The TRUTH about Off-Brand Products

National brands have dominated the world of consumer goods for decades, and yet people have begun gravitating to cheaper products that pay next to nothing on advertising. But is this just another “you get what you pay for situation”, or is there something to the no-name brand?
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Script: Holly Maley
Editor: Kim Su + Kirsten Stanley
Project Manager: Lurana McClure Rodríguez
Host: Levi Hildebrand
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[@Bobrogers99]

Years ago, I brought a school group to a local company that pressed and bottled apple juice. We watched the conveyor that filled and capped the bottles and applied the labels. At first the labels were for a supermarket store brand. Then the conveyor was stopped and the roll of labels was changed to that of a premium brand, and then the line resumed. The kids learned a valuable lesson that day.

[@WhittyPics]

I worked in manufacturing at Philip Morris and I can tell you that they put more fillers and expanded tobacco in the generic brands than they did with their flagship Marlboro. Expanded Tobacco is a process to freeze it and then run it through an oven to make it puff up like yeast rolls. Poof, they they put less tobacco into a cigarette

[@acex222]

Why do you come on the internet and just lie?

[@acex222]

@@cat-le1hf why do you come on the internet and just lie?

[@BabyCalypso]

@That V8 Life did you not watch the video? he said a lot of the times the big name sells their extra inventory to the generic brands

[@BabyCalypso]

@That V8 Life yeah but my point is that the same could apply to your scenario

[@Joe-vm6ds]

If you’re ever curious to see who makes certain generic products, pay attention to food recalls. You’ll often see a name brand along with a few generics

[@cgasucks]

Never thought of that...good point.

[@DCamp1271]

Thanks for the heads up!

[@VeronicaBoyer]

When Peter Pan had that big recall in 2007, the Great Value peanut butter was also recalled.

[@Li-ck8ek]

@@VeronicaBoyerlol I’m eating G V peanut butter right now 😂

[@vadim6385]

Don't know about US/Canada, but in my country they print on the labels who makes the store brand product, like "made by XXX for ".

[@egyptrocks265]

as someone who works in a pharmacy the no-name/generic brand distrust can be crazy a pharmaceutical company will sometimes have a brand name product and a generic with practically identical packaging excluding the name (ie. brand on one and just generic drug name on the other) and people will pay extra for the original despite how much we try to explain it to them

[@syxepop]

@@PartlySunny74 - did you know that unless the Doctor that prescribed you is more ethical than most he / she might've been convinced by a pharma sales rep to put in writing it has to be the brand named medicine and not a generic variant? There are only a few cases where the name brand medicine has SUPERIOR HEALING EFFECT than its' approved generic variant. If you have Gov't paid insurance or pay a lower-cost (HMO or PPO) health insurance plan GENERIC PRESCRIPTIONS are usually what they pay if they're available.

[@syxepop]

You don't have to convince me about the benefits of generic OTC medicines. If you dig deeper you can find certain generic OTC brands at fraction (can be as low as 1/4) of the price of the name brand ones and even way below the private label products of the larger pharmacy chains (Walgreen's and CVS in my case). In the case of pharmacy chain private label OTC's the only thing I can buy from them are VITAMINS when they're on SALE at Buy 1 and get 1 FREE. Otherwise, I don't even bother with those brands...

[@888SpinR]

There isn't any point trying to convincing anyone unless you earn more per unit of generic sold. Otherwise, it's their money, let them spend it how they wish. Placebo and nocebo effects are strong influences and a happy patient is better off than a skeptical one.

[@verucasalt9182]

Asda produces a cold flu medicine as good as day and night nurse for a fraction of the price .

[@8ettieP46e]

for meds... there IS a difference between brand meds vs generics. the formula IS different, normally it's just slightly different and its often the other ingreds are different and the % of the active ingreds could be different (thou not by much if it is)

[@warmongerel9743]

My local grocery store has a "generic" line called "Culinary Circle". They had a Jamaican jerk sauce that was amazing. However, on the label, it said Culinary Circle Jerk Sauce. Unfortunately, they discontinued it. I wish that I had kept a bottle just because that's hilarious.

[@albertolaboria5866]

Here in Europe, store brands are often as good as, if not better than, big companies. Paying "extra" just for the brand name is literally throwing money out of the window. I'm only willing to pay that premium if I enjoy the taste of the product over its competitors or... If I'm buying it for a "social" event (if I'm having dinner with my in-laws, I'm probably not bringing no-name wine or chocolates for them 😅).

