i'm down with crispy hexagon as long as it comes with that jar of name brand peanut butter. really tho more adds than before? is that really possible?

I have very little brand loyalty and the major exception is Hellman's mayonnaise. Oh, baby.

I actually have more loyalty for our cats' food. They get Science Diet almost exclusively.

I used to also be hooked on Hellmans and Heinz Ketchup. Now I buy the store brands... Shop Rite and Weis... whichever is on sale!

So they're downsizing their product, and spending the savings on the biggest food-centric ad blitz evar?

Thanks a lot for taking my extra ounces of bounces and wasting them on commercials.

I don't have much in the way of brand loyalty either, though I shop by what is healthier and more cost effective. So if they want to keep me as a customer, they should lower prices and make their food healthier, which is something that would benefit everyone whether they were loyal to a brand or not.

I clipped a lot of coupons from the Sunday paper tonight, and I got a lot of good things. Is there a trend in making people buy multiples of something just to get 30 cents off? I'm seeing it a lot, and it makes it kind of pointless since the only savings you'll see off buying 4 of something is less than 10 cents each item.

@IHaveAFreezeRay: That's exactly why I don't waste my time clipping coupons out of the Sunday paper.

As for healthier food and lower prices, I'm all for 'em.

OR they could not spend millions on advertising and just lower their prices to compete with the generics.

@zigziggityzoo: I stopped patronizing companies that waste money on naming rights for stadiums and college bowl games and similar uselessness.

So, until I gave up catsup (Ketchup) completely due to all the HFCS, I had stopped buying the Heinz version and got the BJ's (warehouse brand) version.

It's just my way of stickin' it to 'em. Maybe it works, maybe it doesn't, but I feel better about my choices.

@henrygates: no, that wouldn't work because it would be smart.

Is that guy's name really Harry Balzer? Lol.

If I see a brand that suffers from the grocery store shrink ray, I simply stop buying it. I realize they need to pad their profits a bit in the crappy economy, but a change in taste is easy when money is involved. For example, why pay $5.99 for a medium-sized DiGiornio pizza when "Tony's Pizzas" sell for $1.99 and are BIGGER? Riddle me this. . .

@nybiker: I can't live without ketchup so I buy Heinz organic. No HFCS in that kind.

I don't buy many foods with a brand - no cereal, no frozen foods, no canned soups, no crackers, no chips, very few cleaning products, and whatever is left I am very picky about quality, less picky about getting a well-known brand.

I'm an advertiser's nightmare because the more I see ads for a product, the more it makes me want to avoid it.

@firestarsolo: Because Tony's Pizzas taste like Saltine crackers with ketchup and American cheese?

@ReidFleming: Yeah, expensive pet food is one of those things that's actually worth it -- makes the difference between "chicken" and "chicken byproduct meal," which I think translates to "discarded grain husks we used to line the bottom of a henhouse."

instead of putting all this money into advertising, they should put this money into making their factories use more resourceful forms of energy....add some VALUE into their products. sun chips charging $4 a bag? well their factories are now solar powered...so i think it's worth it. i'm sure the price will drop a little once they get back the money they put into their investment (them panels ain't cheap!) other companies should follow suit.

Pfft, I'm quite happy with my Malt-O-Meal cereals and Tropical Fantasy sodas. Thank you very much!

@ReidFleming: Hah! Same for me almost, except it's Heinz ketchup for me and Pedigree for my dog.

@nybiker: I used to not clip coupons, until I joined the grocery game. They track all the sales trends and coupons, and tell you when to buy and stock up. Granted, most of the coupons are for crap I don't normally buy at any price (prepared foods and "mixes"), but when I can get a brand name soup for 10¢ instead of $1.25, then I jump on it. Luckily they also track things in general that don't need coupons, like meats, fruits, and vegetables, which is what me make our food out of.

Looks like the major food companies are getting desperate. Instead of wasting money on irritating and foolish ads, try lowering the price..or reversing the grocery shrink ray.

Hey..big food guys...if your product is that much better than a store brand, people will buy it. If it's not, tough luck. So far, I've found very few items that tasted significantly better than the store items to justify spending twice as much money.

