Consumer Reports Finds Generic Foods Taste As Good As Brand Names
Labels are eye-catching and all, but they don't taste so good. Consumer Reports undressed some food items and found out that deep inside, generics are just as tasty — and in some cases even yummier — than their labeled counterparts.
Of the 29 foods Consumer Reports tested, 23 generics tasted as good or better. Reuters pulled a wire report on the findings:
Consumer Reports tasters actually preferred Archer Farms Chewy Soft Baked cookies (Target), Kirkland Signature Organic Medium Salsa (Costco), Great Value Whipped Topping (Walmart) to similar products from Pepperidge Farm, Old El Paso, Betty Crocker and Kraft.
"Our tests should erase any lingering doubts that store-brand packaged goods aren't at least worth a try. In many cases, you'll save money without compromising on quality," said Tod Marks, Sr. Project Editor, Consumer ReportsShopping.
What the story doesn't tell you is that brand-name foods totally dominated generics in the swimsuit competition.
It pays to buy store brands [Consumer Reports]
(Photo: Kevin Dean, Beta Art)
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I get "Roundy's" brand from rainbow foods, and I agree that most items taste the same/better then name brands. Buying generic helps me save the $$ for the items that I wont scrimp on.
For things that I am not crazy about, this is true for me. However, in particular, cheerios ... only cheerios taste like cheerios and I am CRAZY about cheerios. Every once in a while, I bite the bullet, and buy the $1.19 store knockoff and every time, I am sorely disappointed. The closest Cheerios knockoff is "Joe's O's" from Trader Joes markets. They're not exactly the same, but the taste is mostly the same, the consistency is more like Kix though than Cheerios.
+1, it's very hard to find good-tasting generic Cheerios and as you say, the Trader Joes Joe O's are pretty close and will do the trick in a pinch!
Surprisingly, I have found that many of Walmart's 'Great Value' store brand foodstuffs are actually pretty good (pinto, kidney and black beans, salad dressing, instant brown rice, potato and corn chips and some of the cereal).
Although they recently redesigned their packaging for the Great Value products and IMHO, it makes them look cheap, the old packaging was much nicer.
Often times, the generic is the exact same product as the brand name, just packaged differently to sell to those who buy generics, and snag that market share too.
That can of beer looks disgusting...
One very instructive project I did with my kids was a double-blind taste test of various colas. We bought every kind of regular (not cherry, etc.) cola we could find, then we set up the test and ran it. Not only did it encourage them to question branding/marketing messages, but it also illustrated quite well that within narrow ranges, cola is cola, and in fact several of us indicated a generic brand as their favorite. The science illustration/procedure was an added bonus.
The generic Cinnamon Toast Crunch that comes in the big bags made by Malt-O-Meal...that tastes as good, if not better, than the original CTC.
I've always found Wegmans' generic brand to be great tasting, although I do try not to buy knock offs of distinctive products (like Cheerios).
@Murph1908: The problem is that it's the same product as one of the brand names, but which one? The one that I think is worth the money, or the one that sits in my cabinet in the event of a power outage because I won't eat it of my own free will? "Good as a brand name" isn't necessarily a recommendation, and I'm frankly pretty picky about the packaged stuff I buy. So it's too much of a crap shoot for me to buy a store brand.
There was an episode of "How It's Made' on a few years back and it showed the process of making canned corn. At the end of the show it had different shots of the various brand and off-brand labels that they slapped on the cans. One factory, producing many different brands. The greatest disparity I've ever found between brand name and generic products is the Mr Clean Magic Eraser. NEVER buy the generic...it's no better than paper towels.
The pictured can of beer is funny to me because there are certain things I'd never buy the generics of, and beer is at the top of the list. Toilet paper, soap, and ice cream are some others.
@gamabunta: I love generic mac and cheese. The more powdery and fake cheesier it is, the more I like it. If I want a real cheese taste, I would just make it myself.
Does not apply to Triscuits.
It completely, completely depends on the product.
I'm fine with store-brand frozen veggies and store-brand ibuprofen and store-brand raisins and chicken and flour and sugar and honey.
But for boxed mac-and-cheese? Annie's or Kraft all the way, but I'm not TOUCHING the $0.35 store-brand "Cheese Spirals." That crap's NASTY.
