Discussions

So I have always had a few favourite things that I buy that are either store brand or no name like No Name cheese from Superstore, PC brand snacks, etc. Recently I decided to try a few more no name products like sour scream and chocolate chips and found minimal to no difference except in the price. So just curious as to what else there is out there for store brand/ no name products that you find are no different? Have you tried any that were awful? Personally I prefer name brand soup only because I find cheaper ones to be too salty and certain condiments seem to have less flavour. I'd love to hear other reviews!

Say i actually prefer most President’s Choice products to any other. Rarely buy no name brand. The frozen casseroles from PC are awesome in a pinch (loads of chicken and cheeseburger ones are awesome) and I’ll make a special trip to superstore just for their Caesar croutons. Interested to hear others opinions.

Yellow label no name (Superstore) sauerkraut!!

Probably 90% of what we buy is no name/store brand. Either we find no difference (or so little difference that it's not worth the price) or we prefer the store brand vs. name brand. Like bubbles, soup would be an exception because I too find the store brand too salty.  
 
On the most part, if you buy it and hate it you can return it for a refund.  
 
I LOVE PC Ketchup vs. the others on the shelf! I usually buy that even if Heinz is cheaper that week. I generally shop by unit price, and store name is usually 1/3-1/2 less vs. name brand, even on sale.

Walmart brand of Cream of Celery soup is my personal favorite and has less sodium and fat than Campbells or Aylmer. Usually priced a .67/can.

No name pizza pops are far less salty then pilsbury. The kids preferred them. Juice, snacks etc. No difference between name brand and no name.

I find most of them to be pale imitations of good. Taste is off, colour is wrong, not the right consistency, doesn't cook right.  
 
I can afford brand name, so I buy brand name.  
 
That said, the bulk pack superstore salad dressings are perfect for sauces.

We don't buy much for name brand at all. We rarely buy no name because we have found the quality inconsistent and the ingredients cheap and they are often full of additives that we avoid.  
 
We usually buy PC due to what is in ingredient lists AND the better flavor of products when certain additives are not present. We avoid artificial/synthetic flavors, artificial colors & many preservatives, and MSG in its various forms. We do still have to watch for torula yeast and yeast extract and in some cases, spices & of course the full name of MSG. You can still find the first two in some PC products, so we avoid those in particular.  
 
MSG is very prevalent in brand name soups. I just make me own. It is easy anyway.

I find that any brand of ketchup is good enough for me, to me it all taste the same. For peanut butter, I like great value from Walmart because it tastes the best. I really like the bulk Giant Tiger pizza pops, they’re much cheaper and just as good as name brand pizza pops. The Compliments by Sobeys brand single serve instant oatmeal is crap and I would much rather spend more for Quaker. Then again, it depends on your taste

TheScotsman said "I find most of them to be pale imitations of good. Taste is off, colour is wrong, not the right consistency, doesn't cook right.     I can afford brand name, so I buy brand name.     That said, the bulk pack superstore salad dressings are perfect for sauces. "

Do you also buy name brand on staple stuff like flour, sugar, salt, basic grains, etc? Do you find that makes a difference?  
 
I'm always curious what other people do because supposedly professional chefs are actually MORE likely than the average person to buy generics and store brands, especially for pantry staples.

We often buy great value brand. I prefer their peanut butter, iced tea mix, cereal, yogurt, all condiments etc  
 
I just tried great value KD last week and pleasantly surprised

Compliments' Maple BBQ sauce is great if you want a sweeter sauce for wings or even ribs

Never buy Robin Hood flour although most people think it’s better. I do a lot of baking and I have used both and I find no difference at all in homemade bread or buns or cakes or pastries. I actually really like the no-name brand coffee especially in the pods. I don’t know if I’ve ever tried no-name sugar but I can’t imagine it’s any differentOr salt. I buy my spices at The bulk barn and have had good success with a much reduced price. I find canned goods usually inadequate however. Especially soups. I find no difference in soup broth in the curtains however I often use storebrand this is my two cents worth

You need to try the PC ham leg from super store!!! Best ham i have ever had. They usually go on sale once or twice a month. There big enough to feed like 8 or 10 people.

perogies from Superstore are great! So is Walmart's Great Value potato chips, as good as Old Dutch and only .97 a bag!

