Last month, we asked readers to tell us which food brands had earned their undying loyalty. Now it’s time to go the other way and take a look at those products — not just food this time — that you only buy in their most generic forms.
For example, I’ll never be caught dead buying anything but generic or store-brand paper towels. And I’ve found — at least in my grocery store — the store-brand nuts and chocolates are often as good if not better than the brand-name products that cost significantly more.
So what’s filling up your shopping carts with labels like “corn flakes” and “beer” that make you look like you just stepped out of a scene from Repo Man?
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Napkins, cutlery, paper plates–picnic type stuff is always generic.
Oh yeah, and trash bags.
Plus random home stuff like dish towels, I always get at the Dollar Tree.
I love Targets store brands for almost anything.
Agreed with the trash bags. A couple of years ago, I got rather tired of the bags falling into the can, so I grabbed a couple of black binder clips and use that to secure the bag to the can. Works like a charm.
I’ve never had a bag split open on me, either.
My new favorite trash bags (tall kitchen) are the Husky ones from Lowe’s. $10 for a box of 100 drawstring bags, haven’t had one break yet, and they stretch like crazy if you need them to.
+1 on Target store brand anything
‘up and up’ and away!
I’m with you. Up & Up for the win!
Up & Up AND Market Pantry…the bomb.
Up & Up saved me in Mexico.
I like Target stuff too but it’s the worst rebranding I’ve seen in a long time (talking to you Syfy Channel). You can barely read what the products are. Boo.
trash bags (eff it, they are just going in the trash), pretty much any paper/plastic good (aluminum foil, napkins, tissues, paper towels, ect), vitamins, mouthwash.
If there’s a sale and I have a coupon where it ends up being cheaper, I’m willing to go brand name on any of those categories, though.
You should be careful with generic vitamins. There’s little to no regulation from the FDA on dietary supplements sold in the US, and actual dosages can be wildly inaccurate compared to the labels. On one end of the scale, they’re ripping you off, and on the other end, you may overdose. Name brand vitamins are not necessarily more reliable, so in the end you may be better off just going as cheap as possible.
EVERYTHING!
really though unless theres a better sale on the brand name I go after the store brand.
However my usual supermarket Wegmans has very very high quality items under their name. Perhaps other store brands are lower quality?
FYI for anyone in the wegmans market, the wegmans branded shredded cheese is sargento labeled as wegmans.
Some other tidbits:
Wegmans brand tissues are the same as Scotties
Certain cereals come from Quaker
Meat comes in shipped in Tyson (yuck) boxes.
I totally agree on the Wegman’s brand.
I wish all generics were as good as Wegman’s *sigh*….(Safeway and Target’s are pretty good too but not Wegman’s….)
yeah its nice, wegmans refuses to be cheap and if a customer complains they will genuinely try to fix the problem whether it be the packaging or whatever
Everything but potato chips – no store brand has yet to measure up to Lay’s.
I’m not big on chips myself, but my partner likes them and is VERY picky. I’ve found several flavors of Clancy’s chips (Aldi’s store brand) that he really likes, and they’re about 1/3 the price of the name brand. Their nacho cheese tortilla chips and barbecue-flavor potato chips as well as their unflavored tortilla chips have so far been satisfactory for Mr. Picky.
Lay’s potato chips are nasty. Of course, I’m in PA, the land of potato chip and snack food country. Herr’s, UTZ, Wise, Goods, etc. all make a much more “natural” tasting chip than Lay’s
I love Utz but have to boycott after what the owner’s been doing to my favorite beach community.
http://www.phillymag.com/articles/sand_castles1/
Bickle’s FTW, if they’re even still around. I also love Good’s Potato Chips. Lay’s is crap compared to the chips and pretzels we could get in PA.
Bickels is definitely still being made and while they are good they cant hold a candle to Middleswarth barbecue chips.
