Students discover generic food products have more to offer than discounted price tags

By Laura Peng
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Gatorade. Häagen-Dazs. Honey Nut Cheerios. Junior Alex Eaton has seen the commercials that encourage viewers to purchase these brand-name products. But at the checkout line, he rings up generic sport drinks, ice creams and cereals instead.

“My family prefers generic products because they’re less expensive,” Eaton said. “But at the same time, we don’t think there’s much of a taste difference.”

According to Becky Graves, co-manager of a Kroger store in Carmel, there has been a significant increase in the sales of generic products since shoppers began steering away from more expensive name brands during the economic recession.

But Graves said private labels have more to offer than a heavier wallet and hopes shoppers will expel the misconception that brand-name products are of greater value.

“Compared to name brands, our private-label products are inexpensive, and that encourages consumers to purchase our products,” Graves said. “But purchasing generic products in order to save money does not necessarily sacrifice value. When shoppers see a price difference, it may mislead them into believing that there’s a difference in taste and quality when sometimes there really isn’t.”

As the economic recession—recently dubbed “The Great Recession” by several prominent news outlets— extends into the new decade, Eaton is one of many who have recently discovered that generic products are not necessarily less expensive due to a lack of quality.

According to Graves, marketing accounts for most of the price difference. Brand-name companies spend large amounts of money on advertising that factor into the cost consumers pay. And with the increase in sales of generic products, these companies are feeling the pinch and responding accordingly.

According to the New York Times, Kraft Foods recently launched its “Why Snackrifice?” campaign that discourages shoppers from sacrificing nutrition and quality when purchasing less expensive products, and Del Monte similarly began an ad campaign in response to an increase in private-label sales.

But Graves said private labels similar to Kroger continue to encourage shoppers to buy generic goods by lowering the prices of their products.

Graves said, “We increase allocations on our private label and try to condense what we can on the brand-name products. We sell a ton of chips and Big K because we were able to negotiate better prices so we can offer our customers better deals like the 10 for $10.”

Eaton said the price tag on a product typically determines what his family will purchase. “If I buy a 32-ounce Meijer-brand sport drink, it will be up to 50 cents cheaper than a Gatorade,” he said. “There is usually more of a range of flavors for brand name products like Gatorade, but buying the generic brand can save you a lot of money once all the savings add up.”

On the other hand, freshman Chloe Combs said she continues to purchase brand-name products including Breyers, Pop Tarts and Tylenol. Combs said she has tried a variety of generic products but rarely finds one she is willing to continue buying.

“Sometimes brand-name products are more expensive, but we trust them more because we don’t want to buy (a generic product) we’re going to throw away and waste money on,” Combs said.

But despite her preference for brand name products, Combs said she plans to buy more generic products when she goes to college in an effort to save money.

“It’s a good idea to buy generic products when you’re trying to save money,” Combs said. “But sometimes it’s worth buying a brand-name product if you can’t find a generic product you like. If you end up throwing it away, you don’t really save any money.”

As the economy continues to recover, both private labels and name brands are taking steps to increase the sales of their products. While brand-name companies invest in new advertising campaigns, private labels continue to promote generic brands with slogans including “Save Money, Live Better” by Walmart and “Higher Standards, Lower Prices” by Meijer.

Graves said, “You can see from our commercials that Kroger focuses on creating ‘More Value For the Way You Live.’ We want consumers to know we’re not lowering quality by lowering prices.”

Eaton said he plans to continue purchasing generic products after the recession and recommends others to buy the less expensive goods over brand-name products as well.

“You can like what you want,” he said. “But if you try them both, they’re really the same.”