switching to generic/no name/store brands

[maxiesmom]

There are only a few things for which I usually stick to the name brand:

Chocolate chips--have to be Nestles
V8 Fruit fusion drinks. The store band has a ton more sugar!
The little 100 calorie snack packs. I've tried 2 different ones, and both of them were gross in the store brand.
Hamburger Helper. I tried to go really really cheap and buy the store brand, but it tasted funny.
Pop--has to be Coke.

 

[Beezle2]

I'm working my way through Aldi's products to see what we like and so far I like their

roll sausage
center cut bacon
x sharp chedder block
sour cream
butter
heavy cream
cottage cheese
chocolate
flour
oil
some wines
tortilla chips
peanut butter
honey
generic honey bunches of oats
I could probably go on a bit but I have found a bunch of stuff we like. I can't give up

Hellmans mayo
Smart Chicken chicken breast
good coffee
Lays chips
sams club white tuna
Diet coke even though I have almost quit drinking soda
Kraft deli deluxe slices

 

[4GoofyCrew]

I HAVE to have Heinz Ketchup (glad to see I am not alone on this weird need!) but pretty much anything else is generic if they have it available.

Some of my store brand favorites are buttermilk ranch dressing, 'Pantene' products and apple/cranberry juice.

If I can get the name brand for the same price with coupon/sale though I of course still get the name brand.

All of my coupon savings and bottle refund money (in MI it is 10 cents deposit per bottle/can and I HATE to return them...so this is my incentive) goes into our family vacation fund! Also, any extra money left in our grocery budget ends up there too. It adds up quickly!

 

[DawnM]

I can buy Kirkland brand coffee beans because they are still roasted by Starbucks but are about 1/3 off the cost of Costco's Starbuck's branded roasted beans.

If they didn't offer that, I would NOT buy store brand coffee beans. Life is way too short to drink bad coffee.

I can't say we feel like we skimp too much. We buy 90% of our groceries from Costco and Kirkland brands have continued to impress us with most things. The only thing I DID NOT like of Kirkland was their dishwasher soap and their shampoo. But their laundry Tide equivalent is great and half the price, their dog food is excellent and half the price.

 

[4GoofyCrew]

I have to use Crest toothpaste, All Free and Clear detergent, and DH has to have Best Foods mayo. We like the generic soda and other organic products at Safeway.

I forgot about the All Free and Clear. I will NOT even experiment for store brands or making my own. I have had a few massive allergic reactions to detergent (steroid shots required...) so it is not worth the risk for me!

 

[Pigeon]

Mayo is really the only thing that comes to mind, that has to be either Hellmans or Kraft. Other than that, anything is fine.

I"m saving even more by going to Aldis to buy most basic items.

 

[superme80]

I forgot about the All Free and Clear. I will NOT even experiment for store brands or making my own. I have had a few massive allergic reactions to detergent (steroid shots required...) so it is not worth the risk for me!

We don't seem to be allergic to anytthing, but why take the chance?
I forgot I love whole foods brand coffee. I am never in the city to get it , but if I can I will.

 

[PennyInPink]

MUST have: Heinz ketchup, Bounty paper towels, Northern TP, Dawn dish soap and name brand peanut butter. Can be Jif or Skippy, or even the new Planters, but NOT store or genaric. Oh,and pop.

 

[erinclemmer]

Aldi is the cheapest grocery store out there, because they don't do name brands- only their brands. I have even done cost savings research and they ALWAYS beat the Walmart price! Plus, the food is awesome! I can't complain when I push a full buggy of grocery out the car for around $75!

 

[My3Princez]

Aldi is the cheapest grocery store out there, because they don't do name brands- only their brands. I have even done cost savings research and they ALWAYS beat the Walmart price! Plus, the food is awesome! I can't complain when I push a full buggy of grocery out the car for around $75!

Love Aldi! Everything I've tried from there is just as good as the name brand with only the following exceptions - Aldi's version of Oreos and Good Seasons dressing. Everything else is wonderful!

