Two packs sit side by side on the shelf: one famous, the other under the shop's own name. The second is cheaper, and the question comes up: is it worth it? The answer is neither "always" nor "never". In some products the difference is hardly visible, in others everyone feels it. Let us see where which choice is sensible.

What an own brand is

An own brand is a product sold under the name of the shop itself or its chain. Usually producers make it to order, and the shop chooses the recipe, the packaging and the price. Such goods are usually cheaper because the shop does not spend money on advertising a famous name.

That does not mean the product is bad. But it does not mean it is the same either. The shop decides the producer, the ingredients and the price, so quality differs from shop to shop and from product to product. Do not judge by the name, judge by a trial.

Where to switch boldly

Start with products where there is "nothing to spoil". Flour, sugar, salt, rice, buckwheat, pasta, sunflower oil, tinned peas and sweetcorn, water, paper towels. The difference in them is minimal, and the saving builds up fast because these products are bought often and in quantity.

Look at the ingredients of oil or flour under different names: do they look the same? If so, expensive packaging is hardly justified. Here is how flour looks by shop now:

Where it is cheaper: flour

All offers

Compare not the names but the price per kilogram. How to do it we explained in the article on price per kilogram.

How to read the ingredients

The ingredient list on the back of the pack is the chief judge. Ingredients are listed from the most to the least. Compare two packs: what comes first, how many additives there are, whether there is extra sugar or substitutes. If the lists are the same or almost, there is no point paying for the name.

For sunflower oil compare the type (refined, unrefined), for cheese and yoghurt whether it is milk or a "dairy product". The main rule: compare like with like.

Sunflower oil in the catalogues:

In the catalogues now: sunflower oil

All offers

Where the differences show

There are products where the own brand often loses on taste: coffee, chocolate, biscuits, sauces, sausage. Here taste decides, and it is different for everybody. One person likes cheap coffee, another does not.

Do not decide blind. Buy one small pack of the own brand and try it. If you do not like it, you lost a little money but learned that for this product you take the brand. Coffee in the catalogues now:

In the catalogues now: coffee

All offers

If the brand matters to you, buy it on offer. That way you pay less without losing on taste. The general rules for offers are in the article on discount traps.

A blind test at home

The most honest way is a blind test. Take two brands of the same product, put them on different plates without packaging and ask the household which is tastier. Do not say which is which. Write down the results.

Often it turns out that nobody can tell or that the dear one loses. Sometimes the opposite: the brand wins unanimously. Then that is your "brand" product. The test costs a few minutes and a little money, and the saving then lasts for months.

Biscuits are a good example for a test: the brand and the store brand differ a lot:

In the catalogues now: biscuits

All offers

The one-swap rule

Do not change everything at once. Make one swap a week: first flour, then rice, then oil. If you did not like something, you go back to that one only. After a month you have a list of "take the store's" and "take the brand".

Write the result in your phone notes, briefly, in one word. In half a year you will be surprised how many products have moved to the cheap side without loss in the food. More methods are collected in the article how to save on groceries.

When the brand is the better buy

It happens that a brand on offer is cheaper per kilogram than the store product without an offer. More often with sweets, drinks and coffee. So look at the price per kilogram, not at the name, and check the flyers.

The brand is also the better buy when you know a proven taste and do not want to risk it. If you are cooking for guests or for an important occasion, better take what you are sure of.

A summary as a decision table

  • Flour, sugar, salt, rice, grains, pasta: try the store brand boldly.
  • Oil, tins, water: try, comparing the ingredients.
  • Coffee, tea, chocolate, biscuits, sauces: a trial is a must, taste decides.
  • A brand on offer: compare its price per kilogram with the store brand.
  • In doubt: a blind test at home.