Martins…
I feel the same way about Oreos. I don’t buy them often but the generic versions are just missing something …
Trader Joe’s generic Oreos are really good. But so is everything in their store brand.
In Canada at the Superstore/Loblaws chain, their brand (President’s Choice) of chips are amazing! Plus they have tasty flavours like Greek, BBQ Baby Back Ribs, but my fave is their sour cream and dill, hands down best dill chip out there.
I ALWAYS get generic OTC medicine–unless I have a coupon that makes the name-brand a better price.
good move, i work at a pharmacy and think its hilarious that we have people coming in every week to see if theres any tylenol in (currently its been recalled). these people will be quick to pick up a product that was just recalled but not a generic
Same here. I don’t think I’ve ever taken a real Tylenol in my life.
Probably because even with sales and double coupons, I’ve never seen Tylenol run cheaper than the generic. However, I’ve also never seen the infant drops in a generic. We get one of those to keep in the diaper bag when the infant was/is teething, as it is smaller and more convenient than the children’s bottle.
I get the Member’s Mark kind at Sam’s that come in the big bottles for about 1¢ per pill.
tinned kidney beans and dried pulses
everything except for salsa. for some reason, I have to yet to find a store brand salsa that isn’t water.
If you like sweet and spicy Salsa, Safeway makes a delicious Peach-Pineapple salsa that’s thicker than most. It’s the only salsa I eat, unless I make it myself.
Salsa is one of those things I just always want to make my own.
It’s easy and fast to make – less than 5 minutes including gathering the items from the fridge to getting it ready to serve. And I get enough salsa in it, I get it totally not chunky (hubby’s preference), no onions (allergic), lots of herbs and enough spice and no preservatives.
Store brand pico de gallo is usually good. Giant and Safeway both call it deli salsa and both make good stuff. Safeway’s regular salsa’s are tambien muy bueno. Safeway select regular medium salsa has beans and corn. It’s more of an original salsa than a clone of anything and comes in a huge jug that makes it a vastly superior deal to gourmet type salsas.
Kirkland Signature salsa is good in small doses too.
Alas, I’m from Michigan, so no Safeways. I’ll check out Sams Club, but I usually just stick with Pace Picante. Their hot salsa is absolutely delicious.
err… Costco…
I second the Costco brand salsa! I was surprised I actually liked it when I sampled it. I usually only get the freshly made stuff from whole foods it’s expensive but I don’t get it very often.
Publix salsa is pretty thick. I don’t know if they have that store in your area though…
Lets see. Napkins, towels, stuff like that, sugar, spices, salt, flour. The basic cooking ingredients I like to go for the generic. I have not noticed a difference.
I once experimented with generic peanut butter and got burned really bad. It was oily and tasted horrible. I should give it another try. They probably have upped their standards by now.
don’t do it!!! I typically buy generic everything…the only two name brands I have to have are named brand peanut butter (Jiff) and cola (Dr. Pepper….ok, ok…to those Dr. Pepper fans out there – I KNOW it’s not really a cola…it’s a soda).
I can’t eat store bought peanut butter since I started making my own, it always smells off now.
I used to swear by crunchy Jiff, but then I tried Smucker’s Natural pb, that stuff is amazing. Wanting to cut back a bit on my next grocery stop (Natural is too pricey to be an “always have” purchase) I went with my old buddy Jiff, and for some reason I can’t even bring myself to eat it, it taste sickeningly sweet to me now.
I think I might try to make my own, so I can have lots of little peanut bits (Smucker’s is peanuts/salt/oil, and has lots of little bits of peanuts in it, so good)
Well. Depends on where I’m shopping. At Target, I’ll buy pretty much all food with their store brand “Market Pantry” or “Archer Farms”.
I will usually buy generic tampons and OTC drugs.
I don’t buy generic toilet paper, dishwasher detergent or paper towels unless we’re poor that week.
Other than, those – whatever is on sale and/or has better ingredients.
