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Is it true that name brand companies make the generic and store brand version of products?

Someone told me this and I found it surprising. So Kellogg's make the Kroger version of Frosted Flakes?

by Anonymousreply 27May 23, 2020 2:48 AM

No.

by Anonymousreply 1May 22, 2020 6:27 AM

When I was in business school we went to a pasta factory, and we arrived right when when the assembly line workers were changing the packaging from the name brand bag to the one used for the generic. Needless to say it was a lesson on market cannibalization.

by Anonymousreply 2May 22, 2020 6:53 AM

Which means what R2?

by Anonymousreply 3May 22, 2020 6:58 AM

I'd love to know who REALLY manufactures Krave! and Fillows. Allegedly, Krave! is Kellog, and Fillows is General Mills, but if you compare them side by side, it's BLATANTLY obvious that they're both manufactured using the EXACT same process, molds, and machinery. Basically, someone figured out how to inject fillings into Cap'n Crunch.

My hunch is that they're manufactured by NEITHER Kellog NOR General Mills, and both companies outsource it to some third company that owns a patent on the manufacturing process... which might also explain why their box size is different from the normal boxes used by Kellog and General Mills.

by Anonymousreply 4May 22, 2020 7:20 AM

Costco sells “American Vodka”. It’s bottled by Skye

by Anonymousreply 5May 22, 2020 8:57 AM

Costco's Kirkland batteries are made by Duracell. That's straight from the Costco CEO's mouth.

This article lists some of the other Kirkland brand products that are made by name brands:

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 6May 22, 2020 10:27 AM

The answer is some of them.

by Anonymousreply 7May 22, 2020 10:38 AM

First, you need to distinguish between factories and name brands. Goods are often made at factories that are independently owned and make products for several companies. For instance Singer, Brother, and Kenmore sewing machines were made at the same factory, but it was not a "Singer" factory.

Second, just because a product is made at the same factory, it does not mean that is its the same product. Often cheaper parts will be used for one product. Factories will retool between runs. It may be made at the same factory, with the same employees, but it does not mean it is the same product.

Third, even though a product may be the same brand, and even have the same serial number, it is not necessarily the same. KitchenAid mixers that are sold at Target, Williams Sonoma, Martha Stewart, etc. are not the same quality. The cheaper mixers are cheaper because they have plastic parts, not metal. Name Brands will make a cheaper version for discount stores that appears to be identical to the standard item.

by Anonymousreply 8May 22, 2020 10:44 AM

Some are, but a lot of store brand or generic products very specifically state they are not manufactured by the brand name they're a lower-priced version of.

R4, General Mills has one cereal factory in Albuquerque, while Kellogg's cereals are made in 180 different factories across the world. I doubt they're the same manufacturer. They might be using the same machines though, I found a company called Baker Perkins that makes cereal manufacturing machines, so maybe General Mills and Kellogg's both use Baker Perkins machines.

by Anonymousreply 9May 22, 2020 10:54 AM

Yes

Breyers/Nestle does Haagen-Dazs in the same factory is making generic ice cream. The production lines run side by side.

by Anonymousreply 10May 22, 2020 11:20 AM

It's normal here. Why would you let other companies make generic version of your merchandise?

by Anonymousreply 11May 22, 2020 11:20 AM

R5 the american Kirkland vodka is swill Even at $12. The French Kirkland vodka at $19.99 is allegedly made by Grey Goose and is exponentially better.

by Anonymousreply 12May 22, 2020 11:39 AM

You sound like a drunk, r12.

by Anonymousreply 13May 22, 2020 12:06 PM

In some cases yes, in others no. I do know that they Equate brand of products in Walmart are made by the major manufacturers. I rented a house to a Walmart manager for 3 years once and he filled me in on that tidbit. And their Walmart brand yogurt tastes just like Dannon because it is Dannon yogurt.

Generally when you see the line on the packaging "compare to "major brand name" you can be pretty confident that the product is made by that major brand.

by Anonymousreply 14May 22, 2020 12:13 PM

Store brand champagne in European supermarkets is made with grapes grown by known houses and cooperatives and sometimes is made by those very houses.

by Anonymousreply 15May 22, 2020 12:34 PM

Aren't Vizio TVs made by Samsung?

by Anonymousreply 16May 22, 2020 1:45 PM

[quote]I do know that they Equate brand of products in Walmart are made by the major manufacturers.

Several of the Equate brands specifically say they are NOT manufactured by the same company they are a knock-off of.

