Trying store brands carries little risk—most offer a money-back refund if you’re dissatisfied—and the rewards can be considerable. Peter Berlinski, editor of Private Label magazine, estimates that consumers can generally expect 15 to 20 percent average savings across all categories on store brands vs. national brands sold at supermarkets; 25 to 30 percent at drugstores; and as much as 50 percent at mass-merchandise stores.
If you’re thinking about buying more store brands, here’s the info you need to make savvy choices:
Know the manufacturer. The fact that a national brand also makes store brands doesn’t mean the products are identical. Actually, big-brand companies don’t often cannibalize their own sales by making store-brand versions of their signature products. For example, Del Monte makes soup, but not fruit, for many retailers.
For every rule, however, there’s an exception. McCormick, the nation’s largest supplier of spices, seasonings, and extracts, is a major player in store brands of those products. Even so, the spices it packages for itself may not be the same as those it makes for others, says Laurie Harrsen, McCormick’s public-relations director
As with wine, coffee, and other products of nature, she points out, spice quality can vary with soil, climate, and region. (For example, Harrsen says, the world’s premier cinnamon comes from Vietnam.) Quality also depends on the retailer’s specifications. If a store brand wants to emphasize value, it might opt for lower-grade ingredients or accept more broken leaves.
Be aware of differences. A national-brand manufacturer might make several formulations of the same product to appeal to consumers with different needs—and snatch valuable shelf space from competitors. For example, Bounty paper towels come in the Quilted version we tested; a Double Quilted version, which claims to be even stronger when wet; and in a budget-oriented Basic version, said to “take care of business without costing a bundle.” Don’t expect the same performance from all three.
Most store brands come in several tiers, to dispel the notion that store brands are strictly for penny pinchers. Kroger, for example, has a low-price brand called FMV (For Maximum Value), said to provide “good quality at a very affordable price,” but it also has a flagship Kroger line, to compete with national brands, and a premium line of fancy foods such as macadamia nuts, maple syrup, and preserves.
The cutting edge. Industry insiders agree that branded goods are more likely to be in the forefront of product technology because they’re backed by bigger budgets for research and development. Brand-name diapers, for instance, might be the first to incorporate some innovation in absorption; or brand-name packaging might be first with a new convenience. That said, national-brand manufacturers are increasingly likely to license innovative technology soon after incorporating it into their own brands, thus allowing its use in store brands.
Over-the-counter remedies. Store- and name-brand versions of aspirin, cold and cough remedies, antihistamines, and other such medications are likely to be even more similar than other types of products. The CVS or Walgreen’s version of Pfizer’s allergy medicine Benadryl, for example, is likely to be equally effective (usually you’ll find knockoffs shelved near the original).
If the active ingredient is the same in name-brand and store-brand products, says Susan Johnson, associate director of over-the-counter products for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, both products must have met regulatory standards for efficacy.