What (Generic) Non Brand Items Do You Buy?

TimApple on 02/03/2018 - 13:07
Last edited 02/03/2018 - 13:59 by 1 other user

I was discussing this the other day with my friend. Turns out I buy a lot of non brand store items in the grocery store, and my argument is that with some of these stuff I don't even know the difference it I was in a blind test. These items that I bought non branded ones are:

  • Salt (80 cents vs $2 for branded)
  • Pepper
  • Shower cleaning soluton ($2 vs $5 branded)
  • Toilet bowl cleaning solution ($2 vs $5 branded)
  • Dishwashing soap
  • Diswashing machine tablets
  • Free Range Eggs
  • Butter (unless a branded one is on special and cheaper than the non brand)
  • Panadol, Aspirin, other OTC drugs
Food & Grocery

Comments

  • pformag on 02/03/2018 - 13:14

    By non-brand, you mean house brand? aka Coles Brand, Woolworths brand etc?

  • [Deactivated] on 02/03/2018 - 13:24

    Clothes

    • dasher86 on 02/03/2018 - 13:38

      does that include accessories, what happened to LV?

      • [Deactivated] on 02/03/2018 - 14:35

        Everything no name brand

  • Quantumcat on 02/03/2018 - 13:28
    +2

    Milk
    Bread (Woolworths baked in-house, WAY nicer than any other bread sold in the supermarket, on par with Baker's Delight)
    Corn kernels in can
    Tomato cans and paste
    Chocolate topping (for milkshakes)
    Vanilla ice cream (for milkshakes)
    Mozzarella cheese (actually nicer than other brands)
    Chilled orange juice (nicer than all other brands except nudie 21 oranges, but that's 3X the cost)

    • ihbh on 02/03/2018 - 14:49

      Woolworths baked in-house

      Which ones specifically?

      The Sonoma Artisan sourdoughs (not sure if just NSW) are really good, especially when discounted.

      • scrimshaw on 02/03/2018 - 18:21
        +1

        I like their whole range of crusty white / sourdough breads. They aren't very popular at my store so often they'll be discounted closer to the evening.

        Also their cheese and bacon buns are great too.

        • mskeggs on 02/03/2018 - 18:37

          The cheese is a bit plastic on the bacon rolls, but I too like the in-store bread at 50% most nights at 7pm.
          The round cob, Turkish and Turkish with garlic, and the vienna loaves are regulars at our place. They also freeze pretty well (although they stay fresh a while anyway as they are unsliced.)

      • Quantumcat on 02/03/2018 - 23:32

        800g thick sliced white bread is my preferred. Nice big fat toast slices.

      • nikey2k27 on 03/03/2018 - 08:37

        i am woolworths artisan sourdoughs fan too.

  • pformag on 02/03/2018 - 13:31
    +2

    All comes down to price. Sometimes the generic branded items are more than a sale item of a branded version. Only thing I don't get generic brand is personal hygiene products.

  • valac12 on 02/03/2018 - 13:35
    +1

    Drugs

  • dasher86 on 02/03/2018 - 13:37
    +3

    Everything (everything basically) i buy at Aldi

    • Lastchancetosee on 04/03/2018 - 08:48

      +1. We preference products made in Oz, though,so for things like frozen vegetables, we'll buy Coles/Woolies Australian generic; most of Aldi's are from Europe. The exception is if it's not possible to get an Australian version, e.g. frozen spinach which is usually from Chile, Holland. As for pre-made sauces, meals, cakes, bread, etc., we follow the true OzBargain way and make most things from scratch 😊. Tastes way better, too.

  • Seraphin7 on 02/03/2018 - 14:12
    +1

    Just about anything that doesn't have a "recipe" to it, in other words minimal handling/processing.

    Milk, eggs, flour, salt, frozen vegetable.

    Anything that has a "recipe" (including non-foods, e.g. dishwasher tablets) I tend to go with the branded products.

  • Mummy2 on 02/03/2018 - 14:17

    Sugar
    Flour
    Dried herbs and spices
    Frozen peas and frozen corn

    • paaj on 02/03/2018 - 14:32

      I actually find that some branded flour is better than others - perhaps it is the quality of wheat / grains they use. Same with spices.

      • Mummy2 on 02/03/2018 - 23:21

        Your cooking/baking is probably better than mine. With my baking I have found no noticeable difference.

  • [Deactivated] on 02/03/2018 - 14:21

    For me, salt tastes different depending on which region it is from. I prefer branded salt, notably McKenzie's because it has a specific taste. You only use a tiny amount of it each time you cook and it can change the flavour drastically.

    Even CSR Raw Sugar looks and tastes slightly different to homebrand raw sugar. You can buy both, currently on sale at Coles I believe. I picked up 2kg for $2.50. You'll definitely see a difference. Whether it is worth that extra amount, I think it is.

    https://shop.coles.com.au/a/a-national/product/csr-sugar-raw…

    I don't buy generic drugs either because even though the active ingredient is the same, the absorption rate might be different if it isn't slow release. I prefer to stick to the brand name Panadol and Nurofen.

    Maybe I should give back my ozbargain badge.