Oh, meant to add, I only ever really see commercials when I'm on vacation, where I don't have my MythTV network with me!

On the other hand, since I've subscribed to the paper and started clipping coupons, I admit to being exposed to the advertising there. Hey! Wait! Does thegrocerygame.com secretly have funding from all of the nation's dying newspapers?

@nybiker: @VA_White: Have either of you seen the newest commercials put out by the corn council. I swear in the first one, the guy was going to say, "make you fat" and she was going to punch him.

Does anyone remember the days when Generic had it's own aisle in the supermarket filled with white labeled cans and red and black text?

@CumaeanSibyl: Never understood that, why not just feed your dog or cat CHICKEN instead of "stuff we made from chicken and a bunch of other stuff to make it cheap and shelf stable"? My dog has been eating RAW for over 4 years and is ridiculously healthy. Also, its pretty great to be able to go to the grocery store and get him food AND know there isn't some weird by-products, lead or melamine in his food. Its all human quality.
As for store brand, I LOVE me some Target brand anything [except the "tricuits" not good...].
All the cereals, the bread, the meals in a box are so yummy. I miss Stop & Shop, their store brand was really good too.
If I ever made it to whole foods I'd buy the everyday 365, all of those have been quite good too.
I usually just shop at the Mexican market, Chinese market, Trader Joes and Fresh and Easy. Its ALWAYS cheap at those places. Ah, big city livin'.
I guess I also make a lot of food from scratch so I don't buy a lot of name brand stuff. At some point, I realized homemade food is just SO much better than something frozen, canned or boxed. That and I'm poor.

I know a guy who will do anything to save money...if he got to work and the sandwich he brought for lunch is moldy, he'd probably rather pick off the pieces that are infested and eat the rest rather than go buy something from the deli. It's like he'd rather just eat something that might be infested with mold than to spend a few dollars on something that probably won't cause stomach pain.

That story was to illustrate the fact that to some people, being cheap is the only way to be, come hell, high water or possible food poisoning.

The logic eludes me: spend even MORE money on advertising to compete with generic brands who do no advertising at all, and whom are apparently taking a significant chunk of sales.

How about cutting advertising to cut costs to bring the price down (at least closer) to the generic level?

@The_IT_Crone: Old American business habits are hard to break.
I need to try some generic cereals. Tried Fruit Rings before and whadda mistake.
I;ll try something a little more plain.

Funny that they mention Ice Cream, as that's the only pre-processed packaged food item I buy every once in a while. And good luck trying to pry me away from Ben & Jerry's, it ain't gonna happen.

Oh, and beer. The same beer for the last 20+ years, Guinness. No body's gonna pry me away from that either.

Local butcher + farmer's market = I never go to Safeway.

@ReidFleming: "I actually have more loyalty for our cats' food. "

I know, for reals. My Bubbas get the good stuff -- IAMS for the morbidly obese for the one, super-specialized hyper-vet kidney diet for the other. :D People who treat their pets like people kind-of freak me out, but I'll eat beans and rice for months on end before my Bubbas go without their preferred food!

@nybiker: "So, until I gave up catsup (Ketchup) completely due to all the HFCS"

I hadn't eaten ketchup on purpose in YEARS because it was so sweet and blechy, but I got the store-brand organic b/c I'm concerned about my husband's HCFS intake and only the organic didn't have HCFS (and he likes ketchup on his ketchup) and OMFG, THAT SHIT IS SOOOOOOOO GOOD. Its top ingredients are "tomatoes" and "vinegar" and sugar is like the second-to-last ingredient, and it's cane sugar.

Ketchup is fucking fantastic when it tastes like tart tomatoes instead of red-flavored sugar!

@ReidFleming:

Totally agree on the pet food loyalty. Wish more people understood about feeding pets quality foods. I can put whatever awesome crap I want to into my body (and do regularly, thank you), but until my cat can make her own choices, she gets only the best pet food.

