How loyal are you to particular brands?

[King Kamala]

Me and my friend were having a fun discussion the other day about how we're getting more into buying the grocery store brands as we were getting into our 30s. There's some obvious exceptions (I don't drink soda anymore but if I did, I wouldn't drink store brand cause it always tastes like ass) but for the most part, I feel like there's negligible drop-off terms in of quality and in a few cases, the store brand is better than the name brand. I'm not overly budget conscious but I am conscious of not spending money that I don't have to!

A few things I'm insistent on though getting the name brand. Being a NEW ENGLAND MAN, I am very partial to Polar Seltzer. Hannaford brand seltzer is fine but it's a Polar Seltzer tribute band and is limited in terms of flavor options. I also strongly prefer White Claw for adult seltzers.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

I do 90+ percent of my grocery shopping at Aldi, so I basically have no loyalty to brand names, whatsoever.

 

[HarleyQuinn]

Once I find something I like, I'm about 95% loyal to that brand because it was usually a trial & error prior to finding it. I can get by with other brands if necessary e.g. Garelick Milk but I greatly prefer Hood and will pay up for it if need be. Same for other products.

 

[Epic Springs]

Depends on difference in price. If a brand name is only like, less than a dollar more than the store brand, I'm going for the brand name. If it's several dollars more expensive for example, then store brand for sure. In my experience grocery shopping (outside Trader Joe's), nothing I buy is really that much more expensive than the store brand. An 8 pack of Polar Seltzer is only like 30 cents more expensive than Bubly or La Croix so it just depends on what I feel like having that week.

 

[King Kamala]

I really feel like grocery store brands have really caught up in terms of quality too in last 10 years. When I was a kid, it seemed like store brand was lowest quality possible stuff. Other day I got $4 grocery store brand smoked salmon and it was pretty dang decent.

(I'm going to get lumped in with @Hawk 34 and other one percenters for that smoked salmon comment probably)

 

[Hawk 34]

that’s a good value tho

 

[Hawk 34]

I fuck with them Clancy’s all day, this ain’t a lays house brother

I do 90+ percent of my grocery shopping at Aldi, so I basically have no loyalty to brand names, whatsoever.

 

[Baby Shoes]

Depending on the item, there are some stores brands I’ve gotten to prefer over name brand. The main thing I’m thinking of is I had always preferred Kraft Deluxe as the primary mac and cheese growing up but I had gotten the Kroger brand as I got older and got used to the taste to the point the last time I had Kraft deluxe, I didn’t like it as much as the store brand. Then again, boxed Mac and cheese isn’t something that I eat so often anymore. Legit cannot remember last time I had it.

 

[Slayer]

I do 90+ percent of my grocery shopping at Aldi, so I basically have no loyalty to brand names, whatsoever.

This but with Costco

I'm generally a try-anything-once buyer, so I'll give the store brand a shot and if it sucks then go back to the name brand next time, but for the most part the store brand has been acceptable. To take it the other way, I've found personal cleaning items (e.g. Q-tips, Kleenex/Puffs, most any big name toilet paper) absolutely need to be name brand. With store brand cotton swabs I may as well jam a golf pencil into my ears, and if my nose or digestive tract having a particularly bad day, store brand tissue and TP ain't gonna cut it (well actually they will cut it, and therein lies the problem...)

 

[tekcop]

I've bought Angel Soft toilet paper my entire life and any time I have to use something different, I'm unhappy.

I've had great luck with Toyota vehicles throughout my life and my next one will likely be another.

Other than that? Nothing. Off brand Pop-tarts are the worst, but I don't eat those but like twice a year anyways.

 

[Epic Springs]

Charmin two ply, brahs.

 

[King Kamala]

I use store brand three ply and it's fine. I'm just waiting for my girlfriend's son to come home after recovering from the 'rona though so we can install the bidet I bought and then I will probably be able to use the asscutting 79 cents a roll brand to sop up whatever's left 8)

 

[Hawk 34]

Are you hoping to use this as a bonding experience or do you need the child to help you do handiwork? No judgment.

Also since I installed mine, I’ve only used a roll and a half. Absurd the amount of waste (pun intended) involved with buying TP.

 

[Laz]

I'll eat or drink store brand anything except for cola (has to be Coke or Pepsi), toilet paper (prefer Angel Soft just like @tekcop ), and certain cereal (CT Crunch, Kellogg's frosted mini wheats).

