Brand leaders or brand bleeders?

[Workingman]

My friend Mo is brand fixated. It it's not Heinz, Napolina, McVities, Birds Eye or M&S etc. forget it. She spends a fortune.

I am the opposite, if it tastes good it's in. OK, I have had to try a few things, and failed with many, but now I save a fortune. I make a lot of my own stuff and a tinned tomato is a tinned tomato, as is a red kidney bean; pasta, whatever the shape is pasta, a frozen pea is a frozen pea and basmati rice is basmati rice.

Why do so many of us go "branded"?

[meriad]

Totally agree.... I'm definitely not a brand buyer. Same as you I give alternatives a try and 9/10 the cheaper non brand option is equally good if not better. I think the two things that I do stick with branded though are mayonnaise and salad cream. Somehow the own brand just isn't the same, esp for the mayo

[Kaz]

Same as Ria

[Workingman]

That's three of us.

Well two, actually. I hate salad cream and I make my own mayo.

[TheOstrich]

We're prepared to try alternatives or "Essentials" type tins or products, but we have found the quality / taste can be a bit variable.
So yes to the Aldi versions of mayo, biscuits and spreads, for example, but no to their washing up liquid, Mrs O says be should stick to Fairy.
And Mrs O decrees it must be Domestos and not Waitrose Essentials bleach.
I find own brand soups can be a bit iffy on taste compared to Heinz.
Our current ploy is to buy brand products in bulk (and I mean bulk!) whenever they're on special offer to keep the cost down, or buy recognised brands from "middle of the road" supermarket retailers like Iceland

[jenniren]

We're very happy with own brands and will give most things a go, but as Ossie says some can be variable. For instance we have Sainsburys own fresh ground coffee, but instant has to be Nescafe and baked beans must be Branston.

[miasmum]

I feel the same about labels on clothes. Why is it the more you spend the more labels they stick on it to prove it? My friend paid a fortune on a Michael Kors bag and its on the bag, the zip, some dangly thing. I didn't pay much for my Next bag and no one knows where it is from. I thought quality spoke for itself? Obviously not

[cruiser2]

Ibuy twopackets of Taylors ground coffee when it is on offer.
Also Tesco soups when they are on offer. Will not buy prepared meals as I am on a diet and like to prepare my own meals.
Buy fresh veg not in plastic bags. Saudage from butcher who makes his own. Not for much longer as they are demolishing the market.
Similar with cooked meats. Have cut out bread and cakes as there is too much sugar in it.

[meriad]

but no to their washing up liquid, Mrs O says be should stick to Fairy. And Mrs O decrees it must be Domestos and not Waitrose Essentials bleach.

Cleaning products are a totally different ballgame for me - it's one thing I will pay more for if I have to, my one criteria for everything is that it absolutely has to be cruelty free. Sainsbury's own cleaning products usually are, as are most of Aldi. Dishwashing and washing machine tablets I get online from Smol - both cruelty and plastic free.

Ossie, I do find there often is quite a marked difference between store own brands when it comes to their basic / essential range vs normal range (not branded). Sainsbury's own brand tinned sweetcorn for example is great, but their essentials / basic range is really not nice at all. But I definitely won't buy Green Giant

[meriad]

I feel the same about labels on clothes. Why is it the more you spend the more labels they stick on it to prove it? My friend paid a fortune on a Michael Kors bag and its on the bag, the zip, some dangly thing. I didn't pay much for my Next bag and no one knows where it is from. I thought quality spoke for itself? Obviously not

Shell, I bought a new Michael Kors coat the other day, from TK Max so marked down loads compared to their usual price. And in line with my cleaning product ethos, the reason I bought it was that the entire coat is man made fabric; no animal fur / feathers used. My current winter jacket is from Sainsbury's and was really cheap (but nice and warm) but at the time I was more focused on making sure that the fur trim was fake and didn't think about the inner - and it's down So again, happy to pay a bit extra for something that was / is important to me.