Do you pay the extra money for Name Brands?

[disneysteve]

Any examples for us?

Coca-cola (regular or diet)
Hebrew National hot dogs
Almost any alcoholic beverage
Pop-Tarts
Ghirardelli chocolate

I'm sure there are others. I'll try to keep this thread in mind when I go grocery shopping later today.

[DaveInPgh]

Pop-Tarts

This is one that definitely varies by store brand. I have had some store brands that were definitely lower quality, but I have found no difference between Pop Tarts and Millville (Aldi). Frosted Brown Sugar in particular.

ETA: Of course you can't beat Pop-Tarts when it comes to variety.

[disneysteve]

This is one that definitely varies by store brand.

Exactly. That's true of most everything.

Look, Aldi doesn't have a factory that makes Pop Tarts. Neither does Wegman's or Acme or Shop Rite. They all buy their store brands from 3rd parties. I don't know if it's true in this case, but many store brands are made by the same company that makes the brand name. It's the same as with generic drugs. They might come from some pill mill overseas but they might come off the very same assembly line that makes the brand name product.

The trick is to find the store brands that are closest in taste and quality to the brand names that you like.

[DaveInPgh]

Exactly. That's true of most everything.

Look, Aldi doesn't have a factory that makes Pop Tarts. Neither does Wegman's or Acme or Shop Rite. They all buy their store brands from 3rd parties. I don't know if it's true in this case, but many store brands are made by the same company that makes the brand name. It's the same as with generic drugs. They might come from some pill mill overseas but they might come off the very same assembly line that makes the brand name product.

The trick is to find the store brands that are closest in taste and quality to the brand names that you like.

Exactly.

The thing is there are a lot of people that don't realize the above.

[disneysteve]

Exactly.

The thing is there are a lot of people that don't realize the above.

A couple of times, a store brand that I buy regularly was out of stock for several weeks. When it came back, it clearly wasn't the same, so I assume that the period when it wasn't available was because they were changing suppliers. Unfortunately, it was a change to a product we didn't care for so we stopped buying it.

[scfr]

I buy a lot of store brand items. As snafu already mentioned, the Kirkland Signature (Costco) brand is generally very good. Also my local grocery store (HEB) sells lots of decent quality store brand items.

One name brand that I am very loyal to is Amy's. I'm not aware of comparable products under a store brand. I like Amy's burritos or lentil soup for a quick lunch. (I buy those items at Costco which is less than buying at the regular grocery store.)

[disneysteve]

One name brand that I am very loyal to is Amy's. I'm not aware of comparable products under a store brand.

It's much harder to find generic versions of premium products or specialty products, although I have seen a lot more organic store brand items in the past year or two for those that care about that.

[GoodSteward]

Speaking of cereal...interesting fact about corn flakes. It was invested around 1900 by John Kellogg. This is how dumb people were just 100 years ago. Why were corn flakes invested??? Im not sure how many people actually know this.

All those "stupid" people are why you can claim you are not stupid today. If it wasn't for them, you'd be stupid too. Just sayin :P

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

Depends...

90% of the time no, however, for something I'd like to depend on, like my tools, I like to buy brand name because quality is so important in that arena.

[DaveInPgh]

Speaking of cereal...interesting fact about corn flakes. It was invested around 1900 by John Kellogg. This is how dumb people were just 100 years ago. Why were corn flakes invested??? Im not sure how many people actually know this.

Out of boredom, I am doing some research on the history of Kellogg's. Apparently John's younger brother Will did not share his view. Will went blind in 1940.

[DaveInPgh]

Considering his stance on the subject and that his marriage was supposedly never consummated, perhaps it was his wife that invented Frosted Flakes!

I can debunk this speculation. John's wife Ella died in 1920. The flakes did not get frosted until 1952. John passed in 1943.

I have yet to discover who actually frosted the flakes.

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

Quality Pop-Tarts? I had no idea there was such a thing as quality Pop-Tarts. Those are pretty much the icon for bad factory food, if you ask me. But, yeah, no one asked.

Well, wait a minute, those boxed cereals are pretty weird, too.

[DaveInPgh]

Quality Pop-Tarts? I had no idea there was such a thing as quality Pop-Tarts. Those are pretty much the icon for bad factory food, if you ask me. But, yeah, no one asked.

Well, wait a minute, those boxed cereals are pretty weird, too.

Here you go Joan. Best of both worlds!!

[disneysteve]

Quality Pop-Tarts? I had no idea there was such a thing as quality Pop-Tarts. Those are pretty much the icon for bad factory food, if you ask me. But, yeah, no one asked.

Well if by "quality" you mean healthy, I actually buy an all-natural (not sure if organic) brand that is pretty good. But if by "quality" you mean tasty, nothing beats the original.

Years ago, I somehow got on the topic of the nutritional value of Pop Tarts with the dietitian at a hospital I worked at and she said she'd actually love to have them available for patients but they were just too expensive. I guess with the fortified vitamins and minerals, they actually qualified as reasonably good snacks that people actually like eating.

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

DaveinPgh, that's amazing. Those things even have sprinkles.

DisneySteve, I think Pop-Tarts are weird. Odd texture, odd jelly in them....Are you old enough to have had "space food sticks" which were supposedly one of the earliest astronaut foods? There were sticks of, eh, "food," usually sweet and full of dry milk, if I remember correctly, pumped up with vitamins, minerals, & protein, wrapped in foiled white paper. An amusing novelty, and no doubt nutritious, but not good, not tasty. Pop-Tarts are like 1960s astronaut food.

DaveinPbh, your assignment now is to go find a picture of Space Food Sticks. Look around wherever you find Tang and other astronaut foods. It will be in the era of Fizzies, though astronauts would have been banned from taking Fizzies into orbit.