cshenk wrote on Wed, 16 Apr 2008 15:38:06 -0400:

c> "Ms P" wrote
??>> "Samois2001" wrote

??>>> Any brand loyalty that I had has gone out the window....

??>>> aversion to store brands, especially canned. I was
??>>> wondering what your opinions of store brands are, canned
??>>> or otherwise? I’ve been going

??>> It depends on the store brand....

??>> Kroger store brand is as good if not better than national
??>> brands on many items. They do side by side taste testings
??>> in the store from time to time.

c> I've yet to find a store where I like _all_ their store
c> brand products, but I agree that Kroger tends to be better
c> than most. I generally suggest folks try 1 can/box etc of
c> an item in the store brand (getting the rest of the cans etc
c> by brands since you generally get 3-4 at a time) and see if
c> that one works. If it works for you, swap when it saves
c> money. Be sure to do as Dmitri says and check unit prices.
c> Sometimes a sale can make the store brand more expensive.

In many cases, the store brand is indistiguishable from the
original. I'm willing to try a store brand *once* if it looks
the same and the saving is more than 10%. Giant ketchup tastes
like Heinz made it on contract and the same applies to Kellog's
Bran Flakes and RichFoods's to mention two recent experiments.

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

E-mail, with obvious alterations:
not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not