely get by with many generic brands, but the Dawn and the Texas Pete are my capitulations.

[Dissie]

I buy a few things that are brand specific, but many are generic. I have to have Heinz ketchup, A1 steak sauce, Miracle Whip, Maxwell House coffee (French Roast), like Sue, I get a brand name Sriracha sauce and hubby's Kraft block cheese. I used to buy only Pace salsa, but since Bea's recipe, no more! Only make that now! Love it! Otherwise, I pretty much buy the best buy. I use walmart brand toilet paper. It really compares to the national brands. It's strong, soft and we love it. I love Viva paper towels and will get them if the price is right, otherwise I get the best buy. Bounty has awesome napkins, but more often I choose walmart brand for price.

I don't buy lots of processed foods. If I am buying veggies in a can or frozen, generic (Walmart is fine). I also buy Walmart brand dried beans and noodles. I try to make all my own spaghetti sauce, but I do buy walmart brand spag sauce and doctor them up for casseroles. They taste pretty good, just need a few spices to "fix" them. Baking items, such as choc chips, I find the name brands better quality.

Cleaning items. I use name brand Bar Keepers Friend and Mr Clean with Frebreze. I make my own floor cleaner with the Mr Clean and then use it for other things.

[Sue]

I absolutely agree with you on buying things that don't come in a package in the first place. That is always my first goal whenever possible I try to reduce the amount of processing to a minimum whenever I can.

I like organic foods best too, for most things. I keep my eye on prices and get them on sale. I love to get most of my fruits/veggies at a local farmstand.

Have you checked into any of those farm co-ops? You can get a good deal by buying whatever it is they happen to have. They have smaller packages for small families. It's a good deal for produce.
There might be some listings for them online if you look up co-ops.

[HeatherFeather]

I did and found one locally, but it is a bit far from my house so it didn't work out (they require some volunteering at their location). I like the idea of it. When I lived in England, we could order veg boxes from a farm which was so nice. It was a good price for an assortment of whatever the farm felt like putting in the box, all things in season. It was usually a very good selection of items and there was nothing I had to do other than pay for the box. We didn't have much say in what went into the box, although I could put in the notes that I didn't like specific items, so they'd try to avoid those.

[Dissie]

The co-ops work wonderful for people who live in the city. I live in a small town 5000 people and have a small garden, but my big garden is out at my moms farm. We always plant too much and share with family and friends and then even bring extras to the elderly homes, etc...My local food shelf, often times won't take it. No idea why and they can't even explain it. STUPID.

You all know I work in a factory. We have name brand things we package, many you are familiar with, such as "on the border" tortilla chips. Well we make those, don't change a thing and package for the next company, the same exact chips, but packaged for a grocery store label, always cheaper since it has the grocery store name but cheaper, and the exact same chip!

We make popcorn for Trader Joes, then use the exact same recipe for another cheaper brand (Grocery store label). So I know for a fact, other factories do the same thing. Try the generic store brand, its probably the same product as the name brand you are paying much more for! It's the same for the dogfood and catfood we sell, the candy we package.

[Dissie]

This is the toilet paper I buy. It is just as soft as the big name brands and just as stong, but about 2-3 bucks cheaper. It even rated very high on a survey yahoo did lately. I will try to find it.