This is a question that is often asked and debated. Not all generic brands are created equal and not all name brands stand up to the hype. Share which generic brands you use and which name brands you can't live without.
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I am doing a Science Fair Project on this
I loved this page and agree with it fully.
I'm doing a science fair project on Name Brand vs. Generic Brand and this site really helped me!
I'm doing a research paper and this site was very helpful and informative! Thank you!
I'm doing a persuasive speech on this topic. Great help!
My opinion is this; brand products are better in quality. just because another product is produced that looks exactly like the original product, doesn't mean its good. Some times manufactures have to really watch out and make sure that their products are not wiped out of market because of and imitating products. Brand name is what makes your product solid and also helps in building customers confident towards your product.
Getting faithful customers is not easy. So if you have any, it's good to keep as well attract new ones than lose all.
This helped me a lot on my project as well. I love thrify fun and all of its properties even though I don't know who wrote this website. And how do you do?
This has helped me for debate compettion!
I'm doing a power point on "VALUE FOODS" so I want to do a graph.
Which cake mix is better(generic or name brand) I would like a % of people. I am doing this for a science project
I'm doing a research paper about this topic for my science fair project. It was really hard finding information on this topic amd this website has really helped me.
Megan: I prefer Betty Crocker cake mix when I use a boxed mix (which isn't often) and WILL NOT buy Duncan Hines. Gereric cake mix is (in my opinion) not good at all.
Does anyone know if one might be better for you than another? For instance, might a name brand use better or more wholesome ingredients? I have been trying to compare ingredient labels myself to see if the difference is there and I think perhaps it is, on some items anyway.
Name brands often contain food additives and flavor inhancers that make the product taste better. I buy organic products. If it contains preservatives or MSG or high fructose corn syrup I do not buy it. Taste is not a sign of quality. I agree that Duncan mixes are not edible but now I make my cakes from scratch. I read every lable on everything I buy. Why should we eat herbasides, insectisides, and fungisides when we don't have to. If you buy these products and think you are getting something better just because it tastes better you are wrong. FDA says products have "Acceptable" amounts of these chemicals in them. I don't want any in mine. Name brands cost more not because they are of better quality but the additives they put in them to make them taste better cost money and that cost is passed on to you. Name brands advertise and store brands don't. That cost is passed on to you. Taste and quality are two different things.
I almost always purchase generic when buying non-food items but when it comes to food items I am picky because there is usually a huge flavor difference for many types of foods. For example, Hunts tomato sauce and generic tomato sauce are shown in the photo here. I have tried just about every generic brand of tomato sauce there is and in every case I couldn't stand the difference in taste when the meal was ready so I don't even bother to waste my money for generic now and it's Hunts 'only' all the way!
Items like grocery store brand dry pasta or jam and jelly passes the taste test with me and Safeway store brand capers pass the taste test with me too. Guess the bottom line is choosing item by item and deciding whether taste quality for a particular item will make a difference overall in the recipe or whether saving some cents is more important.
Oh, and among many other brand names I can't live without Hellman's Mayonaisse, Vlasic Zesty Dills, assorted Ortega products, assorted Rotelle products, and on and on and on. LOL ;-)
No name brand vegetable juice cocktail has a way more taste then Campbell's V8 juice, and is half the price.
I have just a few products that I only buy name brand. They are Q-tips, Crest toothpaste, All Free Clear, Kiss My Face deodorant and Cottonelle/Northern t.p. Otherwise, I stock up on pantry staples at Ali and shop at Kroger where I use generic brand unless I have a coupon which is doubled. I haven't found a generic that doesn't turn out as well as name brand. I save a lot of money and feed two growing teenage boys, my husband and myself for $500 a month.
For me, brand-name products are usually more effective than generics but of course this high quality drugs comes also with high cost and because of this reason, more consumers prefer to use generics since these are relatively cheaper than the brand-name products. But with today's recent news, that reason will be deleted since a growing list of brand-name prescription drugs will become less expensive as the patents for the drugs lapse. Some of the best-selling drugs on the market are integrated, so Big Pharma's loss will be the public's gain. I read this here: Brand name medications to get cheaper as patents expire.
There is no substitute for Heinz brand ketchup, Miracle Whip or lays potatoe chips or Fishers bologna. I absolutely love the canned tuna at Sav a Lots. As far as medicine, I always purchase generics. Over the counter is always cheaper and the ingredients are over seen by the FDA qand is safe.
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These days there is a generic brand for nearly everything, from pharmaceutical drugs to shampoo. These are not the generics of generations ago. In fact, these brands are just as good or better than national brands and often contain the exact same active ingredients. This can save you anywhere from 10 to 50 percent every time you shop.
To maximize your savings, never buy non-food items like batteries, medicine, and cleaning products at the supermarket, go to one of the dollar stores to do that. While you are at the dollar store, walk through their grocery isles and check out what they have to offer. You might find some amazing saving there, that you would not expect to see.
By Faylee from Kingsport, TN
I buy from the dollar store all the time, but I would beg to differ on the advice to buy batteries or medications-something I never buy there.
The batteries-in my experience they tended to not last as long & we had a problem with them leaking. Apparently this is a common problem, as a quick google search turns up the same recommendations.Not only that, they say that batteries & extension cords could have fake UL labels & be dangerous.
Medications - If it's a known brand name, it MIGHT be safe,if it's not expired. But you have to check expiration dates. There have been reports over the years about various problems with medications found in the dollar stores. Consumer Reports did a study & found that the vitamins either did NOT contain alll the supplements listed, or the coating didn't dissolve sufficiently to be absorbed into the body,making them useless. I've also read over the years that another problem with medications from the dollar store could be that they are expired. And even more importantly, there were problems a few years ago with medications found in dollar stores, that were made in other countries that did not have our standards & had potentially toxic substances in them. I definately remember the toothpaste saga a few years ago, where they found many toothpastes at the dollar store were made in other countries & had the same ingredient as ANTIFREEZE in them!
And just because it may be a name brand with a good expiration date doesn't make it safe, we found this out with the toothpaste scandal. You have to check the label & see where the product is made. It has become known that some of these name brand manufacturers have their products made in other countries, to market in other countries (especially poor, 3rd world countries) & they were not the same as the stuff you find here in the US. Some of them had ingredients considered unsafe by our country & were considered dangerous. It was quite a scandal several years ago to find out that some of these big drug companies were taking drugs that had been banned in the US for causing birth defects & marketing them to poor countries, so they wouldn't lose money on drugs they could no longer sell in the US or bigger countries with higher standards.
As for food, I do buy food at the dollar stores, there are thing my family loves. But I can also say that I recall many years ago at least 10 years) reading reports about some of the canned fruit(that I had bought for my kids!) from a big name dollar store, that had been canned in another country & it was found that the cans that were used were leaching LEAD into the fruit!!
Just remember when you buy medications or food, this is something you are putting in your families bodies that could have potentially bad effects. Read the label carefully to be sure you know what you are getting & think twice about buying items with odd name labels made in other countries.
I hope you all know that everything the dollar store sales comes from china. That means all your money goes to help that country and nothing for you country. If we all don't start watching what we buy, the US will become the poorest country. I don't shop at the dollar store and if I go into Walmart or another store I check to see where it was made.
Ouch! These are pretty harsh feedbacks. I just want to offer my 2 cents - it is very difficult to buy American now-a-days. Most of our computers come from another country now, but I won't go without mine. That is just an example. My husband always buys cheap batteries, and they seem to be as good as the expensive ones.
