Store-Brand vs. Name-Brand Groceries: Here’s Exactly How Much You Save by Going Generic
This story is part of Home Tips, CNET’s collection of practical advice for getting the most out of your home, inside and out.
We all have brand loyalty when it comes to those certain products that we’re sure have no equal: Heinz Ketchup, Hellman’s Mayonnaise, Coca-Cola and so on. In fact, a 2021 survey revealed that brand loyalty is at an all-time high among American consumers. According to the poll of over 1,000 US shoppers, food and beverage products inspire some of the fiercest loyalty with 97% of respondents saying they were loyal to at least one particular brand’s product.
Store brands, however, have been on the rise in the last decade, and now make up nearly £200 billion in sales annually.
Certain store brands (looking at you, Trader Joe’s), can even inspire their own brand loyalty. With gas prices and inflation at all-time highs, those seeking practical ways to save in their monthly budgets may want to reconsider their brand loyalty when it comes to groceries.
Read more: Grocery Store Strategies That’ll Slash the Bill at Whole Foods In an effort to see how you can save when food shopping, we’ve calculated whether it’s cheaper to buy groceries online or in the store and explored ways to save by buying cheaper steak cuts and seeking out good, value wine.
Now I’m out to find out how much you can save if you keep those pricey name brands out of your cart. I did the math to find out the difference in cost between store-brand groceries and name-brand items, and it turns out you’ll save an average of 40%. Here’s how I got those figures and more intel on store-brand groceries.
Who makes store-brand products?
First things first, it’s well documented that most major food manufacturers label their products under a number of different brands, including generic or store brands.
According to recent statistics captured by the Private Label Manufacturing Association, one in five store-brand products is manufactured by a private label manufacturer. It makes sense: Those manufacturers can then appeal to people who are paying at either price. But they want you to go for the brand name price, rather than the store brand.
That’s why advertising exists; to make you believe that brand name products are somehow better, when the truth is that identical products are often going down parallel conveyor belts, getting two different labels at the end of the production line.
This store-brand toasted cereal retails for around £2. A box of General Mills Cheerios is more like £5.
David Watsky/CNET
Now, this doesn’t necessarily mean that all store-brand, O-shaped, toasted oat cereals are actually General Mills Cheerios in disguise, but it stands to reason that for a lot of store-brand products, the quality or flavor is potentially equal to their name- counterpart. And considering the opportunity for savings, they’re certainly worth a taste test.
While some brand-name products are unlikely to have a generic equivalent, (like, is anyone really seeking off-brand Cool Ranch Doritos?) commodity items like canned beans or rice would seem especially safe bets in the store-brand category.
Trader Joe’s beloved pepita salsa is just one example of a store-brand item that’s gained fandom and loyalty all its own.
Trader Joe’s
Here’s how much you can save buying store brand: Wegmans vs. Stop & Shop
I chose both Wegmans and Stop & Shop to represent high-end and average grocery store chains, using Instacart to generate current prices. Discount grocery stores such as Trader Joe’s and Aldi keep their costs low because they deal primarily in their own brands.
Wegmans is an interesting example since it has a lot of its own brand loyalty, not only as a grocery store chain, but also for its Wegmans label. (Seriously, I know people who would cross state lines to stock up on its flavored seltzers. Take that, LaCroix.) Stop & Shop is generally perceived as a midrange grocery chain, with good selection and good quality, and not considered expensive, but neither is it revered for its generic brand, which is simply called SB or Store Brand. Despite perceptions, however, both Wegmans and Stop & Shop are relatively aligned on prices, for both national and store-brand products.
Wegmans came out a little ahead in price for name-brand products, in fact: The whole order was about £2 less than Stop & Shop’s. Store-brand prices were within 20 cents of each other for the full list at both stores.