 

[Mom_Rides]

I make my menu plan, then my grocery list and our first stop is Aldi, then we go to Meijer. I usually am able to mark most of our list off at Aldi. I've found very little at Aldi that we don't like. Most of their items are of good quality.

The products I don't compromise on are:
Cottonelle TP
Kraft single (have not found any generic brand that is good)
Hunts ketchup
Skippy Natural peanut butter
Vlassic pickles (Aldi pickles taste funky to me)
Colgate Total toothpaste
Intuition razors

Other Then that, everything else is fair game. I haven't found a generic laundry soap that is good but I do use the cheaper brands like Purex or Arm & Hammer.

 

[pjlla]

I'm a big "store brand" gal, but when I switched to buying primarily organics a few years ago, I thought that might change. But lo and behold, most of my usual stores have store-brand organics!

I try to buy our milk at Target... their store-brand Archer Farms organic is the cheapest around that I've found (other than a crazy super about-to-expire discount I found at Shaw's once). Also Shaw's and Hannaford both have decent store-brand organics (Wild Harvest is Shaw's and Nature's Place is Hannaford's). I've had decent luck finding organics in strange places as well... (Big Lots frequently has Cascadian Farms cereals as low as $2.50/box).

A few things I won't compromise on??.... hmm.... can't think of much that I wouldn't be willing to at least TRY as a store brand organic. I'm more picky about the NI than I am about the brand name..............P

 

[Ginny Favers]

I don't mind buying generic... I'll try generic anything once. Sometimes I decide I can't live without the name-brand. Like Oreos, Kraft mac & cheese, Florida's Natural OJ, and pasta sauce has to be Prego. That's because I've tried too many other brands and the taste is always not quite right.

 

[MrsPete]

I have downgraded to:

Why do you consider these "downgrades"? They're often the identical product in a different package -- those of us who've worked in factories can attest to this.

 

[IUTBAM]

We have to have name brand BBQ sauce (Sweet Baby Ray's, Famous Dave's, etc.), and we have to have ketchup WITHOUT high fructose corn syrup, no matter what brand. I also have to have Miracle Whip Free, and Kraft Fat Free Free Mayo. And Diet Canada Dry Ginger Ale. And Coke Zero. We always buy name brand bread that has at least 3 grams of fiber per serving.

I buy Walmart Great Value chips (bbq chips, sour cream and onion, tortilla and their "ruffles" style chips) in lieu of Lays. They actually taste BETTER, in my husband and son's opinions.

I buy the Walmart Great Value brands of light buttermilk dressing (tastes better than Hidden Valley Ranch light in my family's opinion), velveeta 2% (I don't notice a difference once it melts, but it does have a slightly different consistency right out of the box), and fat free condensed soup (I use it only for cooking). I also buy generic tea bags (we drink iced tea ALL the time), and I haven't notice any flavor difference over the Luzianne tea I used to buy. I can get a box of 100 generic tea bags at Walmart for $1.25.


I will usually try a generic of anything at least once.

 

[WorldWacky]

Another Heinz ketchup fan here! I'll buy generic butter, milk, cottage/cream cheese, cereals - although no fake Cheerios. Oreos aren't the same either, but I only buy them on occasion anyway. I will always go for the generic brand if they've got it.

 

[bankgirl05]

Why do you consider these "downgrades"? They're often the identical product in a different package -- those of us who've worked in factories can attest to this.

I always figured they were the same for the most part, some are just not as good however. But the "Downgrade" is not meant to necessarily be derogatory, just a word used to describe a switch from a premium$$$ brand to a generic one.

 

[bookluvingbabe]

We stopped eating most canned and processed food so we aren't buying most brands anyway. We get the store brand milk beause it is organic and grass fed. I get Trader Joe's dish soap and bar soap.

Most everything else we buy at the farmers market.

 

[thebeesknees]

My kids have no problem with generic or store brands cereals. I used to buy the name brands and saved the box. Then I put the store brand in the box. They had no idea.

I tried this several years ago and it worked great on the kids....not so much on DH who freaked out one morning when he looked at the expiration date stamped on it, noticed it was months out of date and was convinced I had just poisoned the entire family!I had to 'fess up then!