+1 for Target brand tampons!
My S/O got tampons at Whole Foods last night. I’m afraid to look at the receipt… I may be wrong, but I can’t imagine that they were competitively priced, be it store brand, name brand, or, uh, “gourmet”?
Maybe they were free-range tampons.
I bought some generic drug store panty liners a while back and the glue was so sticky I had to throw my underwear away–I wouldn’t even wash the glue out. It was awful. So I never use generic feminine hygiene products. Haven’t tried generic tampons, though.
I buy lots of store-brand stuff from Costco. Their Kirkland Signature products usually compare quite favorably in performance with the name-brand stuff and cost less than the quality would suggest. I suspect they’re made by some of the big names under contract, but have no real evidence to support that.
I regularly buy Kirkland paper towels, toilet paper, olive oil, frozen fish and chicken, etc. I’ve had good luck with a couple of Kirkland-labeled wines, too.
I really like their eco-friendly laundry detergent and dish soap, too.
Kirkland OTC medications are crazy cheap. Kirkland brand Claritin and Zyrtec are like $15-$16 for a 300-count bottle. I buy the Kirkland brand Lactaid as well. No other stores’ store brands are anywhere near as cheap as Kirkland, which just goes to show you how much profit the other stores are making on their generics (and how much profit the name brands are making). CVS store brand Claritins are almost a ridiculous dollar a pill.
Kirkland coffee is made by Starbucks and their cereal is made by Quaker.
Coffee! How did I forget that? I buy their coffee beans regularly… what I save on coffee beans alone more than pays for my membership.
I’ve read that the Kirkland batteries were made by duracell…can’t find the link at the moment, and hell, it was probably just a forum post I read somewhere…but their quality is easily the same as the name brand batteries. Can’t beat a 48 pack of AA’s for $11, @ this quality.
everything except motor oil and soft drinks
- dairy products (butter, milk, yogurt, half & half, cheese, etc)
- most cereals (with the exception of Rice Krispies – no generic even comes close)
- coffee (it’s more important how you brew it)
- paper products (paper towels, napkins, TP)
- canned veggies and soups
- frozen veggies
- breads
- potato chips
- juices
- most medical things (saline solution, ointments, bandages, allergy medication, etc)
- detergent and fabric softener
Disclosure: I shop at Wegmans and their generic everything is awesome.
Pretty much the only things I absolutely won’t buy off-brand are Heinz Ketchup, toothpaste (I use Sensodyne Pronamel), Oreos, Coca Cola, Breathe-Right nasal strips, and Rice Krispies. Everything else is fair game.
Try the Wegmans “Oreo’s” sometime. They are just as good at Oreo’s from my experience.
Ew, yeah. I went through a period where I didn’t want to pay for Breathe-Right strips and just wound up cleaning various adhesives off my nose. I wouldn’t have guessed that particular product would be so hard to copy.
Cold medicine and painkillers like ibuprofen or acetaminophen, for sure.
Soda. Once the big two switched to 100% HFCS there was no reason to buy pepsi over whatever the generic cola is. I also buy generic cereal usually, though there are some brands that are better. Honestly the more I think about it, I really buy almost everything generic except for very specific things. Niquil for instance, is worlds better than the generic version most of the time.
Does that apply to the current Nyquil? I used to swear by Nyquil until they gelded it so soccer mom’s didn’t have to worry little johnny might be making meth with it.
Pseudophedrine was replaced by phenelephrine in many medications. I don’t know anyone that actually thinks the phenelephrine does anything for them. Pseudophedrine is the only thing that even makes a dent in my sinus headaches. If it’s behind the pharmacy counter, it’s pseudophedrine, if it’s on the shelf, it’s phenelephrine. The last time I bought NyQuil/DayQuil (generic version), I noticed that it uses phenelephrine. Bought it anyway just for the cough suppressent, but the phenelephrine may as well be water for as well as it works.
