Comments on: Yet another ask the audience: Generics vs. Name Brands

By: Eyebee

Eyebee — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 21:32:53 +0000

I am not brand loyal much at all. I’ll try a generic if it’s cheaper, and if I like it, I’ll stick with it.

I don’t use ketchup myself at all, and I don’t drink ANY kind of soda.

Mostly of our grocery stuff is fresh. Fresh fruit, fresh bread, fresh meat. We get a very few tinned items, which we keep for emergencies or when we run out of fresh.

We do get canned tomato sauce, but store brand is fine (we do practically all our food shopping in Publix).

Not on any particular health kick, but I really like Publix Greenwise Vanilla Soy milk. I can’t taste the soy – it’s more like drinking half and half, but it’s got to be that brand, the other ones they do taste like… soy milk!

I enjoy a beer some evenings, and I’m particular what I have. With all my food and drink I’m big on flavor, so the “lite” stuff, is out, and most of the megabrewery offerings like Bud and Miller.

Within reason I’ll pay more for something I enjoy more.

Same with coffee. I’m not any kid of expert on coffee, but I try different blends until I find those I like. On the occasions when we’ve bought the cheap store brands I can tell the difference for sure.

Don’t get me started on cheese. I’ve never found any cheese that lives up to real Cheddar. That’s real Cheddar from Cheddar, a small village in Somerset, in England. It’s wonderful, and even before getting to try some a few years ago, I though most supermarket cheese was bland… Extra Sharp, Strong? Oh Per-leeze!

The only cheddar style cheese that actually comes anywhere near to pleasing my palate is actually on sale in Wal-Mart where we seldom shop for food. Their Vermont Extra Sharp has a reasonable flavor, and that’s about the best I’ve found in the local supermarkets so far, without taking out a second mortgage!

By: DivaKitty

DivaKitty — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 18:45:49 +0000

What a fun post & comments! I LOVE the Crayola comment, and TOTALLY agree. The texture & colors are much better, but what’s really important is THE SMELL. The smell of Crayola crayons is the embodiment of childhood!!

I was always happy with the cheapest laundry detergent, but Hubby insists on Tide. His toothpaste is Colgate original, mine is Tom’s of Maine spearmint.

I buy as few processed/premade things as I can, but when I do buy them, I get the highest quality, which usually means the highest price. Also we tend to buy things at Sam’s, so they are cheaper but usually name brands.

Agreed that some cheaper brands actually have fewer additives – I just discovered that Falfurrias butter (I’m in Texas) is vastly superior to the twice-as-expensive Land O’ Lakes.

By: Genevieve

Genevieve — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 02:28:38 +0000

I do Philly cream cheese. And I have to do brand name Advil as some of the generics have gluten in them (I’m celiac)… but man do I miss the generic prices!

Not quite food, but it’s Crayola crayons all the way for me – you may keep the Prang and RoseArt and all the others – nothing says good clear colors like Crayola!

Most of the time, I do a lot of shopping at our Grocery Outlet, so our brands change around by what they carry that week.

By: Gnightgirl

Gnightgirl — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 13:07:01 +0000

I’m with you on the TP: Charmin or Northern. I recently bought an industrial sized package of Scott tissue, only to discover it’s the harshest tp on the market. Never again.

Oddly enough, my fav. generic is Jafeera tampons, at Aldi. $1.99 a box, and they’re every bit as uh… sturdy…as Playex or Tampax. I hate spending big bucks on necessities like that; the industry has us over a barrell–we HAVE to buy them…

By: Leigh

Leigh — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 13:08:48 +0000

TP = Charmin
paper towels = Bounty
mayo = Duke’s
sour cream = Daisy’s
yogurt = Stonyfield Farm
tissues = Kleenex
Those are our main ones – I think most everything else I can do storebrand or brand hop…

By: Teresa

Teresa — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 12:42:25 +0000

Rumford baking powder (no aluminum). French’s yellow mustard, Smucker’s strawberry jam, Crest toothpaste, 7th Generation dish liquid (for the hubby). Cheer powder w/ color guard, Palmolive baking soda dishwasher detergent (for me).

