Is it Worth it to Splurge on Name Brands?
Is it worth it to splurge occasionally on the higher-priced item? Are there any generic categories or products to avoid? Are there any rules of thumb for deciding? In the mid 1970s, a man named Al Williams left Albertsons Stores, where he had been working as a private label product line manager, supervising the creation and manufacture of Albertsons branded products. One company, called Jewel, created the first generic supermarket line of products: no names or pictures, just the contents and required nutritional information. Williams started a trend, and soon several national chains were introducing white-labeled versions of their own products. Let’s take a look. He started a consulting firm, Keynote Marketing, dedicated to creating generic product lines.
A Consumer Reports study found that by sticking with store brands, they could save an average of 30 percent with every grocery trip. In fact, half of us rarely, if ever, buy store-brand wine, pet food, soda or soup. And the younger we are, the more likely we are to avoid store brands. And yet the marketing for certain brands is so successful that consumer surveys regularly show our beliefs that name brands are better: better tasting, more nutritious and higher in quality. It’s telling that this likelihood rises when the product category contains highly profitable and strongly marketed brand names like Coca-Cola or Campbell’s. That adds up fast.
The grocery store Pathmark labeled theirs “NO FRILLS,” and A&P changed the logo on theirs to read “P&Q” (“Price & Quality”). Of course, today’s generic packaging is different. In fact, a lot of it doesn’t look generic at all. You might remember one product recall in 2007: Over 60 million cans of pet food were recalled, all from the same company, Menu Foods, but marketed under more than 100 brand names. Is it any wonder most people are so confused by shopping generic, when they spend so much time selling us on brands and labels that ultimately mean so little? Most stores carry a private label line of products that you may or may not even recognize as a store brand.
Same manufacturer, same product, just 25 percent cheaper on average. Most large chain supermarkets carry what’s called a “second tier” brand in which the margins of quality are a little bit more damaging. In general, the rule of thumb is to look for the top-tier store brands, generally located on lower shelves, and compare price per serving and nutritional value to the brand you think you want. It’s not worth sacrificing quality for a few pennies when you’re already saving so much by looking into generics at all. However, that’s not to say that all generics, or store brands, are equal. Kroger Value, Albertsons Shoppers Value, A&P’s Savings Plus and Smart Price, and Food Lion’s Smart Option are second-tier lines that may be slightly lower quality.
When a company decides to make a generic version of its own — or someone else’s — product, the point is to multiply the ways they have of getting your money. In the same way, most store brands are really just repackaged versions of the more expensive stuff, often even manufactured on the exact same factory floors by the same companies. Since the higher-priced brand didn’t get your attention, or you don’t have the money to blow on their more expensive version, they’ll appeal to your sense of thrift, offering virtually the same product at a lower price, just without the power of the brand behind it.
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