And I'm really picky about yogurt... I've never yet tried a store-brand yogurt that I could stand. (I miss Colombo yogurt. You don't get it down here in DC.)
I'll buy generic versions of lots of things, but I will not skimp on Cheerios. I have never had a Cheerio substitute that did not taste awful and cut my mouth up.
I love store brand Apple Juice. Either Big Y or Stop and Shop. I think motts tastes like sugary crap after having the good store brands.
@VidaBlueBalls: Mr. Pi swears by the Scotchbrite green and yellow scrub sponges. He refuses to get generic. We did one time and he scowled the entire time he had to use one because he said that pieces were coming off, and he wanted to get his familiar green and yellow Scotchbrite ones.
This is MOSTLY true, but as others have mentioned, it's not ALWAYS true. Cheerios really is a good example.
@calquist: I totally agree. While on the topic of cheese, generic cheese also tasted like... well... not crap, but plastic. There are still some items that cannot go generic.
OH GRAPE JUICE! The only grape juice comparable to Welche's that I've found is Trader Joe's brand (and indeed, I think it wins by a hair).
@bloggerX: I've actually seen that before and it wasn't all that bad. It may still be in the Wisconsin area...
@MichaelBrazell: I've noticed that Trader Joe's does really well with their brands. I love their grape juice, and I am picky about grape juice.
Ow... bones... so brittle... but I drink plenty of -- "malk?"
You have to be careful with store brands, too - they're not always cheaper. For instance, I love Flax Plus cereal, and usually get the basic "multibran" variety. At Whole Foods, this cereal is cheaper than some store brand cereals which are far inferior in my estimation. Maybe WF is unique that way, but the store brand isn't necessarily always the best value.
I think this could also apply to the Target Archer Farms products. They're good, but not cheap in many cases.
@MichaelBrazell: Absolutely agree. On the other hand, Rice Crispies got nothin' on Roundy's Crispy Rice. That got me through college.
I'm using generics more and more. One of the few things I won't go generic on is toilet paper. That stuff's rated by grit instead of ply.
Generics also tend to have more chemicals, preservatives and whatnot, so if you are the type to avoid those, you might want to check the ingrediants of both.
Yeast, cream and cream cheese all have different ingrediants if I recall.
No other ketchup tastes as good as Heintz 57 though.
@tuxclam: I love the cola experiment. Cola really is a perfect example of this. As you said, some even prefer the store brand. Lots of folks have a tough time even differentiating between Pepsi and Coke, the two brands where the battle lines and allegiances are normally the strongest.
If Archer and Kirkland are considered generic brands then I don't distinguish between generic and name brand in my mind when I shop.
@Liam Kinkaid: I love Malt-o-Meal stuff. It's cheap, and tastes really good. I think the problem so many people have is they want the generics to taste like the brand name, so they have different expectations.
@Etoiles: Really? I used to eat Colombo yogurt when I was a kid...but it's been a while since I ate Colombo. They don't have it in the area?
I used to do maintenance electrical work in the Uncle Ben's Rice Plant. I can personally vouch that a majority
of store brand/private label rice is made in the same rice packing facility as Uncle Ben's/Success Rice..
The only different was the packaging...
@Wit is periodically disensouled: i agree. shoprite, pathmark and A&P generic stuff all are dry and tasteless but wegmans is better than the original in alot of cases. I get their chips, cookies, soda and pizza everytime and save lots of money. You cannot beat a 2 liter of soda for 69 cents which tastes as good if not better than coke or pepsi
@Preyfar: Malt-O-Meal is the best. They have a crazy cereal now that's a combination of Cocoa Puffs and Lucky Charms. It's really tasty but very, very bad for you. I like their versions of Frosted Miniwheats, Cinnamon Cheerios and Cocoa Crispies.
@treimel: Ever notice how like 90% of all Simpsons quotes people use are from like the first 7 or 8 seasons?
@futuresuperbowlMVPJayCutler: For me I haven't been able to locate a good Oreo substitute. I just love the taste of the real deal.
@shadowdub: Heinz and Kleenex are about the only things that I will not buy generic or even another brand.
Not always true.
The generic mac and cheese I tried last week tasted like pasty crap.