Generic’s for things headache meds, dayquil etc. We use target’s generics. Paper Towels, plates, granola bars, some cereals. ( some of them really don’t taste the same ). Sometimes vitamin supplements. If you compare ingredients before buying you can at least make sure are getting the same thing as the more pricey option.
Never get generic chilli, always go for the Hormel… same with beans… go with Hunts. Salad dressing should never be generic if you get the catalina… other than that, everything should be generic.
Agreed for the most part (as long as we’re not talking Kraft or Wishbone), but as an exception I like Kroger’s store-brand fat-free Italian dressing. It’s good, inexpensive, and one of the few dressings (even among other fat-free dressings) that does not contain high-fructose corn syrup.
I buy store brand pasta if I’m in a hurry – I know Cook’s Illustrated rated Barilla very high, but I really don’t see a huge difference between it and store brand. I find there’s more of a difference between the generic and the very high end brands of pasta (that are about $5 per box and up), but not much of one with Barilla.
Target is absolutely shameless in copying products – any name brand item you can find, Target has made a copy of it. I’ve saved at least $20 by buying the Target store version of the facial cleanser I use.
Everything Trader Joe’s… TJ’s is the ultimate anti-brand. It has all the emotional and quality associations of a heavily-advertised consumer brand name, but it’s also all about low cost and I don’t think I’ve ever seen an ad for their store brand.
One of the many things I love about TJ’s is the packaging… since they are not competing with all the other brands on the shelf for your attention (because they don’t let many other brands on, in many cases) the packaging is really descriptive rather than flashy. For example, pecans come in so many forms – (un)roasted, (un)salted, whole/pieces…. each of which can be mixed and matched. Because they carry just one brand, as opposed to three brands each of which must emphasize the 1-2 best-selling feature combinations to make the most of their tiny slot of shelf space, they can stock many variations, and the packaging clearly describes which is which. This makes for a simple shopping experience in which I can get exactly what I want, even though they stock very few items overall!
I agree. I would buy everything Trader Joe’s brand if I could. I like they’re frozen entrees a lot.
The only problem is that they tend to be pretty expensive when you consider the size of the portions and also that you can’t use coupons.
Oh yeah. I do a good portion of my weekly shop at Trader Joe’s, and have found very few things I was disappointed in. (Most of those were “not to my taste” rather than “poor quality”, even.)
TJ’s advertises there stuff like CRAZY here. Oddly I have yet to see one of their stores. >.
Pharmaceuticals. Paying 50% more for something chemically identical so the package says Tylenol rather than Walgreens makes zero sense to me.
i grew up with physicians and always, always trusted generics till a really bad incident with wellbutrin a few years ago–the generic just does not work for me. it’s taken nearly three years to get my depression meds back on track, and now i’m paying extra for brand.
It’s not 100% identical, it’s 80% identical. for some people that can make a huge difference.
i grew up with physicians and always, always trusted generics till a really bad incident with wellbutrin a few years ago–the generic just does not work for me. it’s taken nearly three years to get my depression meds back on track, and now i’m paying extra for brand.
It’s not 100% identical, it’s 80% identical. for some people that can make a huge difference.
It’s not 80%, its the 90% Confidence interval for the Max concentration and expsoure of the generically must fall within 80% of the innovator. so you are trying the squeeze a box inside a slightly bigger box. Also, it’s the same guidelines that brand must use when they change some process in drug manufacturing and need to demonstrate that the new product is the same as the old product. So in reality, the brand is allowed to vary in an equal extent as the generic.
That 80% is a scare tactic the brands use to scare people from generics. People need to strop trotting it out when they don’t feel like taking a generic
sorry about the percentage mix-up. i believe the drugs need to have the same active ingredients, but this does not mean that they have the same delivery method. regardless, the generic was about the size of a horse pill, and the brand tiny: they cannot be the same formula.
i’m the last person to be down on any generic, i use generic *everything* (except ketchup), but this drug screwed with my depression remission, and that’s not ok. (and if you ask a doctor, or a pharmacist, both will tell you that the generic “should” work as well as the regular, but it doesn’t always turn out that way.
