Store brand vs national brand

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georgevan

Senior Cook
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Nov 9, 2020
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Appleton
when shopping many foods on the shelves have several choices. For instance with mustard it is a choice be Heinz and the store brand Essential and other choices. The store brand is always cheaper, but is it as good? Is there that big of a difference between a national brand and store brand
? Do you buy store brand?
 
Boars Head Horse Radish sauce is kick ass..


Mustards or ketchup I can go Heinz or any brand..
 
There is no single answer that is correct for all. You have to taste a store brand and decide for yourself if it tastes good to you. Some things will and others will not. I have found that quality is erratic with the store brands I have used.

Where I shop, I don't care for their frozen veggies. Their tortillas are good. The sauerkraut is good as long as you don't compare it to the really good stuff. You just have to decide on an item by item basis.
 
It depends upon the store, the brand, and the product itself. There is no rule for this - you just have to try the store brand to see what you like. Some are excellent, made by the same manufacturers but "Private Labeled". Others are horrible copies.



You might get more specific answers if you have actual brands to ask about.
 
I shop at Aldi often. They moved into my Ohio area in the mid-1980s. Most products were OK. I mostly used them for Girl Scout snacks and camping food when the troop went on overnight camps. Eight year old girls will eat anything after a day outside.

When we moved to MA in 2000, there were no Aldis in the area. They arrived here 5-7 years after we did. I was amazed at the improvement in quality! Most everything I have bought these days is as good as most national brands. And if it's a tad less, the price difference can still make the Aldi choice fine depending on what the item is and how it's going to be used. And if you don't like what you bought, you can take it back to Aldi. They will give you your money back, plus let you pick out a replacement - either a second chance at the same item or a completely different item of equal or lesser value. Two examples: we like their corn chips. One time the bags I bought were greasy and heavily salted. That's not normal. When I returned them, I replaced them with two bags of perfectly fine chips. The second time was for a bag of snack cookies that didn't look like they were sweetened with an artificial sweetener. I couldn't get them past my taste buds. When I took them back, I picked something different as the replacement.

In my opinion, Aldi is a safe place to check for a decent store brand. You're never out your money if you buy something yucky while you look for tasty food. That's if they're close enough. I drive 17 miles to our Aldi every 4-6 weeks, but if they were closer I would include them in my weekly options.
 
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I agree with Andy and Silversage, there is no one answer. Some are good, some are terrible, some are okay, and some are better. Check the ingredients to get an idea. We find that the fewer weird, chemicals and "additives", the better it usually tastes.
 
Store brand vs National brand - no contest.
Many big stores request national brand producers to make an exclusive "store" brand for them, so there´s no contest. I know this because I´ve produced stuff which stores wanted to use as their own; and my son works for a company that was asked to make "store" brands for big supermarket chains.
If you want real quality, look for small brands, taste them all, then decide which is best.
 
I once did a Pretzel Factory tour in PA. I think it was Anderson's Pretzels. At the end of the tour, there was a wall that had a sign which said (something like) " These are other brands we supply". There must have been a dozen other store packaging on that wall under the sign. And sure enough, there were several G
local grocery store packagings on that wall. ( Basically, the Shoprite hard pretzels I was buying all along ( for half the price and liked) came from the same factory as the national name brand.

Not saying that certain brands aren't exclusive to their name, and their name only, but there are many products that are the same product, just rebranded.

For me its depends. Some store brands are just fine, and others stink. And some national brands are fine, and others stink.
 
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and next week, the store brand is from a different supplier, tastes different, is different.


sometimes that's okay, sometimes not so much....


store brands are indeed made by 'the big guys' - store chains don't really have a bunch of elves in a secret factory making things . . . it's name brand with a different label - but most name brands will not make 'their secret recipes' for private label.
 
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