I'm interested in knowing if anyone out there has tried and liked BETTER a store brand product rather than the same thing in the name brand. Some store brands measure-up; but many fail. This can be anything from household cleaners to food items.
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I think most of the store brand items are just as good as name brand. Aldi's spaghetti sauce (99 cents a jar) is better than any other sauce. Store brand macaroni is horrible. That has to be Kraft. Same for ranch dressing. With most other things I do buy the store brand.
Hi, I like the store brands better than most of the name brands. I also live in Georgia and shop at Save a Lot and Family Dollar stores. The items at Save a Lot I find to be very good.
Now I happen to make my own laundry detergent and I have to use name brands for the ingredients because I havn't found similar in off brands. I use Fels Neptha laundry soap,Borax, and Arm and Hammer Washing Soda to make my soap. A little of each goes a long way and is very good when made into laundry soap. Got the idea off the internet at another site years ago.
I do compare brands like tomato sauce and cake ingredients,etc to see how they match to name brands most do well.
I can tell you this , The Dollar General Store's cream of mushroom soup is as good as Campbells if not better, it has more mushrooms in it, at least the cans that I have bought. I buy my soups there.
I live in a small town and the store brand at our grocery store is "Best Choice" and every product I have used is excellent!
Dawn dishwashing detergent--brand only.
Rubbing alcohol, virgin olive oil, salad dressing, vinegar, nuts, all very good at a Dollar Store.
Always check unit prices to see if a brand is more costly.
Paper goods less costly at membership store in bulk, also fresh veggies and fruits.
Funny, as soon as I read the request I thought of Macaroni and Cheese. I like several store brands better than Kraft, including the one at Aldi, and Bigg's. I always add extra cheese, whatever the brand, for nutrition as well as taste.
The one brand name item I can really tell is Bisquick. Also, brand name tissue products are much softer, so I buy these on sale.
I love Aldi's. My husband and I have been throwing away money at superstores simply because they are more convienent (I work at one). On a recent trip to Aldi's my husband exclaimed, "Soup is only 43 cents! Why do we pay a dollar?" Why, indeed. I like their soups, cereals, condiments, canned veg, baking staples. Try Gordon Food Service (GFS) or other restaurant supply store for items your family uses in bulk.
Walmart's store brand is usually very very good. The only product we tried that didn't measure up was their mayonaise which we buy from Krogers in our area (Krogers store version is $1.50 compared to $3.49 for Hellman's mayo). I have found that more generic versions of tuna are also meatier and better than the "brand names". We have an Aldi's in our area which I have never tried (there ads just never appealed to me) but after reading some of the posts here will give it a try!
I use store brands of most everything. I have decided to switch back to Charmin toilet tissue. I was buying White Cloud at Wal-Mart, but they changed it and I don't like it anymore. I hope this doesn't offend anyone, but I have it found brand name feminine sanitary products to be superior.
Hi everyone
Here in Canada we have a store brand, "President's Choice", it's carried at Loblaws or No Frills (which sounds like your Aldi's). I've heard of a few people who prefer their Mac and Cheese over the name brand.
My husband always liked name brands and I didn't like paying for them. I remember putting store brand products in name brand containers when we were first married. :)
He found out that some store brands weren't bad and I found out sometimes you did have to shell out the extra (ie: laundry soap).
Some stores in my area, North Alabama, will refund the purchase price of a store brand if you don't like it. Check with the manager if the store doesn't advertise this policy.
Ronda
I was told that generic Cream of Mushroom soup is ok, but that cheese soup needs to be brand name.
I never tested that theory.
I normally go store brand all the way, unless I have a really good coupon for a store brand. Quality wise, I've never really had any issues with the generics, only Walmart 'ziplock' baggies let me down, but then Target Brand baggies worked out great! (there's a Super Target and Walmart Super Center right next to each other where we live, with a Deal's Dollar Store smacked in between, talk about convienence!) Normally, it's store brand with us. We generally like Kraft Mac and Cheese over store brand too, we just mix it with the store brand to get more out of it. Stock up on the Name Brand when its on sale and when you have coupons and supplement it with the Store Brand to make it last. :)
I normally go store brand all the way, unless I have a really good coupon for a Name Brand. Quality wise, I've never really had any issues with the generics, only Walmart 'ziplock' baggies let me down, but then Target Brand baggies worked out great! (there's a Super Target and Walmart Super Center right next to each other where we live, with a Deal's Dollar Store smacked in between, talk about convienence!) Normally, it's store brand with us. We generally like Kraft Mac and Cheese over store brand too, we just mix it with the store brand to get more out of it. Stock up on the Name Brand when its on sale and when you have coupons and supplement it with the Store Brand to make it last. :)
I've had good results with:
Equate (Wal-mart) versions of herbal shampoo (like Herbal Essences), moisturizing body wash (like Caress), and liquid hand soap.
Kroger--their brand of milk, orange juice, and cheese.
Dollar General--1000 sheets toilet paper (like Scott tissue).
Name brands that seem to work better: soda pop, laundry detergent, dish soap.
Albertson's saltine crackers are much better than National brand.
