Name Brand vs. Store Brand: Tums

 

I rarely use Tums, but the other day I needed one.  I had bought the Kroger store brand because they are rarely used, so I decided to save some money.  Wow, what a difference!  It tasted much worse, but it also didn't feel like it worked as well as the Tums have for me in the past.  So, I got rid of the store brand and I bought a very small package of the name brand, since they are used so infrequently.  I didn't get as much for my money, price per tablet, but I saved money because I bought a smaller package and I got exactly what I wanted.  I never would have used all of those other antacid pills anyway.  When trying to save money, many times we just focus on the best price and don't consider the other factors involved.  This time I made a better decision by purchasing the amount I need, the brand I like best and I saved money overall. If you are someone who uses Tums regularly, try the test for yourself and see what you think.  Please leave your comments below for all of us to benefit from.   

Easy Way to Save Money on Food: Buy Store Brands

 In the past, we have done some name brand vs. store brand comparisons.  You can look them up if you are interested, but it is also good to do your own since your food preferences may be different.  Buying store brands is one of the easiest ways to save money without putting a lot of effort into it and it is risk free.  In this video, we compare prices of 7 different random items.  See for yourself and you may choose to start buying store brands.

Name Brand vs Store Brand: Canned Corn

Canned corn is another pantry staple; usually I buy the store brand to keep food costs down. I was curious to see how much the taste differed from the name brand. We couldn't tell much difference between Del Monte, Libby's and Great Value, but the Hanover corn tasted gross. It was far too salty (according to the nutrition label it has twice the sodium per serving than the other three). 

This is the price breakdown. Moral of this story: as long as you avoid Hanover, brand doesn't matter.

Brand	Price	Amount	$ per oz
LIbby's	$0.82	15 oz	$0.05
Great Value	$0.50	15 oz	$0.03
Hanover	$1.98	39 oz	$0.05
Del Monte	$1.14	15.25 oz	$0.07

Name Brand vs Store Brand: Diced Tomatoes

This was a tricky one to test. Diced tomatoes are a staple in our house but aren't something I'd usually taste. Walmart substituted a few of the items in my pickup order so I ended up with a few different flavors of tomatoes. Honestly, besides the flavor difference, I couldn't tell them apart.

Here's the price breakdown. Go with the flavor you want. Brand isn't a big deal in this case. 

Brand	Price	Amount	$ per oz
Great Value	$0.72	14.5 oz	$0.05
Hunt's	$0.98	14.5 oz	$0.07
Del Monte	$0.98	14.5 oz	$0.07
RoTel	$0.98	10 oz	$0.10
Red Gold	$0.92	14.5 oz	$0.06

Name Brand vs Store Brand: Canned Peaches

My kids were very excited to try so many kinds of canned peaches. Each would polish off a can on her own in minutes, so having 4 cans to share was an exciting dessert. We all agreed that Great Value was out least favorite, but the kids liked Del Monte best while I preferred the Polar brand. The Del Monte were firmer while the Polar were more similar to home-canned peaches I've had.

This is the price breakdown. There is a difference in this case between name and store brand but it's not significant enough that I'll stop buying Aldi peaches. 

Brand	Price	Amount	$ per oz
Del Monte	$1.76	15 oz	$0.12
Great Value	$1.12	15 oz	$0.07
Summer Harvest (Aldi)	$1.09	15 oz	$0.07
Polar	$2.24	19.5 oz	$0.11

Name Brand vs Store Brand: Almond Milk

The almond milks all taste about the same to us- though the Silk almond milk tastes a little sweeter. Based on the prices, I will be buying the store brand, since there really isn't much of a taste difference. Even though it is just a 40 cents cheaper per half gallon, the savings add up over time.
 

Product	Price	Size (oz)	Unit Price
Almond Breeze	$2.82	64	$0.04
Silk	$2.78	64	$0.04
Great Value	$2.36	64	$0.04

Name Brand vs Store Brand: Honey Nut Cheerios

 

When it comes to Honey Nut Cheerios, the taste was very similar for all three brands pictured above- Malt O Meal, General Mills, and Great Value. However, you could tell by looking that the General Mills looked different than the other two- and it definitely had the best texture. My kids preferred the Great Value brand, but the adults with more discerning tastes preferred the General Mills brand.

As far as the cost comparison, the store brand is much cheaper (though you can get a cheaper unit price for General Mills by shopping sales or getting a larger box). If you have kids that eat a LOT of cereal, I would recommend buying Great Value brand.

Product	Price	Size	Unit Price
Malt O Meal	$5.27	39	$0.14
General Mills	$2.88	10.8	$0.27
Great Value	$1.23	12.25	$0.10

Name Brand vs Store Brand: Pepperoncini

We compared four brands of pepperoncini- Great Value, Vigo, Mt. Olive, and Mezzetta. Of the four, Mezzetta was the most expensive per ounce, and the best tasting. Vigo and Mt. Olive tasted exactly the same as Mezzetta, but the peppers were larger and thicker- we prefer peppers that are smaller and cripser. Great Value had an almost green neon color, and was the clear loser when it came to taste. 

