I grabbed the generic toaster waffles because they were half the price and I just needed something cheap for breakfast. I expected them to taste like cardboard, but they ended up being better than the name brand ones I usually buy. Something about them feels more hearty and real, like they are trying less to be perfect and more to just be food.
It made me wonder if I have been overpaying out of habit. Now I am looking at every aisle thinking “what if the cheaper one is actually the good one.”
Is there an off brand you actually prefer now?
What off brand product tastes better then the "real" thing?
byu/James_B84Saves inFrugal
Posted by James_B84Saves
39 Comments
The Malt O Meal cereal that comes in bags is better than most of the cereal they’re imitating.
My local grocery store, Meijer, has their own store brand for pretty much everything. I found that it’s usually equal or superior to the name brands.
HEB peanut butter is fantastic. (not the HCF one, the regular).
For tools, the Icon brand at Harbor Freight is hard to beat for the price.
Chek ginger ale.
The Meijer store brand ripple chips are better than lays.
The dollar store Oreos! I don’t even like Oreos but sometimes when I crave one with some milk I always go for dollar tree brand. Tastes better and way cheaper 🙂
Generic Spaghettios from my local grocery store are better than the name brand. They aren’t as “cheesy” which is my preference.
I think Ralphs’s Simple Truth original hummus is the best hummus I’ve ever had in my life
If you live near a WEGMANS, their name brand products are better than all the others.
there is no real thing just different brands. many cheaper brands are the same and sometimes better than branded stuff. also it depends what you are looking for.
on show that shows how we are influenced by brands is the brittish show eat wall for less (you can watch some episodes on youtube). everything is wrapped and packaged anonymously and people sometimes hate their favourite whatever (tea, jam…etc)
Great Value Strawberry Awake cereal. I love the Special K Red Berries cereal, and Great Value is better. Also the smooth Great Value Hone Roast Peanut butter.
I always prefer generic ice cream sandwiches and generic grape soda. They are always much better than any brand name version. At least to me
Honestly, next time you shop, buy the cheaper version of things you haven’t tried. See which you prefer and which you don’t. For any reason. Sometimes it’s worth buying the more expensive kind, and sometimes it’s not. Sometimes the “cheap” version is better!
Food lion store brand nutrigrain bars
I truly prefer the flavor of the Target Good & Gather (Target store brand) dry box pasta better than the Barilla name brand they sell or any of the brands from Costco. It’s basically one of the only things that the price didn’t go up when they raised prices this year on most grocery items. It’s still a good value.
winco foods provolone cheese, in my opinion
Walmart pizza rolls are way better than regular pizza rolls
Kroger has a premium store brand called Private Selection that often is the best version of that grocery product in most categories.
The knockoff Hydrox cookies known as “Oreos” are better than the real thing.
I like the Walgreens frosted wheat cereals more than the name brand
HEB brand Doritos, fruit preserves, and cokes taste way better than brand names.
For a stats class, I had about 65 third graders do a blind taste test of Cocoa Puffs cereal against a generic chocolate puff cereal. If I remember right, about 70% of the kids preferred the generic.
ALDI brand Triscuit
Aldi brand (Miillville) shredded wheat is by far the best. They no longer carry the plain shredded wheat, with the frosted shredded wheat is outstanding.
I feel like Dollar General toaster pastries are just Pop Tarts without the branding, and half the price. In a blind test, I doubt anyone could tell the difference. Not exactly an answer to your question, but i thought I’d throw it out there.
Off brand Fruity Pebbles have me in a chokehold
We eat store brand for almost everything from Target, Walmart, aldi, lidl and local grocery stores. Only exceptions are hellmans mayonnaise, soda and tasters choice coffee.
Store brand refrigerated pie crusts are better than Pillsbury, hands down.
Trader Joe’s High Fiber Cereal is wayyyy better than Fiber One
PC brand seltzer > Bubly.
Kroger has an off brand dr pepper called Dr.K, and i personally think it is leagues above the actual dr pepper flavor
WinCo’s hot cocoa mix dissolves nicer and makes a creamier finished product than Swiss Miss. Sure, microplaning actual chocolate makes an even better hot cocoa… but comparing among variations of the powder version, store brand is the winner.
Walmarts Great Value jalapeño kettle chips are half the price and much better than the fancy brands
Walmart Great Value tortilla chips taste better than name brands. They taste like they are made with fresh corn.
I echo your waffle statement. I too prefer Aldi or Walmart brand over Eggo. I actually did an online survey a few years back and it was (quite obviously) for Eggo and it compared them against a few off brands. I never bought frozen waffles really, up until I tried the off brands. Now I buy Aldi or Walmart because they are both leaps and bounds better than Eggo. The only leg up the Eggo had was their internal packaging. It wasn’t flimsy plastic that ripped, it was sturdy and resealed. But that is not worth $2 more for a sub-par product.
Winco pizza rolls are better than Totinos pizza rolls.
Generally I buy the Winco brand of most foods if it’s available as an option. Only exception is Cheez-Its. lol
The generic Natural peanut butter at Walmart. I started with sams buy didn’t have a card. Plus is its half the cost of name brand
Trader Joe’s honey nut Os are way better than Cheerios! Same with their Jo jos (Oreos).