For cars, I'm a Subaru guy. I'm on my fourth Outback and the only car I've had that wasn't a Subaru was wrecked within 30 calendar days. Friends used to make fun of my wagon until their little choad sports cars couldn't go over 15mph in the snow, or they needed somebody to haul music gear to a gig.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

I fuck with them Clancy’s all day, this ain’t a lays house brother

Had Clancy's Cheesy Garlic Bread chips with my lunch today.

I'll eat or drink store brand anything except for cola (has to be Coke or Pepsi), toilet paper (prefer Angel Soft just like @tekcop ), and certain cereal (CT Crunch, Kellogg's frosted mini wheats).

Aldi's house brand CT Crunch is a decent enough imitation for my tastes, and it's, like, a dollar cheaper per box. I also fuck with their Frosted Flakes heavy, don't eat mini wheats, so I can't speak to those. I wish they had a bootleg Corn Pops.

 

[Mickey Massuco]

Most people are about brand loyalty so I find the responses itt interesting. Some people are unaware of that though.

I usually stick to specific brands because I trust what they offer. I’m always willing to try new stuff, but it’s usually based on good reviews.

 

[Dandy]

Kroger brand (as well as Private Selection) is often superior to the name brand food items I used to get and are at discounted prices comparably. I have become loyal to the Kroger store for my grocery shopping.

We have had an Aldi for decades but it was a very small store in a run down part of town so it wasn’t as good. The layout required a serpentine winding through the store. There is an immaculate new Aldi in another location but it is further away than my closest Kroger.

Speaking of the “closest” Kroger, Huntington has Ghetto Kroger; Gucci Kroger; and College Kroger. These are what they are generally known as unilaterally. I know the Lexington and Cincinnati areas have similar namings and quality differences. How about the rest of you with your regional stores?

 

[Hawk 34]

It’s same with Kroger here and yeah, all three types of Kroger’s serve a specific purpose.

I like all of them, while I generally shop at the Whole Foods, Kroger is the better all purpose store and yeah their private selection stuff is generally ahead of even their regular brands and if I go to Kroger that prominently features boars head products in the deli, I’m generally not pleased because I would take PS product over the overpriced Boars Head stuff.

 

[Laz]

Most people are about brand loyalty so I find the responses itt interesting. Some people are unaware of that though.

It would make sense that most people still around here after the community being close to 20 years old would have similar outlooks on things. It's pretty funny where each of us is drawing a line, though.

Speaking of the “closest” Kroger, Huntington has Ghetto Kroger; Gucci Kroger; and College Kroger. These are what they are generally known as unilaterally. I know the Lexington and Cincinnati areas have similar namings and quality differences. How about the rest of you with your regional stores?

In the city I just left (Haverhill), we had three Market Basket locations, with one that was definitely more "ghetto" than the other two. Prices and selection reflected that, as well.

 

[King Kamala]

Are you hoping to use this as a bonding experience or do you need the child to help you do handiwork? No judgment.

Hah! The “child” is 20...and already more capable at like 75% of handiwork than me.

I know Tushy brags about how easy set up is but I see no way me doing it myself without ending up accidentally flooding the house.

 

[Baby Shoes]

Hah! The “child” is 20...and already more capable at like 75% of handiwork than me.

I know Tushy brags about how easy set up is but I see no way me doing it myself without ending up accidentally flooding the house.

I like reading Kamala posts and envisioning his life as a slightly awkward mid2000s buddy comedy.

 

[Hawk 34]

I like reading Kamala posts and envisioning his life as a slightly awkward mid2000s buddy comedy.

This is the vision I had in my head

 

[Dandy]

@Laz , don’t misconstrue what I and Hawk are saying about the different levels of Kroger. Pricing is the same at each one. The difference is one store looks like it is in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and one looks upscale with an above average sushi-to-go station, a Starbucks, and great craft beer selection. You could fit the ghetto Kroger inside a small part of the Gucci Kroger, and the cleanliness/look of the two is just as diverse. Selection is varied; price is not.

 

[SFH]

With all the recipe pages on the internet, you can find a way to make even the most budget of brands taste good. Our Sav-a-lot had these $4 beef shanks (I know lamb shank is the shit!) and they were rather large cuts. Verified on Google that it's a tough cut but found a slow cooker recipe with red wine and made a damn good stew.

I also had the sav-a-lot "pork shoulder" and was able to convert them into the Greek pork chop recipe I love in a few extra steps with equal tenderness.

