To wonder why anyone buys branded products?

[superstarheartbreaker]

When they are so much more expensive?

Especially things like washing powder; Persil etc ; at least £4.00 for a bottle of fabric washing gel. Tescos own; £2.00 for a bottle of similar gel often with added conditioner. Does the job fine.

Admittedly some products have no equal like Marmite or Nutella and there are certain value products that don't cut it but it does strike me as odd that so many stick to brands that are so expensive and then moan about the price of shopping nowadays. It is possible to be savvy even in these difficult times. (Although I still baulk at the price of butter and cheese recently branded or not.)

My stuff is probably 50/50 OB and branded. Apart from emergencies I only buy branded stuff when it is very reduced (and hugely bulk buy to last till next time it is on offer). The difference in full price branded to OB pricewise is astonishing. And for mayo it must be OB M and S :)

The only branded stuff I buy is when there's no equivalent (Ecover cleaning products, Clipper coffee). Pretty much everything else I buy own brand apart from a few things where there's simply no equal (Lurpak butter, Hienz mayo, Colman's mustard). For some things own brand is better as well as cheaper - it only ever seems to be own brand loo roll / kitchen roll / tissues that's recyled.

Often people are habituated to the taste of branded things, so they think that's how things "should" taste.

Stuff like baked beans, ketchup, coca cola, pickle, crisps, toothpaste, chocolate, sweets, biscuits, squash. It's not about tasting "better", more about tasting absolutely familiar - and having the same texture too.

Different brands do often -(although not always, sometimes the same place is supplying a big brand and a supermarket, and the only difference is the packaging )- taste different, and you'd have to keep buying something that you perhaps felt tasted inferior, or "wrong" for a while, until you got used to that taste.

I like to try different things, especially with stuff like washing powder, I like a change of scent every now and then. But sometimes you crave something particular, and you know that a specific brand will have the taste you are after. I don't drink coca cola very often, for example, but when I do, it has to be the branded stuff, nothing else will do!

I buy a mix, but only as we like some branded products more then supermarket own.

I used to work for one of the very big companies who make a lot of these brands. And was told a couple of things when working there that had left me totally non brand loyal.

1. Regarding cleaning and personal hygiene products, our job is to sell the public as much H2O (water) as possible.
2. When they bring out any new product, say your washing powder says new and improved on the box, they have then sold the previous formula to companies who make generic supermarket own brands. So they can still make some money out of it.

So you are gently still buying a formulation that was a brand not that long ago.

I buy a lot of own brand items from Aldi, but things are non-negotiable in the Golden household, DH will only buy Andrex 'puppies on a roll' loo roll and only have heinz ketchup, he also prefers (but will eat others if he must) Warburtons farmhouse bread.

I find Aldi's Almat washing gel brilliant (the one that comes in a rounded bottle with green lid), the softener is great too, as is the magnum washing up liquid, their version of jaffa cakes, frozen veg and frozen desserts. The baked beans are not bad either and DD eats them quite happily, even DH and I are now used to them and I find the heinz beans very sugary now!

I also buy the big bottle of the Aldo light olive oil, so much cheaper than the same amount of bertolli etc.

actually coffee I do like dowe egbert, I will buy any coffee that is on offer, but there isn't an own brand usually for decade filter coffee. So I keep coming back to dowe egberts and it is on offer in tesco atm

Ivykaty44. Try the Sainsburys OB coffee, my mum liked the Original ready ground but I go for the espresso beans but there are various others. Fantastic value and I like the beans better than the usual Lavazza etc

we buy a mixture n actually buy whatever is cheapest n know is ok like value beans n ketchup n yogurts but meat has to be British n outdoor reared or free range where possible. its about shopping within your means. i like to cook from scratch so basic range stuff is fine. we live right by an aldi so use that alot.

Tried the Tesco own brand shampoo and it made my head itch so badly I went to get checked for lice! 1 wash with branded later and it wasn't itchy anymore.

I try to buy Tesco own for everything else, Tesco value for most things as I have a weekly shop budget of £35.

nemno - it must be decafe and I struggle to find it in own brand - I use sainsbury, tesco and lidl no loyalty from me!

countrykitten
"their animal testing regulations are MUCH better that Proctor & Gamble and the other massive companies."

