"They're a lot better in terms of the quality and in terms of the packaging, said Consumer Reports Tod Marks.
"[We've] long surveyed subscribers about their preferences when it comes to food. Seventy per cent of those we surveyed said the quality of store brands is really quite high," he said.
Consumer Reports' trained tasters compared leading brand names to store brands, trying 29 different foods. They did blind taste tests on everything from salsa to frozen strawberries. Betty Crocker's Au Gratin Potatoes went head to head with Great Value by Walmart. And the winner? Great Value, at half the price!
Old el Paso Thick n Chunky salsa battled it out with Costco's Kirkland Signature Organic. Kirkland's Medium Salsa is just plain tastier and is almost half the price!
We've had similar results over the years in our PNE taste tests. For example, back in 2005 we when tried big name colas against house brands The name brands won but a large percentage liked the house brands too. When it came to cranberry cocktails, the national brand beat the house brand, but with Cran-Raspberry the results were reversed.
And with snack crackers again the house brands were competitive making them worth a try especially when you factor in the money you save.
On average, store brands can save you about 27 per cent compared to national brands and Consumer Reports tasters found them as good as or better than big-name brands 23 out of 29 times. So switching to store brands can be a tasty way to trim your grocery bill.
If you are unsure, before you buy ask the store if they have a risk free guarantee -- many stores do. They allow you to bring back the house brand if you are not satisfied