[@FutureProofTV]

Your in-laws when they read this comment. 🥰

[@albertolaboria5866]

@@FutureProofTV ahahahhahaahahahhahah 😆😆😆

[@theresabu3000]

In Germany every discounter (Aldi, Lidl, Rewe) supermarket has its own "no name" brand. There are some exceptions, but there are generally good quality (coffee is bad, chocolate is even sweeter...). So if you're mindful you can really save money.

[@FacePlant1324]

I would XD they need to know we frugal and saving that money.

[@vacantblock]

@@theresabu3000 This is the reality. Some people just have lower standards.

[@michellee1190]

In the US there WAS a “No Name” brand, it was called “Plain Wrap”. Which was fairly well known. The packaging was plain white with a blue stripe across the middle of the package and a simple font. It also didn’t have pictures.

[@FutureProofTV]

We didn’t know that! Thanks for sharing 👍🏼

[@munzerabdulhamid]

,there WAS a, so what happened to plain wrap?

[@cawelshman1204]

Back in the 70's, the US (in California, anyway) also had generic groceries in yellow boxes, sometimes with hilariously awkward names like "Corned Flakes" or "Cereal O's". Maybe that was also Loblaws. I was too young to remember, but man, I hated those Cereal O's.

[@em84c]

Australia has a brand Black and Gold that is just plain yellow with black writing.

[@antoinebugleboy6864]

They're featured prominently in "Repo Man."

[@mCblue79]

I once worked at Aldi's distribution centre, receiving the goods from suppliers. I can tell you for a fact that almost everything house branded is made by the name brands that command premium prices and shelf space. Everything from coffee to shampoo. There is no one single house brand factory that makes everything!

[@CarlyneDTQTonPod]

ngl this speaks volumes about our parents of the &0s + 90s when they said that those “fancy name brands” are the same as the generic brands 😂 especially when we were in the supermarket and wanted the popular brands of breakfast cereal such as Apple Jacks but we had to buy “Apple Rings”

[@jo4285]

My name brand is the Store Brand ! lol

[@CarlyneDTQTonPod]

@@jo4285 😂 👏🏼

[@Paperfiasco]

I work for one of the suppliers of hearing aids for the Kirkland brand.... I can 100%% attest to our premium name brand stuff and the stuff that gets the Kirkland brand... is EXACTLY the same. Hell, when there's a short on a specific type or color choice, we often dip into the supply of either one to meet the need, al that's needed is to carefully remove whichever label (using a laser) and print on the requested label.

[@jacksonseeberg3628]

Another great one. I’d love to see another video on Patagonia, especially since they’ve declared that they are now donating all profits and Yvon has liquidated a majority of his assets. Feels like it would be a nice final part to the series in them.

[@story3877]

Adam conover covered Patagonia's non profit move. It was quite interesting. I'm also interested in seeing future proof wrapping that up because if what Adam revealed is true, it's a bit sketchy.

[@FutureProofTV]

We were about to comment this! Sadly our production schedule is pretty slow. We aren’t able to react quickly to news stories like that but it will likely make an appearance in a video soon!

[@saragoose]

I love no-name and PC brand. One thing I really love that no-name does is a line of "imperfect" fruit/veg for a pretty massive discount - frozen berries, avocados, peppers, etc. So great for meal-prep etc. The bell peppers for example - often the only "issue" is that the peppers are a mix of colours or an odd shape. I also really like that the PC brand is doing some interesting vegetarian/plant-based stuff. Also, in Australia they have (or had?) a no-name equivalent called "black and gold" - very similar branding/vibes

[@fruitylerlups530]

Black and Gold is specifically a private label for IGA stores :3

[@nmtbhtp1990]

There is a show in the UK on the BBC called “Eat Well For Less” that goes into a families home and hides the labels on the food they family buys and get them to try it over a week or so. They will also change some of the branded food the family buys for “own branded” or unbranded foods. Often the families can’t tell the difference or, thinking they have the branded item, actually prefer the own branded item, or will say their normal branded item has been changed and they don’t like it! Not always but most of the time. The results are displayed to the family at the end and they usually end up saving perhaps hundreds of pounds a month in shopping if they stuck with the changes.

[@BestOnThursdays]

I learned something similar to this when I was trying to kick a certain water guzzling company out of my grocery shopping lineup and picked up a seemingly no branded condensed milk and latter found out it was the same bad guy company with a bland label

[@xnightdreamer]

ugh i hate that they have such a monopoly over... almost everything :(

[@FutureProofTV]

This happens SO frequently and all the giants do it unfortunately. That's what we're all about though - making sure people are taking that extra step instead of blindly purchasing. Glad you know not to buy that brand anymore!