You get what you pay for!  
 
Cheap normally means it’s cheap for a reason!  
Good brand names have been around for a long time and generally have a reputation to uphold. Yes there are some bad brand names about, but the well known ones are generally very good quality!  
You would not catch me trusting a value/ no frills or no name product! If it’s cheap to buy, then it’s very very cheap to make and probably of very low quality! Just like anything else that’s made cheap and nasty nowadays!  
What’s next? No name car parts, furniture, electrical appliances!

(vette)mech said "You get what you pay for!     Cheap normally means it’s cheap for a reason!   Good brand names have been around for a long time and generally have a reputation to uphold. Yes there are some bad brand names about, but the well known ones are generally very good quality!   You would not catch me trusting a value/ no frills or no name product! If it’s cheap to buy, then it’s very very cheap to make and probably of very low quality! Just like anything else that’s made cheap and nasty nowadays!   What’s next? No name car parts, furniture, electrical appliances! "

some people, by the time you add everything up, cannot afford "name Brands".  
 
 
It is nice you can.

Yes, I buy brand name flour, sugar, baking powder, yeast, all of it.  
 
Frenchs mustard because the cheap stuff has an odd colour and a poor taste. Heinz ketchup as the house brand, well, not real sure what is in there.  
 
House brand condensed mushroom soup? Perfect way to ruin a recipe. Tomato soup "Just what is that colour?".

who buy all brand name foods, do you buy brand name medications as well? For example ibuprofen...store brand or name brand?  
 
Thoughts???

(vette)mech said "You get what you pay for!     Cheap normally means it’s cheap for a reason!   Good brand names have been around for a long time and generally have a reputation to uphold. Yes there are some bad brand names about, but the well known ones are generally very good quality!   You would not catch me trusting a value/ no frills or no name product! If it’s cheap to buy, then it’s very very cheap to make and probably of very low quality! Just like anything else that’s made cheap and nasty nowadays!   What’s next? No name car parts, furniture, electrical appliances! "

You do realize that a not insignificant part of the premium you're paying for name brand is advertising, right? There's actually very little difference in most products (most store brand and no name products are made by name-brand companies), but with store brands you're not paying for national advertising AND you're not paying for the premium those companies pay to have their products shelved at eye-level.  
 
If you want to spend you money on name brand, that's your perogative, and there's good reasons to sometimes buy name brand if you have allergies or food sensitivities as they generally *are* more reliable for allergen testing, etc. But ideally we shouldn't be eating much of anything from a box or can, right?  
 
As for the rest, we often buy used. Let someone else pay the premium for new.

TheScotsman said "Yes, I buy brand name flour, sugar, baking powder, yeast, all of it.     Frenchs mustard because the cheap stuff has an odd colour and a poor taste. Heinz ketchup as the house brand, well, not real sure what is in there.     House brand condensed mushroom soup? Perfect way to ruin a recipe. Tomato soup "Just what is that colour?". "

I hear ya on the soup thing, some of the off-brand soups are nasty. We don't generally use those types of soups (I will make from scratch instead... easy peasy) but for the rest? Especially flour, sugar etc. My grandmother always claims her baking powder is "defective", even though she buys name brand. I buy the yellow label stuff from Superstore and never have an issue.  
 
*shrugs*

If you really want to know what you are getting, read the ingredients list.  
 
Many times, brand name has cheap ingredients and extra unnecessary additives (synthetic colors, flavors & so on), just as the store brands do. Sometimes they both have addictive ingredients as well (high fructose corn syrup called by various names, msg).  
 
As I stated before, PC tastes more like homemade, and often has real food ingredients that you could find on your own to mix up & create your own comparable product. To top it off, it is affordable.  
 
Don't be fooled by brand names vs. generic. Check the list.

Think that is important, or it is for myself.  
I sometimes have problems with the idea of you get what you pay for. I couldn''t count how many times we''ve bought a cheaper version of equipment, and ended up with a machine that has had great longevity, the only thing I''m fussy on is if we ever buy instant mashed potatoes.  
Should also add if the taste of a product seems different, do something about making it better yourself, or use the product in a way that it's not noticeable. Green peas that may seem a bit bitter or overripe use in something like a seven layer casserole.  
Part of it hasn't got to do with brand names but what you've been raised on, if all you've ever had is cambell soup then cambell soup will suit your palate.  
 