Cost of store brand versus name brand
| £1.49 | £1.09 | £1.19 | £1.09 |
| £2.29 | £1.19 | £2.49 | £1.49 |
| £4.99 | £3.49 | £5.69 | £2.69 |
| £3.29 | £1.79 | £3.39 | £3.29 |
| £4.29 | £2.69 | £3.49 | £2.89 |
| £4.39 | £2.29 | £6.49 | £2.79 |
| £6.39 | £5.09 | £6.29 | £5.19 |
| £7.49 | £4.99 | £7.89 | £5.79 |
| £6.39 | £4.09 | £6.99 | £4.19 |
| £3.49 | £1.79 | £4.49 | £2.59 |
| £9.19 | £1.19 | £9.79 | £1.99 |
| £6.89 | £3.09 | £5.79 | £3.69 |
| £12.69 | £7.49 | £12.69 | £5.19 |
| £9.79 | £7.89 | £9.49 | £7.99 |
| £3.49 | £2.09 | £3.19 | £2.89 |
| £4.59 | £2.69 | £5.29 | £2.39 |
| £6.89 | £4.09 | £7.39 | £4.69 |
| £4.59 | £3.79 | £3.49 | £2.79 |
| £13.79 | £8.09 | £12.49 | £5.79 |
| £6.89 | £4.89 | £6.99 | £4.19 |
Buying store brand can mean huge savings
For both Wegmans and Stop & Shop, the huge savings in buying generic products can’t be denied. The original shopping list of 20 staple items amounted to about £125 in both locations, with the store-brand version of the list coming to just under £75. That’s an average of 40% savings over the whole list.
Granted, this doesn’t represent a complete shopping list, since certain grocery categories were excluded intentionally. Some of these items, such as condiments, are products that you might shop for once in a while, rather than weekly. Regardless, the math is clear: Store-brand products are significant potential savings in your grocery shopping experience.
Certain grocery stores including Trader Joe’s and Wegmans have managed to cultivate cult-like fandom for their own brands.
Wegmans
How I evaluated name brands vs. store brands
Using grocery shopping list templates available online, I generated a list of 20 common staple ingredients from the pantry, bakery, dairy, deli and freezer sections, covering a variety of prices.
Items such as whole fruits and vegetables and butchered meats aren’t typically subject to brand (or they’re rarely revealed) and I discluded them for the purposes of this investigation. For each of the items I selected, I compared prices between national, well-known brands and the store brand of the same item, at roughly the same size, using Instacart. If there’s a discrepancy in size, I’ve noted that with an asterisk, but did not adjust the price accordingly, since I wanted to reflect an accurate total of what you’d pay for a grocery list’s worth of either name-brand or store-brand products.
In most cases, the store-brand model was the larger size of the two items anyway, meaning even more savings if you factor in its relative value.
For example, at Wegmans, Bonne Maman Strawberry Preserves are £6.39 for 13 ounces, whereas Wegmans brand Strawberry Preserves are only £4.09 for a full 18 ounces, nearly 50% more product. The savings on your grocery receipt will amount to £2.30, but if you scale up the Bonne Maman price to match the same amount of store-brand product, its price would become £8.85, representing a savings of £4.76, or over 50%, for the Wegmans brand. Read more: Hungryroot Review: Meal Kits and Grocery Delivery Together as One
Certain upscale and imported goods like Bonne Maman preserves will cost you significantly more than store brand.
Bonne Maman
Where are the biggest savings on store-brand items?
Between both Wegmans and Stop & Shop, the more the brand-name item cost, the more savings were typically available, not only in terms of pure dollars and cents but also as percentage savings between the brand name and store brand.
Brand-name items above £5 tended to result in the largest percentage discount, with bigger-ticket items such as olive oil, coffee and spaghetti sauce pushing 50% off or more for their generic or store-brand counterparts.
Pricier items such as olive oil and marinara sauce are where you’re likely to see bigger savings if you opt for store brand.
Colavita
Less expensive items, especially those under £2 to begin with, may offer only 10% to 30% savings overall. For example, approximately 17 ounces of Colavita Extra virgin olive oil costs £12.79 at Stop & Shop, whereas the equivalent store-brand olive oil costs only £5.79, which amounts to over 55% off the name-brand price. On the other hand, 16 ounces of Goya chickpeas are only £1.19 to begin with.
With the store brand being only 10 cents less, the savings only amount to 8%. Olive oil, however, is more likely to be subject to quality and flavor nuance, so while the savings can be much larger, it may be a matter of personal preference if the savings are worth it. Chickpeas are generally less subject to flavor or texture scrutiny.
Costco’s Kirkland is another budget store brand that has garnered its own customer loyalty.
Costco
Does every grocery store have its own brand?
While store brands are growing, not every grocery store has its own brand, and many just carry no-name or generic brands in addition to name-brand products.
Among store brands, there are those that carry the name of the store in its proprietary label, such as Wegmans, Publix, Kroger and others that have a separate label for store-brand products, such as Stop & Shop’s SB, Walmart’s Great Value and Costco’s Kirkland Signature.
Whichever the case, it’s worth getting to know your local grocer’s store-brand products, to see where you may be able to generate huge savings in your grocery bill.