[@samanthajade3782]

Nestle? That sounds like a nestle thing. Nestle is one company that I would happily watch burn to the ground.

[@jokerpilled2535]

Too big to fail

[@davidthedeaf]

Just say Nestle.

[@laranjo5999]

As an exchange student (only able to work 20h a week and therefore not able to get enough money to pay for rent+food+cellphone+etc), No Name and No Frills were key to my financial stability there. The quality never disappointed and the prices was always fair. I lived off No Name Canned Tuna, mayo, eggs and Cherry Tomatoes for a whole year and so much more at a super affordable price because of No Frills and No Name.

[@DiestroCorleone]

I'm from Argentina. Many supermarkets have their own 'no-name brands' (in this case, they're Supermarket chain-branded), and most of them are really great products at a much better price.

[@HiThereHeyThere]

This is normal in globalized countries today

[@Only2Genders]

I demand new episodes every day because this content is freaking amazing! it should be a crime to be deprived of this content

[@bojassem12]

Don't be so untitled. It's amazing content indeed. But for to be this good, it takes time to make. Not to mention the value of rest for the people who make it.

[@Kevessi]

@@bojassem12 he wasn’t saying that seriously. It was a compliment

[@kaveman_4242]

The content is aight and these subjects have been articulated in more detail by other not-as-interesting tubers. Good enough to subscribe doe and that’s all i care about.

[@romy1223]

@@bojassem12not trying to be that person but you mean entitled (I like to be correct when I’m clapping back myself lol)

[@MikeV8652]

I had a friend at university whose family had owned a regionally known veggie canning company for 76 years. He said that every incoming vegetable was graded as either reject, good, better, or best. The rejects were sold as hog feed. The rest were all canned using the same recipes and processes. The good were labeled as his family's economy brand. The better were labeled for a leading international name brand vegetable canner that you would know. The best were labeled as his family's black-label premium brand (which typically sold in stores for about the same price as the national name brand).

[@Tall_Order]

This same thing existed in the US. I remember in the 1980s, here in Florida we had a supermarket called Kash n' Karry, which had en entire aisle of nothing but yellow no named generic boxes. And Winn Dixie had various different generic brands like Lady Lee and Check Soda. Some of that still exists now. Check mostly.

[@DavidLLambertmobile]

I remember 1990s Wal Marts in NE area United States had "Sam's Choice" flavors of sodas. 1, 2, 3 L sizes. 3L were often just 99 cents! ✔️ the draw was Sam's Choice line used purified water 💧. The soda was great; lemon lyme, orange, peach, grapefruit, root beer.

[@RaheemD]

The KZbin algorithm doing it's job and recommending a great video which makes complete sense for me after hunting for ground coffee on Amazon last night and being so overcome with choice I ended up going with Starbucks' own brand. Also, the host is very easy on the eye. We love a double whammy!

[@angieemm]

In Texas, we have a grocery store called HEB. Their house brand is called Hill Country Fare and many of those products are better than national brands at 1/4 the price. They're not all hits, but I'm willing to try them once just to see if I can better support my favorite store and spend less money.

[@Dasim6786]

Hill country fare is the cheapest but heb brand stuff is often consumer tested to be better than the name brand. Also with ingredient standards on the package

[@chuckinhouston9952]

Hill Country Fare products are generally very good. I was once an executive with a food manufacturer that produced many Hill Country Fare foods.

[@jo4285]

I buy HEB brand over any other brand. And we have a discount grocery store called JoeVs and they carry HEB brand. I can get a loaf of bread for 1.25 and then go to HEB and they have exactly the same loaf of bread for 2.25 !

[@angieemm]

@@jo4285 I've heard of it but I've never been in one. It's basically an Aldi alternative owned by HEB. Never been in an Aldi either, so idk how closely they resemble each other

[@andreathompson-bg4hl]

I love heb but am in colorado. Tell the pineapple lady I said hi!

[@otakubullfrog1665]

I think one of the reasons that the name brands still sell so well is that they're still what you're going to get from independent retailers. You might know and trust Kirkland because you regularly go to Costco, but if you find yourself running into some random mom and pop convenience store you've never been to before to pick up tortilla chips on the way to a party, you're probably getting Tostitos. Even if Main Street 24-Hour Deli and Convenience had their own brand, you'd have no idea if it was any good.