I'm at the point where the only on label stuff I get is Jif peanut butter. Walmart's budget brands are hit and miss with allergen contaminations and a lot of "Great Value" has "may contain..." warnings, so I have to be careful when I wind up there.

 

[tekcop]

Memphis within "the loop" is like a checkerboard of tiny poor and rich neighborhoods where you've got legit mansions two blocks away from run down housing. So there's not really any "nice" vs. "bad" versions of any of the stores. The Kroger we go to has all the accoutrements of a suburban grocery, but also has a ton of armed security and self-checkout that is way more strict and will flag you as trying to steal if you touch anything after it's been put in a bag than what I've experienced at other Krogers.

 

[Epic Springs]

Target brand (or Good & Gather is what it's called) is hit or miss. There are some things where I don't care about the brand, like peanuts, and Target's are fine but something like salad dressing? Yeah, I'm going Ken's or Newman's Own for that.

 

[Mickey Massuco]

Memphis within "the loop" is like a checkerboard of tiny poor and rich neighborhoods where you've got legit mansions two blocks away from run down housing. So there's not really any "nice" vs. "bad" versions of any of the stores. The Kroger we go to has all the accoutrements of a suburban grocery, but also has a ton of armed security and self-checkout that is way more strict and will flag you as trying to steal if you touch anything after it's been put in a bag than what I've experienced at other Krogers.

Wow that sounds awful.

 

[King Kamala]

Some grocery stores are better than others here obviously and Shaws is way lower on the totem pole than Hannaford’s and Market Basket. But the only truly distinct grocery store I can think of is “Geriatric Shaw’s”, nicknamed as such cause it is near a senior living center and cause no one goes there other than 80 year olds who only go there cause it is the only grocery store they have ever gone to. And occasionally unfortunately me since it is closest store to my house and sometimes you just say “Frig it.”

They had a massive renovation and didn’t even bother to close the store for a day cause it would have disrupted the lives of so many geezers. Shopping experience during those six months was akin to hanging out in a third world bus station. Pure chaos.

Oh I guess ageist Kamala struck again with this post!

 

[Epic Springs]

Off topic for a bit: how do you feel about store brand stuff when it comes to non-food purchases? I once bought a beach towel from Walmart and that shit ripped in half in the first wash!

 

[SFH]

Memphis within "the loop" is like a checkerboard of tiny poor and rich neighborhoods where you've got legit mansions two blocks away from run down housing. So there's not really any "nice" vs. "bad" versions of any of the stores. The Kroger we go to has all the accoutrements of a suburban grocery, but also has a ton of armed security and self-checkout that is way more strict and will flag you as trying to steal if you touch anything after it's been put in a bag than what I've experienced at other Krogers.

This man speaks the truth. I've done 3 vacations to Memphis (I fucking love Memphis) but the drastic differences and how quickly you come upon the differences, is staggering. Just getting to the stadium I went from a neighborhood out of Beverly Hills 90210 to expecting my dad's side the family to be sitting around shirtless chewing Redman while swinging on the engine tied to a tree within a hundred yards of an intersection.

Off topic for a bit: how do you feel about store brand stuff when it comes to non-food purchases? I once bought a beach towel from Walmart and that shit ripped in half in the first wash!

My pharmacy has a $1 aisle of random shit, it's all single color labels with the item in bold letters. "BLEACH""WINDOW CLEANER" etc... I get the bleach for exterior cleaning but hell no not putting it with the wash. And I try not to rag too hard on Wal-mart quality textiles and clothes, but you're right. I bought some beach shoes there and my ankles were shot. The random shirt I got was worthless for anything other than a rag after 2 uses.

My store brand costco instant pot was a waste of gift giver's money. I see people doing all sorts of fascinating things with their on brand Insta-pots and I'm looking at my device and instruction manual, "nope, none of this matches up..." and the thing mercifully broke on me so I gifted it to a handyman friend. Told him "if you can fix it, keep it."

I'm not specifically brand loyal to Jordans, but for my money they are the best athletic shoe for a reason. Every pair I've ever owned lasted me YEARS before they wore down. New Balance is a close second to brand reliability. As much as I like the look of Chucks, they just haven't really lasted for me. I'm talking the standard canvas ones. Converse does make one hell of a basketball shoe. But I've definitely stopped buying sneakers from the Payless stores of the world. They break down so easily.