Aside from that, I'm now more price conscious than I am brand conscious, except for cereal and a few other things, which I purchase pretty much only when they're on sale.

here's a rash idea...stop wasting money on blitz advertising & make your products more affordable so it can compete with off-brands. i know, i know - it sounds crazy, but come on. the cereal boxes have gotten so freakin small lately that "family size" now means "feeds entire family 1 serving of breakfast".

i mean, let's get real here. in many cases, you make a better product. you have generations of loyal consumers. why do you have to try so hard? the fact is, the concept of "brand importance" has changed. having a positive image of your brand will guarantee loyalty, but no longer will it command the steep mark-ups it once did. more sales or more money per unit sale - your choice, but in this economy, you can't have both.

Chasing lowest price makes you susceptible to shrinking product packaging.

Look for the best value (meaning the lowest cost per unit) for the quantity you are comfortable buying and can reasonably consume.

If a company wants me to buy something quit loading it full of HFCS and thirty or so additives. I stopped buying most processed foods because they are horrible from a nutrition standpoint.

We had been buying mayo from Sams since a giant bucket was about $5. I looked at the ingredient list and corn syrup was pretty high up there. Mayo does not need corn syrup. I looked at the Kraft with olive oil. It was about $5 for a small jar and still had all sorts of mystery junk in it. So I am either going to make Mayo when we really need to have it or drop coin on a jar of Hellmens. I had the same experience with Ketchup. I don't use it very often but did and it tasted like slightly tart corn syrup. So that one we will probably end up buying the organic and just using less.

What makes me annoyed is now the foods that I bought as typical routine foods in the 80's are now the "premium" foods today. I have to pay a premium now to not have my food full of unneeded crap and corn syrup.

@ReidFleming: Hellman's mayonnaise My attempts at getting even kraft mayo into our "Best foods" (Hellmans west of the mississippi) home has failed. I grew up on Hellmans in NJ and wife on Best Foods in Seattle. No other mayo tastes the same.

@y2julio: Seriously. I actually bought a box of Apple Jacks the other day. Couldn't even finish it... ZERO flavor. While Malt-O-Meal may not be the healthiest, (is ANY cereal, beside Kashi or whatever???), my daughters and I don't eat anything else. And a couple of bucks for a pickup-sized bag? Yeah, sign me up.

Speaking of Ice Cream, Bryers is pretty good value at Wal-Mart, like $2.50 for 1.5 qts. Way less than grocery stores.

If you're able to shop at walmart... if you are willing to shop there...

I grew up in a Kraft mayo house, but I always liked Hellman's better. But I swear that some of the store brands around here must be made by Hellman's--I can't tell the difference.

Find a store brand that has the same color and texture as Hellmans, and check to see that the ingredients are identical or almost so--just look at the jar--and do a blind taste test. If you don't like it, you're out $1.50 to $2.00 if you get it on sale and you can use it for a salad to take to a pot-luck. If you like it, well, you're saving 1/2 to 2/3 every jar.

@Git Em SteveDave is starlost: Just showed my wife those (she's a writer who specializes on "green issues and health"), now I have to take her to the hospital for either a stroke or a sudden outbreak of Tourette's syndrome.

Thanks.

I haven't seen any comments yet which recognize the fact that advertising is relative. The only reason the big cereal companies have to ramp up advertising is because their competitors are (they hardly consider the generics competitors).

@Git Em SteveDave is starlost: Generic had it's own aisle in the supermarket filled with white labeled cans and red and black text? I sure do. The Carter depression back in the 80's. It's pretty much like that today except the store brands are the "generics". But I wouldn't be surprised to see them come back, either if the economy gets worse.

Even the foods that are not 'premium' are commanding a premium price nowadays.
Why is store-brand pasta now more expensive as 'name brand' used to be?
Is this due in part to this country's arrogance around corn and ethanol..."the hell with starving kids in Africa, I need to fill up the FlexFuel Hummer."

Publix branded soda FTW.

@god_forbids: Worried about competition? Leave the quality in the products.
How many of these brand name products could they just quit advertising for (or cut it waaaay back) and you'd still buy them?