[@lydschnid61]

I'm from Upstate New York where the Wegman's grocery stores are a regional icon of Upstate culture. In recent years, Wegmans has really pushed their Wegmans branded products, and due to the huge success and pride in Wegmans, people love buying the store brand products. Now they have basically a Wegmans alternative to every product you could think of. I don't shop there too much because it is still a quite expensive store, I'm more of an Aldi girl personally. I grew up shopping there during the Recession and am totally used to to things people find off-putting if they have never been to an Aldi (putting the quarter in your cart, no music, the things in boxes on crates, and bring your own bags and bagging yourself way before that was an ecological thing around the country).

[@ChocolateFantasies]

Ok this is so interesting because here in the Philippines, the Korean version of this has been popping in shopping malls: No Brand. It also uses black text on a yellow background for its packaging 😮

[@denisd8603]

Three items where I cannot go "no name": mayonaise, ketchup and cola. Great video as usual!

[@nathanramstorf1033]

Duke's mayo has disappeared up north here, and there is no better. I may stop eating sandwiches entirely.

[@jennalovecraftreeves9679]

Yup. Generic cream cheese isn't the same either.

[@mariahgutierrez4481]

Kewpie mayo is my favorite, it's made with egg yolks only and doesn't have that tart vinegary taste to it

[@DavidLLambertmobile]

Mayo? Blue Plate or Dukes. No others!!! 🚫

[@stevenvallarsa1765]

A few years ago I worked at a manufacturing plant that provided GM with the lithium battery cells for their Chevy Volt cars, and was surprised to find out that any finished cells that weren't up to the quality standard GM required were instead sold to a Chinese car manufacturer. I therefore figured at least some of the store brand items were from batches that didn't pass the original manufacturer's quality standards, and sold at a discount to those big food retailers who packaged them under their own name.

[@Embargoman]

Just like everything else, that is one way to say Harley-Davidson motorcycles that have copies from China that are better quality and more reliable than the original.

[@joshXnovak1]

7:04 HEB’s 1905 Vanilla Ice Cream. I spent my entire childhood looking for the flavor of ice cream I had at my grandparents house as a toddler. Only when I moved back to Texas and opted to shop at HEB did 16 years of searching finally come to an end. It was literally what I wanted all along. I tried every single national brand I could get my hands on growing up. Not only was it a distinctive flavor, the quality was better than the half thawed and refrozen/freezer burnt National brands haphazardly thrown into Walmart coolers.

[@cyrilio]

One thing people often forget is that the packaging between an generic brand and name brand is different. Usually it's not a big issue, but sometimes the packaging is part of the experience using a product. Think Dish washer soap. Sure you can just use a jar to sell it in, but a bottle that dispenses a consistent amount every time over time has valuable benefits.

[@FOJO27]

"Violently yellow" As a fellow Canadian, I can confirm that's accurate. Also damn funny 😂 (Great vids - new subscriber🇨🇦)

[@Rspsand07]

I literally never buy name brand if there's a store brand version. Except for mayo, great value mayo needs to step its game up.

[@druec2863]

This is why it's important to be an informed consumer and do your research. I have looked at labels in grocery stores and seen that sometimes name brands will be less healthy than generic. Sometimes name brands will have more preservatives to increase shelf life while the generic brands won't

[@bojassem12]

Please please make a video about all those certifications! We need to know what certifications actually mean that the brand is helping the planet, and what is labels are just slapped on to bump up the price in exchange for the feeling of moral superiority.

[@JodyMay05]

He touched on it a bit in the Starbucks video

[@doncristianugalde]

The problem I have with these brands is the monopolic practices and how it affects the smaller producers. I live in Costa Rica and Great Value & others are insanely competitive, impossible to compete with actually. Since walmart basically runs all supermarkets, theres no space for a small or local producer to compete and sell their products, and they are forced to twist their arms to the insanely low prices walmart (& others) ask for them to sell on their stores + still be competitive, or just abandon their products. While the quality in the products i’ve tried is actually great, I still feel very uncomfortable going for these and just turning my back to the rest of the market… Is this even a thing in North America?

[@samanthajade3782]

Honestly I don't know, do they import all of their produce? The Walmarts near here advertise that certain produce are local, like locally grown lettuce and such. But local to Walmart might mean 3 states over. I don't think I've ever seen over products that are local, not unless they are a corporate brand that is local. Our supermarket are individual companies, like Safeway and food lion. These ones may have more local products but again it's mostly corporate local companies. I'm not sure and I'm just a consumer but this is what i think.

[@thonker]

Buenas compañero Tico. Creo que algunos de los productos locales Walmart los están vendiendo dentro de la marca “Sabemás” que heredaron de la Corporación de Supermercados Unidos.