Product	Price	Size (oz)	Unit Price
Vigo	$3.28	32	$0.10
Mt. Olive	$2.98	32	$0.09
Mezzetta	$2.16	16	$0.14
Great Value	$1.47	12	$0.12

Name Brand vs Store Brand: Fudge Stripe Cookies

 

You can see the difference in the store vs name brand fudge striped cookies- the EL Fudge cookies tasted better to me, they were a little sweeter and had more chocolate. My kids preferred the store brand cookies. It's almost a dollar cheaper to buy the Great Value brand- I think it's worth the extra dollar to buy store brand, if I'm the one eating the cookies. But, if I'm buying cookies for smores or a group, I would definitely get the store brand cookies.  

Product	Price	Size (oz)	Unit Price
Keebler Cookies	$2.43	11.5	$0.21
Great Value	$1.48	11.5	$0.13

$3 Per Day Grocery Budget: Name Brand vs. Store Brand

 Enjoy our newest video in the $3 Per Day Grocery Budget, Name Brand vs. Store Brand.  Is it worth it to buy store brands?  Watch and see what you think.

We have done some different comparisons on our blog.  Check them out if you are interested.  It sure is fun to try the comparisons and see what your family thinks.  

Name Brand vs Store Brand: Instant Oatmeal

 

We compared Quaker to Great Value Strawberries and Cream instant oatmeal- 

As you can see from the picture, the Quaker oatmeal looks much more natural. I preferred its taste to Great Value, but my kids actually preferred the look and taste of the Great Value Oatmeal. Here is the break down of the cost:

Product	Price	Size (oz)	Unit Price
Quaker	$2.50	10.5	$0.24
Great Value	$1.74	12.3	$0.14

Per ounce, the Great Value is 10 cents cheaper! If you don't mind the bright pink strawberry color, its much more economical to get the store brand.

Name Brand vs. Store Brand: Baked Beans

Cost:

Bush's (big for $1.75): 1.00
KC Masterpiece: 1.00
Kroger: 1.69
Great Value (Walmart Brand) : 1.42

Taste:
The best tasting were: KC Masterpiece and Great Value. KC Masterpiece had a molasses-y taste, and I didn't think they were as good as the Great Value. However, my husband thought the KC Masterpiece were the best.

OVERALL WINNER:
Great Value! This surprised me a little- I was positive that Bush's beans would taste better than the store brand. However, we've decided that we will just make homemade baked beans- they taste a lot better than any of the canned versions.

If you don't have a favorite baked beans recipe, here is one of our favorites:  Sandra's Baked Beans

Name Brand vs. Store Brand: Greek Yogurt

I thought it would be good to compare 'apples to apples'..or in this case, 'strawberries to strawberries', so I got the strawberry version of each of the Greek yogurts, rather than plain. The seven brands I tried in this test were Dannon Oikos, Fage, Yoplait, Kroger, Voskos, Brown Cow, and Chobani.

For results, go to the Dollar Stretcher.

Name Brand vs. Store Brand: Beef Hot Dogs

For the hot dog taste test I decided to use beef hot dogs, not just the hot dogs you can get for $0.88 for a package of 8. My husband says those ones just taste like baloney. And, the better brands don't make plain 'hot dogs'- they specify beef or turkey.  For results, go to the Dollar Stretcher.

Name Brand vs Store Brand: Sauerkraut

You might be wondering why we chose to do a Sauerkraut taste test...read on. For most people, a jar will probably last an entire summer, or year. I know it's probably not on a lot of people's favorite food lists. However, our family is a little obsessed with sauerkraut.

Results can be found at the Dollar Stretcher.

Name Brand vs Store Brand: Pickles

I was curious if anyone else had done a pickle taste test before. I found this one, that compared 11 national/name brand of pickles, but they were just looking for the best tasting pickles and had no regard for price.  To see the results, go to the Dollar Stretcher.

Name Brand vs. Store Brand: Dried Cranberries

Results can be found at the Dollar Stretcher.

Name Brand vs. Store Brand: Marshmallows

We tested two brands of marshmallows: Kroger and Jet Puffed. Here is the cost breakdown for a 10 oz bag of marshmallows:

• Jet Puffed: $1.25
• Kroger: $1.00

As you can see, the Jet Puffed cost more than the Kroger brand, but if you can find coupons, you may be able to get them for less!

Overall, there was NO taste difference, so go with the one you can get for cheaper! The results surprised me: I thought that there would definitely be a big difference between the store brand and the others. 

Name Brand vs. Store Brand: Chicken Noodle Soup

Price Analysis

Campbell’s: $0.60

Kroger: $0.68

Great Value: $0.64

We should admit a slight bias before starting our analysis. We've always loved Campbell's, and since Campbell's was cheaper both store brands, the choice seemed obvious.

Of course, we did the taste test to see if our name brand bias was justified. As it turned out, it was! In this case, name brand is the way to go. The Kroger and Great Value chicken noodle soup tasted saltier than Campbell’s, and not in a good way. The Campbell’s flavor was distinctly better. Campbell's noodles were also much better; they had a smooth texture throughout, while the noodles in the other two were grainy. No question about this one—we would stick with Campbell’s.

Name Brand vs. Store Brand: Cherry Pie Filling

Name Brand vs. Store Brand Cherry Pie Filling results can be found at the Dollar Stretcher.