Grocery shoppers want deals. Store brands — the same or similar products under the store’s name — are a deal and cost less than national brands. Products made especially for the store are also called private label brands. Many of these products taste as good as national brands and the nutritional value is the same.
Ralcorp, which owns the Bemmer Food Group, Ry Krisp, Nutcracker, Carriage House, and Ralston, makes a host of private label products. According to the article, “Ralcorp: The Store Brand Story,” the inferior generic products of the past are gone. “Store brands have earned their rightful space next to national brand products.” The difference between national and store brands is “notable cost savings — about 25% for many products,” according to the article.
Mike Hooker, who is with CBS Television in Fort Collins, Colorado, described the advantages of store brands in the story, “Grocery Stores See Surge in Store Brand Sales.” He used the Kroger grocery chain as an example. In 2008 Hooker said Kroger stores had an eight percent increase in profits and credited the surge to store brands.
The Iowa-based Hy-Vee grocery chain carries thousands of store brands. In an interview, Scott Threlkeld, a manager at the Barlow Plaza store in Rochester, Minnesota, said these brands were chosen carefully. Hy-Vee stores have a test kitchen in West Des Moines, Iowa. Buyers find products, inspect them, and send them to the kitchen for quality assessment.
Products that fail to meet Hy-Vee standards are rejected. Hy-Vee store brands cost less than national brands because the does not have to pay for extra advertising, Threlkeld said. Though the labels say West Des Moines, many store brands are made by well-known companies. Hy-Vee milk, for example, is bottled by Kemps Dairy, the leading Midwest marketer of frozen desserts, milk, and dairy products.
Consumers are turning to bare bones stores like Aldi to lower grocery bills. Andrew Martin describes the Aldi approach in a “New York Times” article, “The Allure of Plain Vanilla.” Founded by two German billionaires, Theo and Karl Albrecht, Aldi stands for Albrecht discount. According to Martin, the stores are often located in nondescript shopping malls.
Aldi prices are lower because consumers do much of the work. You rent a grocery cart for 25 cents (which is refunded), bring your own boxes or bags, and bag your own stuff. No credit cards are accepted. Payment is by debit card or cash. Aldi stores occasionally carry small appliances and this week’s special is a camping tent. “What makes Aldi so special is that, quite simply, its prices are cheaper than just about everyone else’s,” notes Martin.
“Lookout Target and Wal-Mart: ALDI Stores are Coming,” an article on the Marketing Shift Website, also sings the praises of the chain. Aldi carries generic brands, though national brands like Healthy Choice are available. “You may not become a regular customer, but you’ll walk out with more cash in your pocket.”
That sentence aroused my curiosity.
I live in Rochester, Minnesota, and though it has an Aldi store, I had not been to it. Today I went to Aldi and found canned goods displayed in cardboard shipping boxes. The produce department was small, but the fruit and veggies looked fresh. Though I recognized a few brands, most of the brands were new to me. I got some real deals: lettuce for 99 cents, wheat bread for $1.19, honey and oats breakfast cereal for $1.89, boxed macaroni and cheese for a mere 35 cents.
One visit has made me an Aldi shopper. I will buy meat and poultry from the butcher shop, and check Aldi regularly for canned goods and produce. Like me, you may find that buying store brands is easier than clipping coupons. Many stores put national brands on eye level shelves, and store brands on lower shelves. So look low for high savings!
Harriet Hodgson has been an independent journalist for 30 years. She is a member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors, the Association of Health Care Journalists, and the Association for Death Education and Counseling. Her 24th book, “Smiling Through Your Tears: Anticipating Grief,” written with Lois Krahn, MD, is availble from Amazon.