OTC Medication. The name brands are just way too much more expensive for the exact same medicine.
Ah, I forgot about that when listing mine. I definitely always buy the store brands for things like triple-antibiotic ointment, rubbing alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, bandages, allergy meds, ibuprofen, etc. The price difference is amazing.
Hayfever drugs. £2 for 30 pills (generic) or £3 for 7 pills of the exact same drug (brand) – it’s a no-brainer. The reason I say hayfever drugs specifically is because I prefer some of the branded painkillers simply because I find their shape/coating easier to swallow without water.
Asprin, flu medication, paper towels. For a long time I really used to like the Safeway generic soda, but I don’t really drink soda anymore so I stopped buying it.
My mother long ago trained me to never, ever buy generic paper towels, toilet paper, or napkins. Almost without exception, they are cheaply made, and you will use more than you would with a name brand, rendering your savings moot. Target brand napkins, for example, shred with the slightest moisture.
Generic toilet paper is particularly bad. Do not wipe yourself with anything normally used in prisons and high schools.
If you’re a Costco shopper, try Kirkland paper towels and toilet paper. a) 100% guaranteed, take it back if you’re unhappy. b) I suspect they’re made by name-brand factories under contract, or are VERY good copies.
The toilet paper is like quilted Northern… if you’re a lint-loving Charmin devotee you may not like it, but if you like Northern you should find the Kirkland stuff to be great and cheap. I don’t buy paper napkins much, so I can’t speak to that.
If you’re a Costco shopper, try Kirkland paper towels and toilet paper. a) 100% guaranteed, take it back if you’re unhappy. b) I suspect they’re made by name-brand factories under contract, or are VERY good copies.
The toilet paper is like quilted Northern… if you’re a lint-loving Charmin devotee you may not like it, but if you like Northern you should find the Kirkland stuff to be great and cheap. I don’t buy paper napkins much, so I can’t speak to that.
I am a Costco shopper, and I’ll give their towels and TP a try. Thanks for the tip!
We call the generic Toilet paper John Wayne Toilet Paper: Rough, Tough, and wont take crap off anybody.
The generic paper towels from Price Chopper prompted an email from me detailing just how disappointed I was, especially as I have been pleased overall with their other PC products.
I got a refund plus a bit. I don’t know if they’ve improved and I haven’t had the courage to try their tp.
All OTC and prescription drugs is the first thing that came to mind. Otherwise I kind of go with what is on sale. I don’t really like generic soda or juice, I find it to be of lesser quality. Does Target’s brand count? That archer farms I think it’s called? It’s so good… and I have to add so well designed!
I would buy more if BJ’s generic brands weren’t always so absolutely horrible in quality every time I try them.
Costco! Please set up shop in my town!
Mostly everything except: American Cheese singles and certain pasta sauces.
Trash bags. medicines, feminine items when I needed them (cost saved by not buying even the generics x 5 years > Mirena, omg, i love it) Shredded cheese,
Though, the two grocery stores we hit up both have two store brands, an okay one and a really crap one. Will not buy Midwest County Fair foods (except sugar, because, it’s sugar) at Hy-Vee, will not buy SuperValu at Cub.
Mirena is the worlds greatest invention and best kept secret. I’m on my second one and the blush of first love has not worn off.
Yep. And a $25 copay for five years of awesome is the greatest bargain ever.
Basically anything but Oreos, Coke, Dr Pepper, Heinz ketchup, hershey’s syrup, mac n’ cheese, and a few others. I buy generic whenever I can, but there are just some things that can’t be replaced, either in taste or texture.
Quite a bit from the spice aisle is just as good generic – salt, pepper, garlic, vinegar, etc. Paper products and cleaning supplies are also good. Dried pasta is always fine.
