Store Brands Get a Big Shot in the Arm from Consumer Reports

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September 1, 2009

By Maureen Azzato

The coming of age of store brands is resoundingly confirmed in the October issue of Consumer Reports where store brands were found to be equally good -- or better -- than national brands nearly 80 percent of the time.

Comparative blind tests were conducted in 29 food categories among various products belonging to retailers such as Costco, Wal-Mart, Kroger, Target, Whole Foods, A&P, Safeway and Publix. On only a few occasions did the national CPG brands come out on top. 

On average, store brands were found to be 27 percent less expensive than national brands, and in a recent supermarket survey by Consumer Reports National Research Center "70 percent of respondents said they were highly satisfied with the quality of the store brands they bought." 

Target's Archer Farms cookies, priced only six cents lower, won hands down in taste, spice and texture against Pepperidge Farm's Soft Baked Cookies. At seven cents cheaper per serving, Kirkland Signature salsa won out over Old El Paso, and Wal-Mart's Great Value whipped topping (85 cents cheaper per container) beat out Cool Whip "because it had a little less chemical taste." Great Value's Au gratin potatoes (93 cents cheaper) also beat out Betty Crocker, although the taste testers said, "neither packaged potato-and-cheese combination is anything to write home about." 

There were many notable ties where the "products were virtually indistinguishable" from each other. A&P's America's Choice tied with its national brand counterparts in two categories - multigrain spaghetti with Omega-3 (Barilla) and frozen sliced sandwich steaks (Steak-Umm). Other notable ties were Target's Archer Farms pepperoni pizza with DiGiorno Rising Crust; Polaner All Fruit with Kroger's raspberry preserves; Costco's vanilla extract against McCormick's Pure Vanilla; and Whole Foods' 365 frozen broccoli versus Birds Eye. 

While there were instances where national brands beat store brands, that only occurred 20 percent of the time. Still, there was specific critique that should help retailers improve on some of their brands that came up short. Kraft's K.C. Masterpiece barbecue sauce beat out Publix Original with taste testers saying Masterpiece " has complex flavors - smoke, heat, and just enough sweetness," adding that tomato-based Publix brand is "reminiscent of ketchup" and "isn't as sophisticated." 

Ocean Spray's dried cranberries also won hands down against Target's Archer Farms because "Ocean's Spray's berries are moister, more flavorful and fresher tasting." V8 also beat out Whole Foods' 365 Organic vegetable juice with testers saying, "V8 is less salty and has a fresher and more identifiable celery and carrot flavors." Publix's precooked bacon also came in second to Oscar Mayer's, which tasters said has a "higher meat-to-fat ratio." 

The report also calculated that a family of four could save $1,168 a year on dinner by substituting just four store brand foods for name brands. The report concluded with a list of Store Brand Standouts based on the many items Consumer Reports has sampled since 2006. 

Editor's note: Top photo courtesy of Consumer Reports.

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