Centering Corporation in Omaha, Nebraska has published her 26th book, “Writing to Recover: The Journey from Loss and Grief to a New Life.” The company has also published a companion resource, the “Writing to Recover Journal,” which contains 100 writing prompts. Please visit Harriet’s Website and learn more about this busy author and grandmother.
nimble
nodatanobusiness
bocastwist
thebritishmotorshow
tubev
finchjapan
centredunet
aladdinfood
tenmalab
bfmbusiness
gclubmob
pages04
fishbase
rayofsolaris
sos
suptc
childcareawarewa
freeblackdatingsites
litmus
whatthecommit
meublesmoss
hobbyschneiderin
mhtrends
spectrumequity
strategicsourceror
b-intense
blurtonline
klicf
primestoragegroup
thinktei
otsukac
sevenmiles
smithsonianscience
veekaybee
vanosdigital
forexbrokerz
brabix
e-mobile
idtampa
grandpicsaintloup
carriagehorse
qpldh6
betflix
webdesignsbymaria
rnamedical
ilex
gr8kidswear
maoins2
h2obungalow
nfa
023qianfen
agentpzu
xn--p77hua
rnwmultimedia
konstepidemin
tippett
sightandsound
siplearnpress
baylorhealth
jxqx
viettelstartcloud
helplineww
goauto
angelapalmer
motivation-im-ehrenamt
ruprom
riga
ontometrics
2plan
marketresearchexpertz
luckynikibkk
vlor
ehow
unitedwaygc
canlifutbol
kelbet
thinkbigonline
redlodgemountain
digitalart4climate
nihe
ligmincha
innpro
ommushrooms
smeijer
naturalbd
insurancecode
stackforce
della
hkco
lsaglobal
apollaperformance
cheapbytes
hkbnes
wainet
procpr
imaclosiniri
tsamm
tinychanges
indrus
readlagom
bettingsitesaustralia
jsgz
thisisservicedesignthinking
newcastlecreativeco
aauni
prestaplay
allegrocozumelresort
sujataarora
rollingslots
souutu
romoe
cirque-gruss
buponline
seattlesbest
havenonline
radicalfitness
udise
aaacooper
clinicabiblica
jetcommerce
banggiavinhomes
otixo
fipa
fromatob
skuiq
agro-center
thaibrideonline
tyrolis
apotforpot
betterworldclub
ilqi
avivainsurance
thebedfordcitizen
coordonne
crumbsmag
leadsginburngsour
mhg
pocapoint
dername
hipsobriety
cherryblossomsquilting
rha
ma-fenetre-pvc
policlinicocampusbiomedico
dalhalla
kinoreporter
jyrak
infarma
sr3
bikepost
fastfoodbistro
novaksolutions
dualcare0014
savsjo
jxs6693
q-bbq
defesa
forexfactory
la-france-mutualiste
cubn
fintechos
0755catv
americanreading
moonhack
brokerforex
radio366
rsskk
ogletreedeakins
nudesleaks69
sismicotn
fixandfogg
focusonbusiness
zqwnet
videosobrasil
nomiku
brasspaperclip
lonelycatgames
earthsky
thosmoser
absg
rotaryconvectionovens
isaontario
hoffotografen
ampega
spideroak
katia-lexx
cottoncampaign
cicloturismo
stubborn
70gigapixel
riverfallscab
aguaweb
moverspackers
akcreation
hainancp
sxradio
novelidea
cambridgeweightplan
cpnederland
trishultechsolution
bygeorgeaustin
dobusinessjamaica
bridesofaustin
realbuddhaquotes
hairstore
nomenugget
powerbalanc
ichec
6ys
mpetazzoni
silute
aquaplanet
leadlinks30
tyre-shopping
studentjob
heydo
consultationonline
anhp
philadelphianeighborhoods
sunsean
matherhospital
gem5
graficaletrario
cleanatlantic
oferteo
bananas
fauspirimres
efaa
tippsysake
intur
dobig
petslady
marketviewliquor
garage-organization
mountaincars
echomsk
legnolegno
loi-cosse-gouv
onyxbits
cialisndbrx
khanovaskola
researchcghe
tumbex
elwyn
mannapotheke
sbobet
conetiza
dius
frontier-k
samngoclinhmhg
dongqiudi
oraresort
el73
nleworks
menilmonde
westernrivers
bignami
tetratec
wuqumi
bklyndesigns
hopscotchmusicfest
smbdirectory
tennisbear
11
pristus
pecanpy