Everything else…cheaper is better

By: ScrappyQuilter

ScrappyQuilter — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 12:34:51 +0000

Since I do most of our cooking and baking from scratch, generic stuff is fine….who’s gonna know if I use generic corn tortillas or baking powder or whatever? Whole grains, spices, coffee, tea, TVP, cocoa powder, etc come from Mama Jean’s Health Food Store bulk bins, I don’t know if that would count as generic or not. We hardly ever buy cereal, soda, or pre-cooked food (I’m a total “Tightwad Gazette” disciple).

I do insist on good fresh fruit. Cheap stuff is small, unripe, and just not as appetizing. We get it at Sam’s club. It’s usually about 25% more than the cheap stuff at Walmart, maybe 10% higher than Kroger, but so totally worth it!

By: Tara

Tara — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 21:36:54 +0000

I love the Publix generic packaging, just like Grace. And, in addition to having similar designs, most of the snack foods say something cute on the box. For instance, the ginger snaps container shows a cookie with turtle head, legs, and tail drawn around it and says, “Come on, get snappy!” beneath it. How could you not buy these generics?

As far as the rest of the food I buy goes, I can go Publix brand generic on most things, except yogurt (Stoneyfield Farms non-fat tastes like the full fat version of any other brand). I usually buy whatever is the least expensive at the time I need it.

I agree with everyone else though. Name brand TP is a must. I had a roommate in college whose father worked for a company that made the god awful industrial TP with the wood chips in it that you could use to sand a deck. Even though we could have gotten that for free, I bought Quilted Northern every quarter. Worth it.

By: WackyLisa

WackyLisa — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 20:30:05 +0000

I learned quickly that buying generic didn’t save a thing if it didn’t get eaten/used. I don’t save money if I use twice as much either.
The thing is. each store’s generic products are different so I have to keep track of which store I can get the generic at and which I can’t.
I have food sensitivies so I do have to read labels carefuly but surprisingly sometimes the store brands have fewer addatives than the name brands. Kozy Shack Chocolate Pudding vs Price Chopper Chocolate Pudding.
I agree with ppl about TP. I deserve gourmet TP. I’ve put up the with stuff that gives you splinters but it’s just not worth it.
When trying something new I’ll buy one and take note of how it goes over. If it doesn’t go over well I’ll then try something more expensive if I have to.
One treat we always get is the Progresso tomato soup for grilled cheese and soup night. I found out how good it was when it was on sale one day.

By: Cindy

Cindy — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 19:25:43 +0000

Must have Marva Maid Skim Milk. I usually only drink skim milk, and the Food Lion brand is too watery. Fortunately I have military Commissary privileges, so I get the Marva Maid for cheaper than the store brand at Wal-Mart or even Food Lion! Marva Maid is a Virginia dairy (which happens to be where I reside), and I haven’t seen it much out of Virginia, NC, WV, and maybe Kentucky. If I don’t make it to the Commissary for whatever reason, I will go a week without milk before spending the money on a store brand somewhere else. I generally pay about $1 less at the Commissary for Marva Maid than I would at Wal-Mart or Food Lion for the store brand. The Marva Maid is about $2 more per gallon at those stores.

Before you all think I save tons of money at the Commissary, let me tell you, I only save money on milk, bread, eggs, meat and vegetables. I feel I get a better deal on the fresh veggies there because the quality is much better even if the price isn’t any better. The rest of it I can only save money on if I buy name brand, so for my name brands–Purex Free, Charmin, Duke’s Mayo, French’s Mustard, Heinz Ketchup and box cereals (whatever I’m in the mood for)–I tend to shop there. For the rest of it, I will go the 1.5 miles down the road to Food Lion. If I don’t catch the Commissary on my way home, and I need something other than milk, I will get it at Food Lion if I need it that bad.

Lately, the Commissary has started selling a generic brand, so I have been able to buy more things at the Commissary for less.