[@evamaynard3021]

They're ruining everything here too

[@twenty-fifth420]

Uhm, that isnt really a ‘brand’ problem. That is just a reality problem. We have alot of monopolies and oligopolies and Walmart is just the first and biggest retail example. It is sad, but it is the world we live in. Local food producers/markets have evaporated thanks to big box and chain stores.

[@CancermanPL]

In Poland, the vast majority of the supermarket brand products are actually made by the companies like Nestlé. When 15 years ago, you could buy exactly the same things like Lay's chips for 30% of the price. So there's no difference in sustainability department

[@katzazi664]

Over here in Europe we have a long tradition of these generic or private brands. Since some years stores started to add their own generic organic brands for organic (and or fair trade) products. Which all comply with the European standard for organic products. These generic brands hit organic products into the big stores and made them available for a lot of people. Which is an interesting move. Those products are often cheaper than most organic brands. But often on the bare minimum standard of organic, however better than traditional produced products. They are a big pressure on the organic producers. For example generic vegan milk products from those private labels are now the cheapest milk like product to buy. Cheaper than milk. And way cheaper than big vegan milk brands.

[@patricia891210ify]

Been subscribed since the Starbucks video. Such great content, yall never disappoint! Its cool to see you talk about things that I can relate more to, since I am also a fellow Canadian. Looking forward to seeing the video about all the different certifications, and if they ACTUALLY mean something lol

[@FutureProofTV]

Yes! Yellow fellow Canadian! 🥰🙌🏼

[@fotogme11]

I wasn't sure about Great Value products (Walmart) at first. But as I tried them, I realized that the quality was on par or better than the name brands most of the time. If I try a GV item and don't like it, I just never buy it again. But if I like it, I will save money every time I buy that product. I have also begun shopping at Aldi and have found that their store brand items often compare favorably with name brands.

[@chadjones1266]

"You get what you pay for" only applies to cheap things. I've bought plenty of expensive junk.

[@ropro9817]

As a Canadian who moved to the US a few years ago, I really miss Loblaws and No Name. Trader Joe's and Whole Foods don't carry everything I need/want in a weekly shopping run and Safeway is just trash. 🇨🇦🏆

[@adamlanghans]

American groceries should not be judged with Safeway as a baseline

[@Stanbott]

As a manufacturer, I can tell you that a lot of these guys have secondary products that they sell that are only for the private label. But they usually aren't as good as their own house brand. There is also a lot of privately label only companies. They have no label of their own and they provide stuff to grocery stores and other places. It's a big business, it's a lot bigger than you think

[@janetd4862]

In the early 80s, here in the US we had Plain Label products. Black and white labels, and it was cheap…..and not very good. Most grocery stores here now have a “store brand” that vary in quality. Member’s Mark (Sam’s Club), Great Value (Walmart), and a few others are staples in my house.

[@mhawang8204]

Great video! I’m a big supporter of No Name. Most of their products are on par with name brands or OK by my standards, but the price is unbeatable! It’s almost a necessity in high-inflation times like now. Actually, I wish there were more No Frills stores near me, too, but…😭

[@radfoo72]

"We all deserve Compliments" I'm not Canadian but that's some genius marketing😆

[@DavidLLambertmobile]

Studies & marketing show humans are drawn to the colors; red, brown, orange, yellow to get hungry. 🛒 Green & blue make you less hungry.

[@pixels2u]

If you were around in the US during the 1970’s and 1980’s, you may recall seeing generic products on grocery store shelves without brand labels. The packaging was typically white and featured the name of the product printed in black. I think they were eventually absorbed into the various store brands.

[@sammyjarnot1746]

Definitely this. There were tons of generic or store brand items during the 1970s in NY when I was a kid. My mom wouldn't buy anything else if there was a store or generic brand available. And then there was government cheese...

[@ktmp2003]

am i the only one who really likes the No Name packaging? i think it’s very clean and striking

[@audreysavard3248]

I love it. I can see the important informations --- produc, weigth, flavor-- very fastly. And there is no useless marketing information on.

[@mircomuntener4643]

The most frustrating part of store brand products is that they are marginally cheaper for the consumer, but the profit margin for the store is MASSIVELY bigger.

[@KiyomiY]

I remember in the 70s my parents buying “Beer”. Yellow can, black font. That was all it said.

[@flytepattern7702]

I don’t know why more people aren’t obsessed with your channel dude. Such great content!!!