Edited by don brown, 2018-01-08 18:10:05

No name perogies, canned tomatoes and chips. PC cheese, coffee, cereals, yogurt, frozen vegetables, fruit...too many to list.  
 
I bake a great deal, no name flour etc is perfect! I even bought a tub of no name cool whip in a pinch and even that was delicious!

Name brand companies will be packaging the no name products. There may be a slight difference in the recipe but overall it is much the same ingredients. Loblaws doesn't have a food factory. Campbells may be packaging no name soup, General Mills the no name cereal, etc. etc. I worked for a name brand factory and we packaged no name products and ingredients in name brand and no name were much the same. Much of what you are paying for with brand names is the marketing and advertising and the name itself. The customer i.e. Loblaws will tell the name brand factory what they want to pay for the product and the name brand factory either does it for that price or Loblaws will find another factory to do it. The retailer has all the power. That is why you are seeing smaller packaging i.e bacon 375 g. vs. 500 g. The factory is reducing package size to try and maintain their margin because retailers refuse price increases. Or ingredients changing in a product you have used for years. It's because the manufacturer is trying to maintain their margins.

just trial and error in finding the off brand products you like. I bought no name cheese twists from Superstore and they were awful! It hasn't deterred me though, I still will try no name or store brand every now and then. I have been surprised by some brands. The yellow no name (Superstore) tomato juice is pretty good, so are the Great Value (Walmart) family size chocolate bars.

time out said "Name brand companies will be packaging the no name products. There may be a slight difference in the recipe but overall it is much the same ingredients. Loblaws doesn't have a food factory. Campbells may be packaging no name soup, General Mills the no name cereal, etc. etc. I worked for a name brand factory and we packaged no name products and ingredients in name brand and no name were much the same. Much of what you are paying for with brand names is the marketing and advertising and the name itself. The customer i.e. Loblaws will tell the name brand factory what they want to pay for the product and the name brand factory either does it for that price or Loblaws will find another factory to do it. The retailer has all the power. That is why you are seeing smaller packaging i.e bacon 375 g. vs. 500 g. The factory is reducing package size to try and maintain their margin because retailers refuse price increases. Or ingredients changing in a product you have used for years. It's because the manufacturer is trying to maintain their margins. "

But Loblaws (PC brand, specifically, not No Name) does have unique ingredients for many products and they have their own product development team for their PC brand. Their ingredients are often vastly different than no name and name brand. We need to read ingredient labels constantly to avoid certain additives and can attest to that. Many food companies do not have their own processing facilities, and so hire an independent one and get them to use their recipes. I think Boxer Beer did that (one example). Having said that, I have seen some PC Christmas goodies have the same packaging & ingredients as (I think it was) Shoppers Drug Mart last year. I am not sure who used who's recipe & packaging, but no brand names (nor no name) used the same packaging nor ingredients.  
 
It is interesting that you are giving confirmation about brand name factories packaging no name. I have heard that for years, but did not know for sure if it was true.  
 
Yes, marketing certainly would increase the cost of any item. It is not cheap. You have to pay for all that somehow!

For me, it has been trial and error. I will buy house brand of many things because the price is better and I don't find much difference in taste. I prefer house brand soda crackers, because they have more salt than Christie's, LOL. Heinz ketchup tastes better, Campbell's tomato soup tastes better. I have found little to no taste difference in many things though.

There are definitely things that I will only purchase in brand name. Cheez whiz for example is something I will only buy as a brand. I don't use it often and only get it on sale. I will try no name/ store versions to see if I prefer them. I like my chips name brand but I do prefer my sour cream to be no name from Superstore. I also prefer pop in brand name, but juice it doesn't matter. No name cheese is really good as well.

is far better than any comparable brand name. Canola oil, flour, cocoa powder, chocolate syrup, canned mushrooms, diced tomatoes, canned olives, shredded cheese, onion soup mix, saltines, peanuts, evaporated milk, and frozen chicken thighs are all perfectly good. Just beware noname does not always mean less expensive and neither do bulk sizes. It's all well and good to start with the best ingredients, but if you can't cook, what does it matter.