Anyone here buys Inhouse Brands over Private Labels?

[Jade138]

Nowadays when you go shopping, you are able to find Inhouse Brands of products over the famous private labels.

For example, Supersol has their own Inhouse mineral water, butter and olive oil etc.

The most important benefit is Inhouse Brands are usually cheaper than Private Labels.

Which Housebrand is really as good or even better than the ccompetiting labels?

IMPO, Skippy crunchy peanut butter is the best and yummylicious. Have tried a few housebrands but they were poles apart.

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Brand Names Taste Best?

Generic used to be the cheap alternative for folks who couldn't afford name brand products. The ugly boxes became synonymous with third rate. Not anymore. Now known as "store brands," the product labels look almost as slick as their name brand counterparts. But shoppers still say they prefer national brands over store brands. They say they're fresher or have better quality ingredients or just taste better.

But do they?

"We love to tell ourselves this story that we're paying a little bit extra because my family is worth it. We're paying a little bit extra for the quality. And that's just a myth," said marketing expert Seth Godin, author of "All Marketers Are Liars."

"20/20" decided to give that myth a taste test. Can shoppers in Hoboken, N.J., tell the difference?

Shoppers were asked to compare Albertson store brand Raisin Bran against Kellogg's Raisin Bran and its store brand peanut butter against Skippy Peanut Butter.

Stouffers Veggie Lasagna, Tropicana Orange Juice and Kraft cheese slices went head-to-head with Shop Rite's store brands.

And Chips Ahoy! took on Safeway's chocolate chip cookies.

The adults in our random sampling had a difficult time determining which was the store brand and which was the national brand.

And if the products taste similar, it's no accident. Many store brands are made by the exact same manufacturers.

But Godin says that doesn't matter, because we're emotionally attached to the labels we grew up with.

"The only reason you're eating ketchup is to remind you of being 3. And so the brand you had when you were 3 is the brand you're going to eat for the rest of your life," he said. "If I switch the bottles, if I put Hunt's Ketchup inside your Heinz bottle," Grodin added, "you would like it just as much."

One woman who told us she hated store brands ended up liking them better four times out of six.

In the end, the only clear national brand preferences were for Skippy and Kraft. Otherwise, the big name national brands failed to score a knockout. The humble store brands held their own — or were even preferred — half the time.

While "20/20's" test was unscientific, an independent study sponsored by the private label industry recently found similar results. Hundreds of tasters around the country scored it a split decision.

The real difference is in the price. The six national brand products in the taste test cost about $33, while the store brands cost $23 — almost 30 percent less.

[costachick]

I tend to buy the Mercadona brand of foods which is the Hacendado range, the only labeled goods I buy are Flora marg, colgate toothpaste and Skip clothes washing liquid.

I've tried the Carrefour own brand but Hacendado is much better.

[Jade138]

Mercadona - I like their nutty bread.
Have not tried any of Inhouse labels, shall look out for it.

[spanish_lad]

i can honestly say that i have never in my life bought heinz beans or ketchup

we live off of "own brand" foods, and i dont think i´d like the change. apart from anything, the price difference between mercadona own brands and imported uk foods is so shocking that that would stop me buying it before i even got to the taste test...

[pigs-might-fly]

I agree about Mercadona's bread - not their own label actually, but the small round brown "Cinco Semillas" is the best bread available of its type in Spain!
As far ar white bread is concerned our bread of choice is Semilla d'Oro, (costly though)- suprisingly, perhaps, from Bimbo, whose ordinary bread is, well, very ordinary.

Mercadona is the cheapest by kilometres for fresh fish - we go nowhere else for it!

Hacendado marmalade, Naranja Amarga, is similar to UK type produced with Seville oranges, is perfectly acceptable and much cheaper than any alternative!

[Jade138]

[quote="pigs-might-fly"]Mercadona is the cheapest by kilometres for fresh fish - we go nowhere else for it!
Agree. They also have the freshest best raw langostinos frozen at sea. Not cheap but worth the price.

[Kelly4]

We buy Mercadona's own brand 'Wotsits' because they're the only ones without Sunset Yellow colouring.

A weekly shop at Mercadona (with a mixture of Hacendado and name brand stuff) is always at least 10 euros cheaper than Carrefour.

Kelly

[pigs-might-fly]

Mercadona have a website where, after registration, you can buy all their products on-line.
A postcode search will reveal their nearest store to you. This can be quite useful if you are very familiar with their individual products from first hand experience. I would not buy "blind" from any on-line store selling food or clothes!. Mercadona do have a home delivery service which is very reasonably priced - a boon for those who find carrying heavy shopping home difficult,

[brenda]

As soon as you come over 10km inland Mercadonna can´t deliver - no can do! Delivery here - although only 15 minutes from nearest Mercadona - impossible!!!

[redsoxbrit]

Mercadona deliver here in Coin which is perfect as they are positioned at the bottom of a hill.........

[brenda]

Sorry - should have worded things better! Meant 10km outside a town - will obviously deliver to inland towns.

[askrigg]

Not food I know, but Mercadona cleaning products in the Bosque Verde range are excellent. I use their washing tablets and anti-cal for the washing machine and also the dishwasher tablets.

I agree with pigs-might-fly about the bread.
Their own brand tinned fruit is also very good.
They are not always the cheapest though.I found a couple of branded items in Supersol which were not as expensive as in Mercadona.

I now have two Lidl stores within reasonable driving distance and shop there for quite a number of items. Both stores have a quick turn over in fruit and vegetables and I have found them to be very good value for money.They stock a pretty good range of Spanish wines too.