    I think the only unbranded item I have bought are eggs because they are farm/home brands anyway. x_X

    Oh I bought frozen peas once, but I wouldn't recommend if you like smaller peas and for them to be a consistent size. It's a convenience and sometimes texture is very important to make a meal appetising. I don't like peas though… So, anything that helps me stomach the stuff is better. If I was still a kid, I might not eat homebrand peas, but I probably would eat some baby peas from some brand name; at least some of it. Weird, but that's the truth…

    It's just different… (Might actually be because the larger peas are more tougher in texture because they have been grown for longer?) Anyone care to chime in? It would have to be someone with good experience with both brand name and home brand peas. I know certain vegetables if they grow too big, like Okra, taste worse.

    • mskeggs on 02/03/2018 - 18:43
      +3

      I prefer to stick to the brand name Panadol and Nurofen.

      Ironic that these are the medicines that have paid fines for misleading advertising, yet the generics are the ones you are dubious about!

      • magic8ballgag on 03/03/2018 - 09:07

        If jv has taught me anything, it's that where there's any form of advertising, there's always someone to challenge/question it.

      • [Deactivated] on 09/03/2018 - 15:11

        Yeah, well. Just buy the plain old one that is trusted and works. The newer formulations also have different efficacy, in fact one of the nurofens has a faster absorption rate because of the way it dissolves. Active ingredient is the same, but they haven't had any fault with that product. It is just the dodgy period pain, migraine and so on that were affected.

        It might also be the placebo effect, but if you pay more and it works… Well, I think that's actually alright because I don't think the placebo effect would work when I pay for some cheap generic.

        A bit of a catch with the generics if you believe in the placebo effect.

        I'll pay that extra dollar to get that placebo effect, especially if I'm in pain. x_X Who wouldn't?

    • nikey2k27 on 03/03/2018 - 08:39

      CSR Raw sugar best my dad work at sugar mill we get it free make coffee better than white sugar

  • TheButLover on 02/03/2018 - 15:13
    +4

    you sure like to talk about peas a lot for someone who doesn't like them

    • Ozpit on 03/03/2018 - 08:50

      He has a pea/pee fixation. Freud, where are you?

  • steff on 02/03/2018 - 15:33
    +3

    Free Range Eggs

    Dodged a minefield there

  • EFC94 on 02/03/2018 - 15:43
    +1

    Might wanna check the amount of chickens per hectare or whatever the size area is. Home brand free range has a hell of a lot more chickens per hectare than non home brand. How much individual space that translates to I have no idea though.

    EDIT: Just went and checked, Woolworths/Coles "free range" is 10,000 per hectare compared to sunny queen which is 1,500 per hectare.

    • mskeggs on 02/03/2018 - 18:49
      +2

      I understand the argument, but when we kept happy chickens at home they had 2 or so sqm each, and they were fine, so I'm not sure the stocking density is that big a deal. I reckon at either level they would make a paddock a moon scape in a few months, so more important is managing their run to keep it a pleasant paddock.

  • poboy on 02/03/2018 - 16:22
    +2

    I don't mind the Black & Gold 1 ply toilet paper. Sure it makes me more red than Stalin, but with anti-biotics it's all good. The odd poke through gives me the opportunity for a prostate check.

  • pennypincher98 on 02/03/2018 - 19:18

    Zapals freebies/cheapies.

  • jonnochen on 03/03/2018 - 12:27

    You haven't tried good butter, obviously. If you ever see Duck River, give it a shot. Or the Mainland stuff from NZ. But for most things, brandless is fine. The better question is what branded things do you buy and why?

  • dc4207 on 03/03/2018 - 15:02

    Looking through my fridge I realised I always buy:
    Butter, Bread, Milk, pizza cheese, shredded parmasan cheese, block tasty cheese, thickened cream, sour cream, choc chip cookies, tomato sauce, strawberry jam, condensed milk,sweet chilli sauce, fruit salad tubs, pineapple pieces, gravy mix and coconut cream all with the Coles label and find the quality and taste is no less than branded items.
    Pantry: jasmine rice, brown sugar, white sugar, raw sugar, chicken noodle soup, french onion soup, corn flakes, honey, sandwich bags.
    I buy Coles toilet paper, kitchen towel, toilet bleach. Saving money on these items allows me to buy many "brand" name items that are better quality or do taste better.

  • HeWhoKnows on 03/03/2018 - 17:54

    You try a house brand grocery item.
    If its any good you buy it again.
    If not you dont.
    Very simple low risk proposition.
    For commodity groceries such as sugar, flour, milk, butter and salt, its a no brainer really.

  • UltraDec on 03/03/2018 - 19:44
    +1

    But none of the home-brand items come on special. They are always at a set price which, while may be cheap, are not always as cheap as branded items when they come on clearance or 50% off.

  • Ozpit on 04/03/2018 - 08:47

    Most unbranded stuff doesn't stack up against the well-known branded stuff. There are exceptions of course, but they are few and far between. Buying unbranded stuff is about saving dollars against quality. Nothing wrong with that, just a different way at looking at value.

    • TimApple on 04/03/2018 - 23:45
      +1

      I'd like to think that some things are very commoditised, like electricity or water for example. You as a consumer wouldn't be able to tell one brand or another, all you know is that your TV is working and your tap is running. Some products are more towards this end of the spectrum, for example salt and sugar. I'm just curious if other people have found other items that is already very commoditised like these.

  • mingofmongo on 05/03/2018 - 14:45

    All pharmaceuticals, whether OTC or prescription-only. Exception being generic Ventolin because I don't like the taste if the cheap generic, so go with the slightly-less-cheap Asmol generic instead.

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