Depending on which store I’m in, the options expand. Target’s Market Pantry and Archer Farms foods are good, and I’ve had good luck with Kirkland products at Costco.
Condoms.
So how’s the dad thing working out?
Nutrigrain Bars. The stop n shop ones are less sugary.
CVS Cheese Crackers.
Amazing. Think of a Cheez-it, but REALLY good.
Medications.
pretty much everything except shoes and frozen juice. Thats only because I got weird shaped feet and New Balance is the best at making non-standard size shoes, and minute maid is the only frozen lime aid available in these parts – mix it with a 2L bottle of generic soda water and you got a damn good summer beverage.
OTC meds and first aid stuff like band-aids; most canned goods (although I don’t tend to buy a lot of food in cans); frozen veggies- at the grocery store where I shop they have two generic brands of some things, the cheap and the ULTRA cheap. I tend to buy the cheap, the ultra cheap kind of scares me.
I don’t buy generic toilet paper or paper towels or kleenex, I’ve tried them and they’re flimsy so not worth the “savings”.
I’ve actually had several bad experiences with generic band aids–just no stickability–so no more for me.
I always buy generic otc meds. I always try generics of foods and switch to brands if I don’t like them. I’ve found some stuff I prefer brand name.
Speaking of… I just bought some walmart generic oreo’s and was really surprised at how good they were. It really shocked me. Or perhaps it’s just been so long since I’ve had one, that it didn’t matter.
I shop Grocery Outlet. Alot of name brands I’ve never heard of, but I’ve never been dissapointed in the quality or the price. They have have a great selection of trendy cheeses at decent prices.
I love Grocery Outlet too, but I will never do their produce after getting food poisoning from some Roma tomatoes. They hadn’t gone bad, but were improperly handled. My purchases from Grocery Outlet have to be sealed.
I agree with you there. Great products, really iffy produce. The nice thing about the one near me is that there is a good produce mart a few blocks away.
Oh man Grocery outlet is like cheese heaven…well not heaven but I was surprised at the variety of cheeses that I could get at a discount. And good cheese too!
**nods** not to sound like an ad, but yes, the cheese selection at Grocery Outlet may not be as big as say Whole Foods, but the quality is right on par. I can’t leave that place without buying cheese.
I use generic for durables; the biggest money saving generic I use is generic Cetaphil. I’m particular about canned tomatoes; generics usually have a pre-chewed flavor and lower drain weight-there seems to be a huge difference in brands (some add sugar or HFCS). I eat generic Cheerios, too, because regular Cheerios give me weird burps.
Pills, I never buy brand-name pills, or any pill with even branding. It’s got nothing to do with price, either;
A branded pill might list several (obviously bogus) ingredients, from herbs to horse hair most of it makes no sense. Others might claim to have super-secret ingredients. So if I want a sleep aid, or a multivitamin I immediately look for the store generic. They’re cheap, they don’t try to compete with bogus ingredients, and you know that it’s literally generalized versions of selected brand names. Most are even in the same bottle, and I found one even had the same instruction leaflet (brand name included!)
OTC medicines.
A lots of stuff from Costco’s Kirkland brand (about anything), and most things at HEB (esp. their spiced coffees), Central Market, Sprouts or wherever we do the secondary shopping.
The only things I don’t go with store brands: gluten free products (I don’t think there even is such as thing as a store brand gluten free range), electronics… I guess that’s about it.
Just about everything other than salad dressing and toilet paper. I recently got married and my husband refuses to eat generic cereal, so I have to buy him namebrand and get myself the generic. I also buy a fair amount of organic products, and I wonder if it’s unusual to have a cart filled with 2/3 generic products and 1/3 organic.
I make my own cereal because I got tired of buying a whole box of cereal and then realizing that I really wasn’t in the mood to eat cereal for the next two weeks. Mr. Pi, however, can decimate one box in about a week.