[@5453484]

It’s so nice to finally have you speak about Canadian content, especially since you’re Canadian! 👏🏼

[@ErinNatacha]

In Europe, a lot of groceries stores have different lines of generic products. There's the very cheap no branding whatsoever bottom of the shelf product, the regular storebrand that's cheaper than big brands but still quality and sometimes a bio/green line that's still cheaper than name brands. I can buy bio fairtrade coffee, recycled toilet paper, eggs (free-range and all) etc. and even some cosmetic products straight from the store brand.

[@bikinglemur7738]

I used to do a lot of work in the realm of private label goods. It much less common for private label goods to be manufactured by the same companies who make the branded competitors than people think (this is even more rare as a long run / steady state arrangement). There are many midsize companies who specialize in the manufacture of private label (and often other contract manufactured) goods. Rather than brands using excess line capacity for private label production, it's not uncommon for brands to have relatively low line capacity and contract out the manufacture of some of their goods to other companies (e.g. it's common for brands with seasonal varieties like Oreos to contract out the manufacture of some flavors). This lets them keep their operating expenses low. Also worth noting that private label manufacturing is really low margin vs branded, so few branded companies will maintain excess line capacity in the long run in order to fulfill private label contracts

[@greggcollins4215]

The one Kirkland product we have tried and refuse to buy again is coffee. Now I know why it is so horrible, nasty starbucks.

[@leifmeadows3782]

I was thinking the same thing! Am grateful I can knock it off my potential list.

[@noellaoliver2543]

“You get what you pay for” attitude in Canada is why so many things are overpriced here.

[@ChristianBehnke]

Levi, you and I both know the *real* reason you're not popping that Kirkland-brand Champagne is that Costco doesn't sell booze at the warehouses here in BC! Otherwise we'd be BATHING in the stuff! lol

[@FutureProofTV]

100% accurate on this one, Christian 😅🔥

[@nancydavidson2295]

When Aldi's came to town several years ago, I tried their store brand pickles. They tasted like the smell of motor oil. Never built up the trust to try any of their other offerings. Until hyperinflation came along. Now my cabinets look like a shrine to Aldi and Walmart.

[@cesarperez424]

As someone who works quality control in the food industry, the off brand product we process is practically the same as the branded product except it has higher defects, so keep that in mind when buying something

[@MissDatherinePierce]

I don't know how it is in North America but in Germany, and I think all EU countries, even the storebrands must have the manufacturer's adress on them. They usually try to hide the brand name behind a shell company but if you know where certain big brands have their seats, you can easily figure out who actually produced it. E.g. Rewe's ice tea is made by Austrian drink producer Rauch. I noticed because of the typical rosehip tea basis AND the adress that is the same as Rauch's. Some manufacturers even the storebranded versions in their own outlets.

[@AskMiko]

I buy name and no name / store brand products. Cooking from scratch, there are minor differences. Quality is important, so often the grind, shred, etc. might cause me to choose a specific brand

[@gordonking4360]

Always buy store brand milk, it is usually made by the national brand sold in the same store. Only difference is a label change during the product run .30 + years in dairy industry.

[@liamcollinson5695]

In the uk we have aldi and lidl who both make cheaper dupes but super markets have been doing it for years causing the occasional controversy

[@TacticalCommand]

Matt Pat's Food Theory video on his "Diet Coke tournament" is a great example of this video here in action. One of the biggest falters of generic brands is not that it is trash or is always bad, it's more that it's harder to know what the end result will be. Food prep can be a complex process of steps and how certain ingredients interact with each other, and recipes are done with brand names typically because it's widely available and the person writing it knows what the end result will be. The Diet Coke episode was fun to watch because it showed that depending on who manufactured the product for the generic label you can get wildly different results. Of note my wife and I happened to have found that the Compliments red label caffeine free diet coke happened to taste almost identical to Coke Zero and was caffeine free (before caffeine free Coke Zero was available in our stores here of note). There are some hidden gems indeed but the ask from the generic brands is to get people to take the chance and give it a shot. Some may work out while others may not. But what it does ask is for the customer's time, energy, and ultimately money should it not pan out. Some are less willing to take any sort of risk, others prefer their tried and true methods, while others are more willing to give things a try and take risks. The risk may be relatively small in the grand scheme of things but it's a risk all the same.

[@Kemulnitestryker]

My father worked for a cannery when I was a kid. As a teen, there were times when the company would have the sons of employees come in on a Saturday so we could take our labels off of cans so they could relabel them with another company's label.