If you really know otherwise, then you should be able to make bank by suing them for false advertising... but you don't know otherwise, you're just repeating a story someone maybe told you once.

by Anonymousreply 17May 22, 2020 1:47 PM

One of the first things you learn in economics - the fraud of branding. It shocks me that people are willing to pay significantly more for a brand name or store. Everyone should be forced to take an economics class in high school.

by Anonymousreply 18May 22, 2020 1:51 PM

[quote] Several of the Equate brands specifically say they are NOT manufactured by the same company they are a knock-off of.

I've yet to see that on any packaging. Things may have changed and It may be true as the Walmart manager I rented the house to was years ago.

Here are 13 store brands that are made by the major manufacturers.

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 19May 22, 2020 1:57 PM

I like Post Grape Nuts. They can be pricey. So I bought a box of Publix version of the same thing. They were very similar but there was a noticeable difference.

So in this instance I don't think the same manufacturer makes both.The store brand versions of cereals are not exactly like their brand name versions. Actually I compare it to Designer knock offs in clothing. In a lot of cases, the companies making the knock offs are subsidiaries of the Top brand. Everyone knows that Ralph Lauren, Cole Haan, and a lot of other designers do it. It's a licensing thing.

by Anonymousreply 20May 22, 2020 1:58 PM

I repeat, It can be made by the same company or factory, but that does not mean it is the same product. Materials and design are changed between runs.

by Anonymousreply 21May 22, 2020 2:13 PM

Cereals seem to be almost like Coca-Cola, made with secret formulas and companies don't want to dilute the brand association. I think it's also because kids are heavy cereal consumers and kids are very brand-conscious.

I bought the off-brand of Grape Nuts and it was not the same as Grape Nuts.

by Anonymousreply 22May 22, 2020 9:17 PM

I’ve purchased some house brands that I like better, some I don’t, and some that seemed tone the same (foods). It comes down to personal preference, provided cleanliness standards are the same.

by Anonymousreply 23May 22, 2020 9:24 PM

I have no ideas why the word “tone” inserted itself. Damn mobile.

by Anonymousreply 24May 22, 2020 9:25 PM

I'd love to find a store-brand variant of Cheerios that could fool me in a double-blind test. Every now and then, I'll try one. They're never, ever the same. Either the taste is slightly off, or their texture. Walmart's, in particular, are distinctly "foamy" compared to "real" Cheerios.

I discovered one interesting thing recently, though... at some point over the past ~40 years, Cheerios doubled the amount of sugar. A serving of Cheerios USED to have 1g of sugar. Now, it has 2g.

I wish somebody would make Splenda-based knock-offs of cereals like Frosted Flakes, Cap'n Crunch, and Cinnamon Toast Crunch. I remember official Splenda-sweetened Cinnamon Toast Crunch a few years ago, but it was ABSURDLY expensive. They charged something like $6.50 for a 9-10oz box, then wondered why nobody bought it.

That said, I've been told that Cap'n Crunch in particular is impossible to make using artificial sweeteners using present-day culinary technology. It specifically depends upon the way sugar caramelizes for its crispness (both in and out of milk), and common alternatives just don't cut it. Splenda is normally bulked up using maltodextrin for baking, but maltodextrin doesn't quite behave the same as sugar when baked (I think the way I saw it put was, "it somehow ends up with a texture that's dry and crumbly, yet somehow manages to feel limp and mushy in your mouth").

My favorite store-brand cereal is Publix All Bran. I don't know if it even IS a knock-off, or is something they independently came up with. It's basically foamy bran rods sweetened with an ENORMOUS amount of aspartame. It tastes surprisingly good, and fills you up for hours (unlike, say, Rice Krispies, where you could literally eat an entire box, then be starving again 2 hours later).

by Anonymousreply 25May 23, 2020 12:49 AM

It's odd the things we're fussy about. I eat store brand cereals without a problem. And I shop at Aldi so I get a lot of store-branded items. But there are a (very) few things that I have to have the name brand of: anti-persipirant, bar soap, toothpaste, Diet Coke. On pretty much everything else, I'll buy the name brand only if it's at a good sale price.

by Anonymousreply 26May 23, 2020 1:50 AM

i buy Equate ibuprofen gel caps all the time, and they work just as well as name brands. I like most of the Trader Joe's stuff i buy, with a few outliers. Notably, i like TJ's face cream that was supposed to be comparable to Oil of Olay facial mosturizer. OoO's had a chemical smell whereas TJ's had a much better scent and feel. I miss being able to go to TJ's....it's been over 6 weeks and i won't even risk it because of the parking situation and how small the stores are. it would take forever to shop there in our current climate.

by Anonymousreply 27May 23, 2020 2:48 AM
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