Basically everything unless the Brand Name is on sale for less than the store brand. There is very little difference between generic and Brand, and they are often manufactured in the same place, with the same ingredients but slapped with different labels.
Paper and plastic goods (paper towels, toilet paper, bags, etc.)
Aluminum Foil (but not plastic wrap!)
Dairy (cottage cheese, sour cream, butter, eggs)
Pasta and rice (except mixes such as Mac and Cheese)
Frozen and canned veggies
Baking supplies (flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda, etc.)
OTC medicine (loratadine, ibuprofen, acetaminophen, loperamide)
If Costco counts then add tuna (once your drain the water out, Costco Tuna has twice as much meat per can), and if Trader Joe’s counts, then add in tomato sauce and oreos.
Unless I have a coupon, I buy generics for all medications and most foods.
One thing that is never generic: Mac n’ Cheese. It has to be Kraft. There are no acceptable substitutes.
Also, I don’t drink generic beer. I have tried generic beers and none I have tried are up to snuff. I wait for sales on beers that I like then stock up.
I make my own mac-&-cheese at home. Really, I do.
It tastes WAY better than anything that ever came from a Kraft box.
OTC drugs, just need to make sure the dosage is the same as the name brand (some stores have 1/2 the active ingredient therefore you have to take more pills…)
Pretty much anything except for ketchup. Heinz or nothing.
Usually if the generic product is of quality that is a lot worse than the brand name we go for the brand name.
The brand names can also come out cheaper if you use coupons or buy carefully when things are on sale.
We usually buy generic for anything disposable, paper goods, plastic baggies, napkins.. etc
If I am baking something or making something for an event or family function then we make sure to buy good ingredients, no margarine when butter could be used etc. Raw baking ingredients are fine when they are store brand unless you need a specific kind of flour.
One thing I will not skimp on is grocery store ketchup, the store brand is NEVER the same as the brand, and the brand names are so close in cost to the store brand its a no-brainer. Many ketchup’s are now made without HFCS and the store brands are still made with HFCS so no more store brand ketchup for me until they remove the HFCS. Mustard tastes the same to me regardless of brand (I have tried many generics and don’t notice a difference from French’s) and ingredients are usually the same or close on the packages.
Another thing is peanut butter, I buy regular not organic but Wegmans brand just tastes better, costs $1.49 a jar and has less oils than Peter Pan making it better for you, you can actually see the oil settling in a can of Peter Pan, ridiculous. Wegmans brand is spreadable too unlike organic peanut butter which has to be refridgerated and is not spreadable and impossible to get out of the jar. Peanut butter needs a little bit of oil to make it spread but not so much that it looks like the jar is pure oil.
I can’t tolerate any store bought peanut butter since I started making my own, it just tastes off.
6% Chlorine Bleach – awesome for the pool without the pool store price.
Ibuprofen (advil) always. And Acitominiphen (tylenol). And now, always the generic of whatever Claritin is, since I’ve developed allergies as I’ve aged.
Also for whatever reason I prefer the CVS brand dental floss to the name brand it’s a knockoff off.
Other things, I’ll often buy name brands when they’re on sale, with coupons etc, so they’re cheaper than the store brand.
Claritin => Loratidine. 300 count from Costco (Kirkland AllerClear) is about $12. Yes, those are real #s… 300 for about the price of 30 Claritin, same formula and strength.
Yeah, we got a bottle of 100 from Target for something like $5. The store-brand sheet of 10 tablets at the supermarket costs $5.19 so it seemed like a good deal!
Sam’s has the same kind of deal on their OTC stuff. I get 300 generic Zyrtec for ~$13, pretty close to the same for Claratin.
I still prefer Velveeta for Rotel dip, I had a really bad experience with generic velveeta once, it turned all oily and inedible. Although the wife got some generic velveeta recently, and it didn’t suck.