[@williamhyde2310]

There were generic groceries in the 70's and 80's with a plain white label and just "beer" " spaghetti" etc. At least in the south there's tiered off brands. Always Save is real low budget/quality and Best Choice is a grade below national brands

[@howellomaha]

One of the few times I don't buy generic: if I have to go to an event and bring food (example: potato chips/cookies) It makes you look really cheap to toss a few generic bags on the table vs name brand. People will gloss right over the generic not trusting it.

[@adaydoesgoby6637]

Western Family is an interesting brand. I associate it so heavily with small grocery stores in poor rural communities in the mountain states lol

[@sophiaisabelle01]

Your insights are informative. It’s clear that there may be issues attached to off-brand products. I’m glad you’re spreading awareness on this matter. I hope you guys continue to make more videos like this. May God bless you always.

[@FutureProofTV]

Wow, thanks so much! We're always striving to make better and more impactful content, we appreciate the support ✨🤗

[@xcxNelsonxcx]

Soooo is it just me or does Levi have some new diamonds in ears lol??? 😊

[@chalenagowdy9863]

You went to California one time and got earrings? As a native of Cali, I love it.

[@FutureProofTV]

That's the way its done 😃

[@JordanFayter]

As a fellow Canadian who grew up in the 90's. No-name brand was a daily thing. I actually preferred the no-name brand over the name brands.

[@sarahwatts7152]

I think it would be great for brands to let us know which products are simply overflow from a mainstream manufacturer, but I doubt it would happen

[@bobaloo2012]

What's happened over the last 20 years is so many big, established companies have sold their names to Chinese holding companies who have destroyed the quality of the product to make a quick buck. These days I pay pretty much no attention to brand names as they're no longer a guarantee of quality in many cases.

[@Janokins]

It would be interesting to see an episode on some of those "green" / "ethical" labels. I've become pretty sceptical of them ever since watching that Seaspiracy documentary, it would be nice to know that at least some of them do what they claim to do. And it's not just fish you know, I don't think there's a chocolate brand I can buy in my country that hasn't at one point or another done a bit of modern slavery or child labour, and they stick all kinds of labels on their products.

[@thezerowastemom2233]

One of my favorite parts of watching your videos is seeing the growth in comments, views, and subscribers. I actually remember when this channel didn’t have any videos yet and only had under 500 subscribers!

[@FutureProofTV]

Wow! That’s so cool to hear that you’ve been here since the beginning. 🥰 we’re pretty stoked too 🙌🏼

[@Socrates-b9n]

when our cat had a litter of kittens many moons ago, we ran out of names for them. My daughter christened the left-over 'No-Name', which stuck. Going to the vets was problematic however: "Hi, and who are we seeing today?" "No-Name." "Sorry? What is the animal's name?" "No-Name." And so on.

[@bather7483]

No name reminds me of the generic brand Always Save. It has the same violently yellow packaging, font design, and even simple picture. Unfortunately it was also genuinely worse than other store brands and name brands. It was cheap though.

[@teresamckeown5594]

Now, I ALWAYS try the “off brands” first. Sometimes it doesn’t work - but mostly it does. Kroger will give you the name brand of you don’t like theirs.

[@ecoomber]

Rory Sutherland, a British adman, sums this up nicely by saying that people don't buy brand name products because their good, they buy them for variance reduction. In other words, they know the brand name will at least be "ok", but it's a gamble with all the other ones sometimes.

[@idraote]

Here in Italy we do have a few chains that have introduced a second in-house product line that is supposedly fair-trade/locally produced/organic/environmentally conscious. One of these chains is called COOP.

[@Muscovy7]

The issue with generic products is a lack of accountability unless it’s a private label such as Kirkland which is accountable to Costco itself. Straight up generic products can be impossible to hold to any kind of standard or refund.

[@dragonskunkstudio7582]

The reason no name brand will be exactly the same as another brands is for a reason. For example: No name ketchup this month it's Heinz that will sell it at the cheapest cost next month it will be Hunts who has the advantageous price. You're buying Ketchup, if that's all you care about then no name is for you.

[@FutureProofTV]

100% accurate, thanks for sharing!!

[@Vito-jr9wl]

I live in europe and only buy off-brand or store brands, if they are available, as I do not want to pay for extra marketing costs from brands and there is not really a difference in quality.

[@hr1meg]

As a child in the 70s and 80s my folks used to shop at a Supermarket here in the Northeast USA called Pathmark. They used to have an aisle or two called No Frills. Everything in this aisle was the same white label with a plain description.