Sorry to be a massive cynic, but do you have any proof for this? I was under the impression that all animal testing regulations were controlled at an EU level, and that all ingredients in household products (ie not pharma) haven't used live animals tests for years if not decades

Happy to stand corrected if you can point me in the direction of something concrete, but that is a very bold claim to make otherwise

Own brand laundry detergent/soap/conditioner/shampoo/etc cost me more in antihistamines to treat the ensuing skin reaction than I would save buying them...I buy the brand and skip the allergy.

I buy what I like and what I don't react to, but I look for quality over names.

the other week i bought a bag of carrots in morrisons.
The saver carrots were 40p a big bag and tasted no different to the sainsburys carrots i bought the week before for a £1 for a smaller bag.
I dont feel the need to pay for for my food to come in a prettier bag

sparechange no bold claims here just the truth

I can't do links on here but your idea that live animal testing is not used by P&G is way wide of the mark. Not sure why you thought live animal testing had not been used in years/decades?

A tiny little bit of google research will show you what goes on at P&G and also give you an idea of the supermarkets' policies.

But tbh most people don't give a flying fuck.

Because we've been brainwashed by direct marketing since we were born to believe each brand is more amazing than any other despite having the same ingredients.

I definately dont get people who spend a fortune on loo roll...I mean really? I buy cheap stuff and it is just as soft as many others...apart from Andrex really..I really don't need silk to wipe my bum with!

If money was no object I would shove whatever in my basket but I am always looking for the cheapest offer. What I save on branded products I spend on other things!

I must admit I do use branded shampoo.

We have a mix of brand, own brand and value

Thinkgs like baked beans, ketchup, loo roll, washing powder/dishwasher tablets are branded because we prefer them and we usually buy it in bulk from cash and carry so it's usually cheaper than supermarket own brands

Meanwhile, there is no law whatsoever to stop animal testing for household cleaning products

From PETA's website today.

They have tightened up on cosmetics testing hugely but now people need to push for the same to happen with household products. Much of this testing happens abroad financed by these huge companies.

No thread hijack intended but I do think people should think about this stuff when they buy their beloved brands.

I know where I'm from (not the UK) the unbranded stuff is often the SAME as the branded stuff - same factory, same recipe. I don't know how this works, but there must be examples where this is the case in the UK.

I don't see the point in fabric conditioner either. Waste of money.

Country kitten, didn't know that, thanks for the heads up :)

Heinz beans are probably the best beans ever but when I can save 40p I will.
Unbranded products I love:
Lidls bran flakes are 45p or so and taste good.
Lidls muesli has won awards and is delicious; better than Tescos even.
Lidls Greek yoghurt is delicious.
I swear by Tescos clothes washing gel. But as I havn't bought branded well ever due to extortionate prices I have nothing to compare it to. I refuse to spend £4.00-8.00 on a bottle of gunk.
Tescos lemon washing up liquid is fine and about 56p.
always go for unbranded butter, pizza, cereals etc.
Prefer Pataks mango chutney but will buy lidls etc.

Spot the Lidls fan!

ving said that; they do brands cheaper too.

I agree in part we downshifted from brands to own brands.
then down to their value range.

some value stuff is awful

things spring to mind value cereal grim.
kids dont mind value ketchup they cant tell difference.
value beans and value tomatoes-lilds /aldis own better and only few pennies more.

we use lilds formil powder think its won a a which award and its great easily as good as branded.
Also fan of lidls nappies.

value wipes are ok

I never buy value meat-sainsburys basics fish ok.

I do try to buy branded butter on offer.
prefer supermarket sqauash as double concentrate.

prefer branded crips.

Only drink coca cola.

aldis magnum washing up liquid as good as fairy

aldis copies the look of brands so loomk same as well know brands some are ok.

aldis london company soup as nice as covent garden.

aldis/lilds fresh meat all british and red tractor get free range chicken for 4.99.

The special k red berries not as nice- the waitrose version better as is m&s one .

Oh doesnt like the champion aldi oven chips I think they as good as mcain.

The muller corners are ok however they normally same price as muller corners when on offer.

often buy cathedral city as on offer we do like mature cheese.

buy milk from lilds/farmfoods as tastes same as other brands.

bread unless its premuim supermarket we warbertons fans but try to buy reduced or on offer.

Gone off cadburys since kraft took over they ruined it.

we dont buy many brands these days.

we prepared to give other stuff a go and if dont like we dont buy again.