• frickineh@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Most of them? Generics are frequently the same thing from the same manufacturer with cheaper packaging and no/very little marketing. There are very few things I’ve ever tried that were noticeably better in the name brand.

    • HubertManne@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      I was going to say everything. I mean its not everything but if you don’t know its always best to give them a try if the price difference is good and if you don’t like it then thats one of the few things not to get. Especially now. generics used to be pretty meh but man now they are sometimes better. Oh man dominicks had this store brand chunky peanut butter that I have not been able to find an equal to since they closed.

      • teegus@sh.itjust.works
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        1 year ago

        Sometimes store brands/generics have lower meat content for example, if you buy, say, meat balls or fish products. While other products are literally the same just with another logo. Always check the ingredients (at least in my country they give a lot of information)

        • HubertManne@kbin.social
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          1 year ago

          oh I always compare the ingredients just like price per unit. Im one of those folks who forgets to mention things like this so thanks.

      • Poik@pawb.social
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        1 year ago

        Interesting. Outside of chips, I’ve had a lot of luck with Private Selection (Kroger’s no name brand). I’ve had quality issues with Food Lion and Walmart’s perishables, but not as often with Kroger. Kroger’s non perishables don’t seem to be much different than Walmart’s though.

        • Artyom@lemm.ee
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          1 year ago

          Private Selection isn’t bad, I was referring to Kroger brand as in it actually says Kroger, which is a suffering I wish on no one. It’s also worth noting that Private Selection is a substantial bump in price over plain Kroger brand.

          • Poik@pawb.social
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            1 year ago

            Still pretty cheap, but yeah. I’ve had little from the Kroger line that I’d buy again, so that’s fair enough.

      • espy@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        As far as I know Hydrox isn’t a generic, it was the original brand. Oreo was an imitation and came later, but store brands/generic even later

        • Rhynoplaz@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          You are 100% correct. This commenter seems to have confused “generic” with “competition”.

    • schmidtster@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      That’s a placebo affect. Most generics are stuff that don’t meet the standards of the name brand, but is still fine to sell. Kind of a form of downcycling.

      • frickineh@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        I don’t know that placebo is the right word (or if you just pulled that info out of your ass) but even if it was, if people consume the generic and just feel like it was the same, then who cares? It’s not like people are buying Kirkland chemotherapy, it’s some cookies or lotion or whatever, and our feelings about those things are totally subjective anyway.

        • burchalka@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          And even with medicine - not sure about cancer treatments, but headaches cured fine with generic ibuprofen vs more expensive Nurofen™ or similar

      • Neato@kbin.social
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        1 year ago

        There’s way WAY too many generic and store brands for them all to just be QC rejects.

        • LinkOpensChest.wav@lemmy.one
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          1 year ago

          They’re not. I have celiac, and I’ve learned from reading labels that they often have completely different ingredients/manufacturing conditions.

          They’re not QC rejects, but they’re also not the same thing repackaged.

          • Honytawk@lemmy.zip
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            1 year ago

            Usually it is just cheaper ingredients but made in the same factory, and branded with a different label.

            • LinkOpensChest.wav@lemmy.one
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              1 year ago

              See, this is what people say, but now that I’ve been reading labels I don’t believe it.

              For example, I cannot eat Kellogg’s Rice Krispies, but some off brands are made with a different formula that doesn’t include gluten and is manufactured in a safe environment.

              Conversely, I can eat Cheerios, but not most store brands, Lucky Charms but not most store brands, etc.

              And that’s just cereal! Even drugs vary wildly. Sure, the active ingredients are the same, but the other contents can really vary.

              Some foods have similar ingredients, but are either manufactured on shared equipment with wheat and dairy, or not.

              I now believe that most store brands are made in a unique environment. I’m open to being convinced otherwise, but if you need more examples, I can check my cupboard and tell you all kinds of things!

      • squiblet@kbin.social
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        1 year ago

        It’s more common that they’re made by factories during what otherwise would be their downtime, like a production run wedged in at night.