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This article puts quite a bit of focus on packaging, but I think there is a much bigger picture here. We started using store brand products more and more when t

This article puts quite a bit of focus on packaging, but I think there is a much bigger picture here. We started using store brand products more and more when the store brand products got better. Not long ago, most store brand foods were very mediocre. It’s only when companies like Costco started creating their own good house brands that my wife and I started going with store brand stuff. With true “generic” product, a company doesn’t need to invest in good food quality. There is no brand to protect. “Kirkland”, is a decent respected brand on it’s own. You can only buy it at Costco, but you know it’s going to be decent. Trader Joe’s is similar. It’s not “generic”, it’s Trader Joe’s Brand. It’s a pretty significant difference, particularly at places like Trader Joe’s where a big portion of what they sell is their house brand. The other significant piece of this is the ubiquity of branded stores. 30 years ago, when you went grocery shopping, you had 5 different regional supermarkets. Those supermarkets couldn’t afford to front their own brand so they went with generics as their cheap product. Now, we have so many country or even world-wide retailers that those retailers can afford their own brands. Some of them even have multiple “store brands” for their higher quality products. The packaging is just the end-result of all of this, to have a brand, you need an identity.

beart 6y ago
The in-store brands are just repackaged name brand products at a reduce price. "Kirkland" is a brand, but they don't really produce anything as far as I know. Most of the time, the actual name brand product is on the same shelf as the in-store branded product, so you can directly compare the ingredients and nutrition labels to see they are identical.
- lotsofpulp 6y ago
  Not necessarily. Costco specifically guarantees Kirkland products are of the same quality as name brand products, and people trust Costco to do the quality control to ensure that statement is true. Although, I have noticed Kirkland marinara sauce is inferior to Rao’s marinara. I would not think the same of a regular grocery store and generic products.
- ogre_codes 6y ago
  This was the case with generics, but it’s mostly not true with Kirkland anyhow. Costco doesn’t “Manufacture” anything, but they have third parties who manufacture and package products to specs. Likewise, Trader Joe’s and a few other companies with private label product. Sometimes that third party sells their own branded products, but often they just make product for other brands.

beart 6y ago

The in-store brands are just repackaged name brand products at a reduce price. "Kirkland" is a brand, but they don't really produce anything as far as I know. Most of the time, the actual name brand product is on the same shelf as the in-store branded product, so you can directly compare the ingredients and nutrition labels to see they are identical.

lotsofpulp 6y ago
Not necessarily. Costco specifically guarantees Kirkland products are of the same quality as name brand products, and people trust Costco to do the quality control to ensure that statement is true. Although, I have noticed Kirkland marinara sauce is inferior to Rao’s marinara. I would not think the same of a regular grocery store and generic products.
ogre_codes 6y ago
This was the case with generics, but it’s mostly not true with Kirkland anyhow. Costco doesn’t “Manufacture” anything, but they have third parties who manufacture and package products to specs. Likewise, Trader Joe’s and a few other companies with private label product. Sometimes that third party sells their own branded products, but often they just make product for other brands.