@CumaeanSibyl:
Actually, byproducts can (and do in the premium foods) include Organ meats (much higher in nutrients that breast, etc.) that people wouldn't eat because we don't find it aesthetically pleasing. Not all byproducts are bad, regardless of what marketing reps may say. Science Diet does use a byproduct meal, but does so as it allows them to more easily control a precise balance of nutrients in their foods. They also test every truckload of ingredients to make sure it meets their standards, or they turn the whole truck away. And for full disclosure, I do happen to work part time for Hill's. However, I wouldn't do so if I didn't believe in the product.

I'm shocked and disappointed in the rise in price of pasta. $1.69 for a box that was 99¢ last year, but can save whole 30¢ if I use my affinity card. Whoopie. And I've not seen a decent cheap no-name pasta for cheaper per weight.

That $75 tub of goop Gizmodo had on last week is looking better each day...

@Git Em SteveDave is starlost: Until you posted those 2, I hadn't seen them. But then again, I am old-school. I use a vcr to zip past the commercials. I record everything I watch. O/T: Yeah, I know about DVR's, but I can't afford to go that route right now.

@Eyebrows McGee: I will keep my eyes open for a non-heinz brand of organic ketchup and give it a try when I go shopping. Thanks.

If you are what you eat, then isn't everything "Essentially You"?

@balthisar: When you say "joined" thegrocerygame.com, does that mean there's an annual fee of some sort or can one just sign up? Yeah, I guess I could go to the website and see, but I figured if you (or someone else) answered, it would be quicker.

Thanks for the heads-up. If it's a freebie, then I'll give it a whirl.

@VA_White: Yeah, I agree with you about ignoring virtually all advertising. I guess I stick to what's worked over the years. I'm kinda a Joe Friday guy when it comes to commercials. Again, for the younger folk, check out the description of the tv show Dragnet for what I am referring to.

There are some things that name brands are better. Case in point: Kraft Singles. I still rememeber my father bringing home the store brand when things were tough for us in the '70s. We told 'em we rather go without any cheese slices if it meant no Kraft Singles. And for all I know, maybe Heinz Ketchup was made better back then, because I recall the same problem with the store brands. Who read labels at that time? Besides, the labels didn't have all the stuff on it anyway.

The grocery game costs money. You subscribe to lists for the grocery stores in your area; they advise you based on ads and coupons that week, which items to stock up on, which ones to use coupons for, and which ones to wait to buy until next time.

If you are a dedicated coupon clipper, you can save way more than you spend on the membership fee. I know a lot of women who belong. I tried their free trial but I had to manually calculate in the discounts from the military commissary so it wasn't worth the hassle to me. Plus a lot of the deals are for foods I never buy. I don't buy salad mix or Campbell's soup or envelopes of instant crap. There is never a super triple coupon deal for the stuff I buy so I canceled after the trial period was up.

@nybiker: Oh gosh. I'm with you on the Kraft Singles. My mom bought generic ones once and they were asstastic.

Nowadays I normally buy real cheese from the deli but when it starts to get cold, I crave a good grilled cheese sandwich and some hot tomato soup. The soup I buy at Trader Joes but the cheese has to be Kraft singles. I can't help myself. :)

@VA_White: Thanks. For a buck, I can give the 28-day trial it a try. At least they had the store I do most of my shopping in.

@VA_White: I just bought Kraft Singles today because I had a $1 off coupon and buying 24 slices of Kraft was the same price as 24 slices of generic store brand (which actually taste pretty good) - but having Kraft on my burger tonight, I don't know if it made a difference. It was a really good burger, but I think that was the Lawry's seasoned salt and not the generic magical orange salt substance that the stores hawk as being "like" Old Bay or Lawry's.

I have, however, gotten used to good old tap water. We haven't purchased bottled water in a while, and tap with a lot of ice is how I quench thirst now.

Ironically, even after reading the post on Tropicana juice, I bought Tropicana because it was $2/6. And the other juices weren't on sale, and were close to $3.50.

@ReidFleming: My cat is addicted to Purina Cat Chow (adult weight maintenance), of all brands. I've tried fancier foods with no luck. Maybe we need to hide the TV remote before leaving the house in the morning....