We often shop at Sainsbury's, and some of the basics range there are pretty good - we frequently get the passata, pasta, corn flakes, honey, toilet paper, baked beans... and probably quite a few other things I've forgotten to mention. There have been other basics products, however, that we've tried once and thought, "Not getting that again!" (I seem to remember the yoghurts being one example). I do wonder how much the quality of the basics range varies from Shop To shop. Do you buy basics, and if so, where do you shop and what sort of thing do you buy?
I do buy "everyday value" brands, Around 50% of my weekly shop consists of there. I cook from scratch though, so it is always things like rice, tomatoes, pasta etc. I am not keen on any value processed meats though, for example ham or ready meals. Not since the horsemeat scandal!. There are certain items, such as coffee and baked beans, where I have a strong preference for a certain brand. The best loo roll in the UK is to be found at Home Bargains. It's called Nicky and sells for £1.10 for 4 rolls, £2 for 9. Honestly, it is thicker than Andrex.
I'm more likely to buy the generic version of any product rather than the name brand, because almost always it's basically the same thing. There are some exceptions, like I'll only buy Hellmans Mayo and I'll only buy Oreos, not the generic ones. There are some other things as well. But most of the time if I have the chance to save the money, even if it's only like 50 cents per package, I would much rather do that than pay for a specific name brand and packaging when it's basically the same product.
I almost always buy generic, because over 90% of the time it tastes identical if not better and at a fraction of the price. Even if it's inferior I often buy it if it tastes 'good enough' and is much cheaper. The list of things I won't buy generic is very short and at the moment consists of: toilet paper, paper towels, garbage bags, and cheese. I might be forgetting a few. Overall I am a big fan of generic.
One thing I definitely won't ever buy generic on any more is soy sauce. I will stick with Kikkoman or some better brands from specialty stores going forward. Pretty much all the cheaper brands of "soy sauce" including even brand names like La Choy are all fake. They are not brewed like real soy sauce is, instead they use some process with the leftover byproduct of soybeans from other manufacturing processes, and soak it in hydrochloric acid and other chemicals to produce "soy sauce" in about a day or two. Real soy sauce is brewed naturally and takes several months to several years to be ready. The fake stuff is made with all sorts of unpleasant chemicals and soy bean scraps. Another item I tend to avoid are store brand cheeses, especially shredded ones. The shredded ones tend to have a lot of additives to them to prevent the cheese from sticking, and both them and the brick variety don't seem to taste like they were aged very long. There are however some store brand items that I not only like, but prefer over their brand name counterparts. Save A Lot for example carries a brand of crushed tomatoes called Diane's Garden which I really love, and you can't beat them at $1 for a 28 ounce can. Much cheaper than those San Marzano tomatoes I was paying nearly $4-$5 a can for. Whole Foods "365" brand of items are reasonably priced as well (despite everything else there costing an arm and a leg) and very good quality. They make the only vegetable stock that I actually like - it's golden yellow like chicken stock and has a really nice buttery taste. Almost all other vegetable stocks I've tried taste like dirt water or burnt tomato water.
Yeah, where I live we have a Hannaford. We usually buy the generic brand on most items, (I swear this is no difference on most items). Some things like cereals, I do notice a difference in taste. But like the water gallons I know come from the same bottling company, and are 30 cents cheaper per gallon.
I generally stay well away from "store" brands. They can be very hit or miss, and something you end up with disgusting food. The only except to the rule is Trader Joe's store brand and Whole Foods "365" in house brand. I've never gone wrong with those two, but I think those are the only store brands that I haven't been sorely let down with. Also, STAY AWAY FROM WAL-MART'S "GREAT VALUE" BRAND WATER. There have been reports of the plastic leeching chemicals into the water (more so then normal), and the water coming from contaminated sources. People have also reported that the "Great Value" water has been messing up their throats. Making them oddly sore and tight, and making it difficult to swallow. (They were confirmed not to have another illness and that it was in fact the Great Value water doing it.) Not to mention, a lot of people have had problems with Wal-Mart's "Great Value" brand before.
