At my B and B in Dunster on Sunday morning I get talking to some gentlemen who were down for the steam train rally. They told me that many products that are marketed as own brands by supermarkets are actually the same product as the more expensive ones but just re-labeled as this was cheaper than producing a new product. They seemed to know their facts so I want to know which ones. Does anyone here know?

It is certainly the case that many "own brand" items come off of the same production line as branded products. There may, however, be differences in the recipes so it is not necessarily possible to compare like with like... I have a friend who worked in the food and beverage industry for many years and highlighted this to me.

As a supplier of chemicals for 'personal care' products I know that many companies manufacture the same product for different stores, but of course the packaging is different. I am sure it also happens with food products though some time ago Kelloggs used to advertise something to the effect that 'If its not Kelloggs on the box then it isn't Kelloggs'. Supermarket bread is surely made by one of the big well known bakeries.

During his holidays' from uni, my brother worked at a local flour mill. He said that it seemed that flour was flour, if you were just looking at fairly basic plain or self-raising. They would just put different wrappers in the machine, and the same stuff would go in it.
So I wouldn't necessarily say that a supermarket basics flour was the same as a branded strong bread flour, but if you just want some normal ol' self-raising flour, the content is likely to be the same...

I worked at a jam factory in my holidays! 99.9% of stuff we made was under the brand label. But we also put jam in to swish bottles and boxes for Xmas packs that went to supermarkets (though not the supermarkets' 'everyday' jams).


Another one that is worth knowing is if certain chain stores own certain brands.
Boots, for example, own Crooke's Healthcare. So what, you say? Well, Crooke's manufacture E45 (among many other things) - you'll find the Boots-own equivalent of E45 products astonisingly similar, but at a much lower price!

Marks & Spencer milk is pasteurised and packaged by Dairy Crest (formerly Unigate). However, there's a bit of a twist in the tail, because M&S have their own specified and approved farmers, their own tankers, a dedicated pasteurising plant and insist that the milk is on the shelf within 24 hours of leaving the cow - which is about as fresh as you can get from a production line environment. All contributes to why you pay a bit more for your pinta from M&S than you do from other supermarkets.

Yes, they're mostly correct, though there may be cases where the cheaper product is not quite as high in quality, but I can't think of a good example.

The reason is simple. Say Tesco sells standard cans of beans for 1 pound and makes a profit of 50p. They know that some people on tight budgets may decide to buy fewer cans or look elsewhere.

So they price cans at 75p and give them a different label. That way, they:

a. Continue to make a profit - albeit lower- but a profit nevertheless.
b. Ensure the bean factory is working to full capacity. (This in itself should improve their profits!)
c. Keep customers happy.

Marketing experts are paid a fortune and I heard they spent ages to decide on the 'Economy' label. They wanted something that would appeal to people desperate to save money, but conspicuous enough to put the 'richer' customers off from trying them.

Snobbery is so important in advertising!!

Steve

i know they do on military bases, we do most of our grocery shopping in the base commisary, and its well known that the stores own brands are just the regular brands but relabeled.

It's slightly off topic, but I remember one of the old budget supermarkets (something like Fine Fare or Shoppers' Paradise) used to have baked beans, and I don't know who made them, but they were white beans in an orangey sauce, and they tasted absolutely awful...

We have those in Italy!

You're absolutely right. They are awful!!!!

Fortunately we have a Lidl where we can buy baked beans.

Not as good as Heinz, but when you're desperate.....!


Steve

I don't know if that's the case here. I know that if I go to Monoprix and buy their own products, they'll be better quality than the Leaderprice ones - both own brands.