[@rebeccaparker9703]

Living in the uk there are very few grocery items that I buy from Branded names. However we have much higher food standards here than the US ( not sure about Canada) and free range birds grass fed origin traceable meat, non gm, fair trade products etc are easy to find at good price points!!!

[@aokigaharakomorebi]

I worked at a major Canadian consumer food brand for 8 years and I can confirm we had copackers for generic brands made from our chicken, bacon, etc.

[@ropro9817]

Future Proof: If you haven't already, please do a video comparing Shoppers Drug Mart to Walgreens/CVS. I really miss SDM too! ❤

[@robertocarlos88]

I liked Costco for a while, but what made me a loyal fan is the Kirkland dog food (diamon foods) It's great value and my dogs Love it!

[@_Murky_]

in Australia it was Black and Gold Brand, until supermarkets started making their own value products

[@robertcorrigan9902]

I found this channel a few weeks ago and somehow I've already caught up on all the videos. Thanks for the quality content!

[@FutureProofTV]

So glad you like them!! Thanks for being here, Robert

[@isbestlizard]

Mate they're all made by suppliers who when it's time to do the off-brand contract, push a button on the machine that swaps in the off-brand packaging. Nothing else changes.

[@Ramandeep-id5dd]

Kirkland signature is the best BRAND out there. Not just best generic brand. If you buy Kirkland products you know how high quality they are while being very affordable. I would purchase these products even if they costed more than big brands simply because of how great they are.

[@yuriydee]

Kirkland is genuinely good quality, for the most part. However buying store brand generic products (like Great Value), i find them to be shittier compared to the name brand ones. End of day a generic store brand HAS to earn our trust before we commit to buying them.

[@YourCapyFrenBigly_3DPipes1999]

GV products can be fair or poor. That's the only generic I've had problems with in the past. All the others have tried, to my taste buds, no problem. But yeah I take extra Care around great value.

[@TheNewGreenIsBlue]

Generic brands also can CHANGE suppliers. President's Choice may start out as a "Starbucks" private label but if they want, they can change the supplier to Nestle when renewing agreements.

[@FerintoshFarmsPhotography]

No Name used to be good, but like all things stockholders has ruined that. Gotta have them record profits.

[@Perelka_L]

Quick guide how to spot the difference: factory addresses. In Europe you have place or company that made the product available on the packaging, and quick comparison of that will serve as immediate display of what two products are exactly the same. Some companies do specialize in just that - making products for others, no matter if it's famous brand or off-brand. Ya think a brand would own so many factories for various different products? Nah. They just tell some companies (often local ones, or local-owned-by-bigger) to do stuff for them and they're gucci.

[@LikaLaruku]

Where I live, Walmart's Great Value brand costs more than name brand, & they hope no one notices. There's also a subsidiary chain belonging to Kroger that owns 3 off-brand lines.

[@Thesakuraharona]

I have experienced this go either way. Some store brands are just as good or better than the name brands, while others are worse or too weak. Oreos is a great example for me. I love the name brand and can eat a whole package with no problem, but the name brand versions taste off, and some leave my throat hurting too if I eat too many. Yet, store brand coffee tastes just fine versus starbucks or other brands (i drink black, medium columbian). Likewise, knock off brand pasta is the same. I have never had issues with cheap Walmart elbow noodles lol So, it seems to be trial and error.

[@macboogieland2897]

i used to work for one of the main 2 tea production companies in my country. and while i did find it very interesting to find out that they made most of the off-brand teas for most major retailers, it is also worth noting that they only make off-brand teas with the what's remaining after they made their own tea (aka, lower quality flowers used, etc.). so not literally the same tea. not at all to say that big brands are more worth it because of it, could not care either way, but at least worth noting.

[@jrfrondelli2023]

I will ALWAYS give generic or underdog products that are more cost-effective a try. If it's not up to par, I just don't buy it again, simple as that. In about 75% of the cases, I've been pleasantly-surprised, and stuck with the "little guy". You don't know until you try it. The Lidl store brand items have been particularly good.

[@nickelbeckel]

My brother!! Western Family was the original and standard generic brand in the US. I grew up with it in the 80s! We used to literally buy western family matchbooks. It doesn’t get more American or more 80s than that!

[@kaitlynrice7306]

People used to not have packaging or branding in the U.S. They just sold their product in plain bags over the counter. Store owners started marking their products because they found loyal customers could better identify them and come to their store due to good reputation.

[@nathanvanis2226]

I work at a plant that used to make Bacon bits. All that changed was the packaging whether it was Kraft or what ever generic brand

[@FutureProofTV]

Knew it!!!! Thanks for sharing, Nathan 😅🤩