Food shoppers ditch big labels for the ‘plain box’ as experts say you should, too

Generic brands, sometimes referred to as “private label” or “store brands,” are increasingly popular today as shoppers face rising food prices in grocery stores. 

Some consumers believe these brands to be inferior, as the generic items usually cost less than their name-brand counterparts. As a result, they’re avoiding such products. 

But experts say they’ve noticed a consumer shift toward generic brands as people save money by shopping for these generics.

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“Don’t assume that a fancy label means higher quality,” Sylvain Charlebois, a professor and researcher of food distribution and policy at Dalhousie University in Canada, told Fox News Digital.

“Sometimes the plain box is the better deal and the better product.”

Kyndra Holley, author of the cookbook “Simply Delicious,” told Fox News Digital that she uses store-brand ingredients in her cooking “without hesitation.”

“It’s less important than people think,” she said. 

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“While there are a few name brands I trust for consistency,” she added, “I’m not generally loyal to labels.”

The food blogger, who lives near Seattle, focuses on budget-friendly grocery shopping advice in her new book and said she believes that preparing great food doesn’t have to be “complicated or expensive.”

Where there may be some small nutritional differences between generic items and their name-brand counterparts, Holley said the “differences are minimal.”

“Sometimes you’ll see a little more sodium or sugar in one over the other, but they’re usually comparable or sometimes even identical,” she said.

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“If you know how to season well, balance flavors and cook with intention, you can turn even the most humble pantry staples into a showstopper,” she said.

Elizabeth Schwab, founding chair of the master of arts behavioral economics program and chair of the business psychology program at The Chicago School, said she’s noticed similar consumer behavior when it comes to shopping.

“Consumers seem to be embracing generic over name brand in many categories due to a variety of influences, both economic and social,” she told Fox News Digital.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Private Label Manufacturers Association for comment.

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Product shortages during the pandemic encouraged many consumers to try other brands such as generics due to the limited availability of products at the time, according to Schwab.

“In many cases, [generics] are made by the same manufacturers.”

“This worked to expand consumers’ awareness of the breadth of choices they had, and they discovered that generic, in certain categories, held little perceptible differences in quality,” she said.

This is in line with what Charlebois has observed in the industry as well. 

“People are more price sensitive than ever,” he said.

Now, Charlebois said, price sensitivity doesn’t have to come at the cost of quality.

“Some store brands today are virtually indistinguishable from national brands, especially for staples like pasta, canned goods and dairy. In many cases, they’re made by the same manufacturers.”

Holley shared a similar observation, noting that the quality of generic versions has “improved dramatically.”

“Store brands today often rival – or even surpass – name brands in flavor and texture.”

“Store brands today often rival – or even surpass – name brands in flavor and texture,” she said. 

“You can find excellent generics for everything from pasta sauce to frozen veggies.”

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The cookbook author also praised the quality of generic pantry staples like flour, sugar, canned beans, dried pasta and basic spices, saying that the store brand is “often just as good.”

She advised, “Splurge on ingredients that really impact flavor, like good cheese, oils and vinegars, and butter, to name a few.”

“These are the flavor makers.”