Shoppers are confronted with it during every trip to the store: which is better, the store brand or the name brand? In an advice column, in the Star Telegram, Fort Worth, Texas, Jerry Romansky told one reader her love of national brands may be misguided.
The reader seeking advice, Mary S. from McLean, VA, said she always goes with the name brand despite the increased cost because she has more confidence in its reputation and likes the familiar logo. Her husband, on the other hand, always goes for the store brand because it’s cheaper. After 27 years of marriage, she wants to know who is right.
Romansky said, “‘Store brand’ and ‘generic brand’ are no longer synonymous,” meaning private label product quality has increased dramatically since Mary and her husband were newly weds. He said store brands come in differentiating price points, from economical to premium. “Today's store brand is often a name brand of its own,” he added
The reason Mary and other may be loyal to name brands is mostly due to the placebo effect, where the logo or name brings comfort, he noted.
Romansky suggested all shoppers to try different brands in the smallest quantity available and compare.