Store brands that I like:
Wal-mart's salsa and chips
Food Lion's big pack of vanilla cream cookies
Winn Dixie Big 60's cookies
Food Lion vinegar
Food Lion yogurt
Winn Dixie's Deluxe Mac & Cheese
All store brands of sugar
Store brands that I do not like
Lowe's canned fruit
Kroger is the best for overall. We have a store here in Oregon, Winco, that has Flavorite, but their tomato canned products taste like ketchup, so I go with the S & W. I look to them first because you can get your money back if it is opened. Look for the satisfaction guaranteed and use it!
Because this doesn't work for most cosmetics, supplements and cleaners, I am switching to Shaklee products. They are all natural and 100% guaranteed.....that is my basis of frugality: if I can't get my money back, that is the biggest waste! And they are great! Their website is www.shaklee.com or leave me a message on my username here.
Kroger Brand of Peanut Butter Captain Crunch is better than the Name brand itself. The Kroger brand has more peanut butter flavor. It is about half the price. We also use the Walmart great value brand of Equal sweetener, and the Walmart Equate version of Nyquil nite time medication. Lastly we use the Kroger or Equate variety of Dove Beauty Bar.
I like Target brand baby formula better than Enfamil name brand. It mixes better and costs much less!
First, LOVE this POST!!
I've started shopping at ALDI -- 'no frills' type grocery store & ALMOST everything I've tried is on par with national brands. Today I tried their CLARISSA toilet paper--12 big rolls for $4.99! I'd swear it was Angel Soft if I didn't know better--(not that Angel Soft is my favorite, but it's not bad)! Their chips & stuff are only $1.00 for a moderate sized bag -vs- $2.99 -to-$4.99 for Wise, Lays, Doritos, etc.
Aldi's Shique "Herbal Essence" copy shampoo. It smells really nice & it's so thick, when you squeeze it out of the bottle, it maintains the lines & 'peaked' top like a soft-serve ice cream cone!
That's about the only store I've shopped regularly lately, except..
Kroger's Equal is the same as real Equal to me &
Kroger's ice cream is pretty darn good too!
Walmart's copy of Crystal Lite drinkade.... There's NO difference at all & I save about 60 cents on one container--enough for a week or two, so MUCH cheaper than sodas or juices! It's about the only sugar-free thing my DS12 will drink.
Oh, I forgot DOW scrubbing bubbles... I've tried Bissell & a couple others but nothing works quite as well as the original DOW.
Lysol copies from the Dollar stores or Bissell.... don't seem as strong or fragrant as the real thing.
And laundry detergents, I've tried SO many! I'd LOVE to find a store brand that works as well & smells as nice at Tide or Cheer or Gain! Seems impossible! Anyone have any luck?
Suavetel liquid fabric softener is da bomb! It's strong & the fragrance does 'cling' to your clothes for a while instead of washing away! However, it's not that much cheaper than national brands.
Also, I've tried Kroger, FoodLion, WAlmart, KMart bleach, but never found any that works as well as Clorox.
I was actually looking for an e-mail address to tell Kroger how great their product is (it is true and sometimes they send you coupons).
I do not like to feed my dog food w/ by-products. The name brands cost over $1 per can (ouch!).
Kroger Value dog food has no by-products and costs $.46 a can where I live. That is less than alpo or pedigree, which DO have by-products.
It is not just a good bargain, it is good for a gal's best friend.
Here is a web site taking a survey on walmart brand products. It is not associated with walmart. You can get the results for free.
www.walmart-survey.com
I really love Wal-Mart brand Clorox Cleaner with Bleach. It is only 97 cents and cleans just as good (if not better) as the name brand.
FINALLY found a laundry detergent I LOVE & it's CHEAP!
ROMA - a mexican brand I found by accident at Kroger for $7.99 for a big ol' 11 lb plastic BAG! I just pour it into my empty Tide box & you'd barely notice any difference! Cleans really well, suds up brilliantly & smells lovely! AND the fragrance does seem to stay in the clothes a little.
I use it in combination with the liquid Sauvitel fabric softener & it's the coup of the decade for me! CHeap, clean & great smelling laundry!
Go to the articles section on this website. It's all about using coupons to buy the store brands for cheaper....www.weusecoupons.com
I think that store brand names are the same as the actually BRAND name. Sometimes store brand things might tear up easier but they still last as long and are no where near the price as the BRAND name ones. =)
Comparing store brands to name brands, years ago I worked in a factory that made floppy disks for computers. We made them for the big name companies, and then we also produced them for generic companies. The only difference was that the ones that got made for the big names, we inserted into the jackets that they needed. The lower priced ones were just put into a plastic tub and shipped to the appropriate place and they had their own employees insert the disk into their own jackets.
I use just vinegar for my softener. Takes out any mildew smell and leaves your clothes just as soft as fabric softener. We haven't noticed a difference. I also like to go to Winco and bulk up on their bulk bins. You can make great laundry detergent with just a few ingredients for cheap! If you like to cook from scratch, they have almost everything you could possibly need in bulk. Try the products first though, because they are not always better than the name brand!
Yes,I like equate moisturizing beauty bar soap ,it's just like dove soap.sold@ wallmart.SOmetimes hard to find.
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