Eat more, spend less

The recession has made consumers more receptive to purchasing private brand products, and now an added incentive comes in the form of an endorsement from Consumer Reports. The advocacy oriented publication in its October 2009 issue declares that: “It pays to buy store brands. They often cost less but taste as good.”

Oh really? To put that assertion to the test store brand and national brand products were purchased in 29 food categories. Most of the time, testers determined the products tasted the same. That was the case in 19 categories, however in four cases (Archer Farms cookies, Kirkland Signature salsa, Great Value whipped topping and Great Value au gratin potatoes) the store brand won, while in six others (Stouffer’s frozen lasagna, K.C. Masterpiece barbeque sauce, Ocean Spray dried cranberries, V8 vegetable juice, Kellogg’s pop tarts and Quaker granola) the national brand won.

The study wasn’t scientific, as taste is subjective and testers arbitrarily tested one store brand against the national brand. Nevertheless, the magazine’s suggestion that a family of four can save $1,168 a year by substituting just four store brand products is a message resonating with consumers now and could contribute to even greater demand this fall.