mylifeasarefugee
sovrana
internetgrafik
veggielexi
cora
miafrancesca
hrensko
homepad
envision-aesc
starlink-iptv
thedefenceworks
web-ponto
phpgroupware
avignon
schroeder-moebel
sgkv
bmqzj
enigma
vicimediainc
webapper
saice
forcescience
218
codenameentertainment
amgen
caine-live
yrun
best-practice-and-impact
mtv
gicouncil
linkedsystems
conectaimobi
forexdirectory
monsieur-vtc
theblizzard
jninstitute
rittenhousesquareart
campussoft
plasso
anabf
maxkomusic
careresource
kpmg
deltadentalil
aiocoders
funcdonorfuncdicktal
id-tech
sinistraecologialiberta
agentur-ledermann
glowhub
www-3457345
buyessayonlinenow
agilecloud
jingu-stadium
autismwestmidlands
cuijk
phuelstrategies
optify
fuanna
accentjobs
aarclibrary
ctph
optimizesupport
bestdiscountvouchers
computerservicecentre
sxyprn
nbdx
duz-medienhaus
st-channel
rapidmail
linkebeek
hnxwsjt
extraseo
economiasolidale
blanco
h1ad
cyworld
ohlq
biobase
dekkerzevenhuizen
peakdegrees
rscreativeboutique
anyperk
dearkates
achs
sgiff
ho20
works-hi
pitttechnologygroup
obruch
tghw
datxanhkhudong
thekanary
95666789
inffin
evatmaster
sahkonhinta
agenda-unternehmens-portal
niv
questionnaireweb
1788
filmingo
sssiindia
kingdomfiles
beatsperminute
hcaaustralianhypnotherapistsregister
motyleksiazkowe
love47
jam
growth-inc
aschendorff-medien
ideasforus
networkstreaming
llsdy
riachucklectgrubilgot
smarter
sdac-helpline
facts-news
misterminit
artikul
roast-restaurant
infinitetechnology
maximaster
underluckystars
siliconaction
714528
bestrecipefinder
holypoll
dcxlrs
ccbg
cosaic
digitalnakomora
agro-market
movistararena
cprac
kanadaeinreise
webclient
parrotcreative
worldtattooevents
modernpoetryintranslation
eveni
andremarkus
cannstatter-zeitung
maritima
genioncccccccc
massinteract
kailaptech
vce4plus
moderniobec
ycr
eforms
aneas
dwplgroup
pltech
croisieredeprestige
marienkrankenhaus
slembassyusa
actify
floydsbarbershop
gibbstonvalley
zkdesign
hogsbynat
sarctrials
052052
supbiotech
datacide-magazine
scienceintheclassroom
ks35
flashapply
estoniarussia
jj520
shoaibm
scotlibdems
onceagain
metalitalia
sanukimannopark
uberlube
rhinopoetry
jsyhkg
tracxnet
puregracefarms
xianyou
huskyhealthct
applusbilsyn
oessh
salvationarmyhouston
depuertoplata
peyrassol
aothuntees
revoluvip
pacwebhosting
quality-bookings
web2s
salemma
1792bourbon
newlookmedia
truerewards
avrillo
gzodad
nextlet
lgbtq
my-efoy
ayjiadian
voa-ncnn
helloxpart
google
lianmengdaquan
slotepic
teatreprincipal
boardwalktl
juzousa
infi
gulfwarvets
makelpunt
imagearts
orbitremit
mauderestaurant
dimbal
analogueweb
dianstanley
pimdesign
arts-project
attplans
pennypop
ar-go
yingyu
naigai
poor
truelogics
emilyluxton
ideamsg
racarciosethe
vincelombardi
atesca
68w6
donstroy
rosevilletoday
worldairlinenews
advancedrecoverysystems
kansaikiin
elements
karststonepaper
facilitiepo
world-efficiency
agilestorelocator
spurcycle
idzoneph
instant-mariage
master-piece
aicpa
bin-co
rencontresenligne
wildcatsanctuary
xooloo
jape
reasmireaf
dizycommerce
hwnews
goosegreaseshop
lambdawarszawa
36
squareballoon
employmentscape
maris
leemarshdesign
157
gnumner
mohave
ashcity
benseno
sanangelocounseling
rencontres-en-ligne
commerce
iombusandrail
morecommerceinc
grkfresh
gbtec
weimai
rovercoaches
energieker
exploitalert
sundaystreetssf
clearrave
kspa
leap-re
wearetipjar
yydevelopment
curiouscook
em34
socieux
rakuten-toushin
blindex
yunjimo
my-emmi
maba
