MPmomof3Who manufactures generic brands?
March 2nd 2010 00:15
:
Generic Brand Product Lines
Product prices for generic brands are less expensive than those for name brands. Have you ever wondered, however, who manufactures generic, private store label products?
Today I was thinking back to the Wal-Mart Great Value brand peanut butter salmonella recall of 2007. (Click here to read FDA FAQ about the recall). Some of the peanut butter was manufactured by Conagra Foods, the parent company of Peter Pan name brand peanut butter. Yet, when I visited the Conagra Foods brand name page, I could not find the Great Value brand listed as one of the products they produce.
It is no secret that name brand manufacturers pour hundreds of thousands of dollars (or more) into their advertising budgets each year, trying to focus consumer spending upon those profitable products. Generics are different. They leave the hard work to the big guys and let their prices speak for themselves once we come to the grocery store. They are usually less expensive than the name brand product unless a sale and/or coupon, rebate, etc. brings the name brand product's price down below that of the generic alternative.
In addition to their lack of advertising expense, another reason why generics are so competitively priced is that they are not committed to a specific name brand's manufacturer. This allows generic brand marketers to "shop around" for the best price among several competitors.
Although generics are priced competitively, there is still a certain social stigma attached to purchasing them. There is a mentality that consumers who purchase generic products are being "cheap" and purchasing items of inferior quality. This is not always the case, however.
The question remains, then, how do you know which generic brands are as good as the name brands? Trial and error? Reading ingredient labels? Online research of the generic and name brand product names? Yes, all of these are ways to discover the level of generic brand quality. It is difficult, however, if not impossible to find a comprehensive list of generic products manufactured on the same assembly line as name brand products. The closest thing I could find to a manufacturer's list of generic house brands was a Wikipedia article detailing some of the manufacturers of Wal-mart brands. You can view it here.
Today I was thinking back to the Wal-Mart Great Value brand peanut butter salmonella recall of 2007. (Click here to read FDA FAQ about the recall). Some of the peanut butter was manufactured by Conagra Foods, the parent company of Peter Pan name brand peanut butter. Yet, when I visited the Conagra Foods brand name page, I could not find the Great Value brand listed as one of the products they produce.
It is no secret that name brand manufacturers pour hundreds of thousands of dollars (or more) into their advertising budgets each year, trying to focus consumer spending upon those profitable products. Generics are different. They leave the hard work to the big guys and let their prices speak for themselves once we come to the grocery store. They are usually less expensive than the name brand product unless a sale and/or coupon, rebate, etc. brings the name brand product's price down below that of the generic alternative.
In addition to their lack of advertising expense, another reason why generics are so competitively priced is that they are not committed to a specific name brand's manufacturer. This allows generic brand marketers to "shop around" for the best price among several competitors.
Although generics are priced competitively, there is still a certain social stigma attached to purchasing them. There is a mentality that consumers who purchase generic products are being "cheap" and purchasing items of inferior quality. This is not always the case, however.
The question remains, then, how do you know which generic brands are as good as the name brands? Trial and error? Reading ingredient labels? Online research of the generic and name brand product names? Yes, all of these are ways to discover the level of generic brand quality. It is difficult, however, if not impossible to find a comprehensive list of generic products manufactured on the same assembly line as name brand products. The closest thing I could find to a manufacturer's list of generic house brands was a Wikipedia article detailing some of the manufacturers of Wal-mart brands. You can view it here.
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