Generic vs. name brand

story by Kelby Dressler≫

Generic vs. Name Brand, what’s the difference? Great Value is an example of a generic brand that many might know well. Some Great Value items may have a different taste than the name brand. Specifically, the Doritos Nacho Cheese vs. the Great Value Nacho Cheese tortilla chips. After students tried one of each chip, they offered their opinion on which one they liked more.

“What difference does it make? By the time it’s in my mouth, I don’t notice if it’s name brand and that shouldn’t matter,” said Trinity Sollars, sixth grader at EMS. Other kids had very specific opinions.

Eli Foster, Kindergartener, said, “The normal Dorito tastes better because it’s more crunchy.”

Eythen Moore, sixth grader, prefers “name brand because of the flavor.”

Kids often don’t think about the price of the chips or nutritional facts, just which one is more “cheesy”! What about the nutritional facts? There are more ingredients in the Great Value chips and they are 10 more calories than Doritos. Less than half of the people asked preferred the name brand Doritos.

Some think that the Great Value brand is just as good if not better because of the price. Some stick with the name brand because they’re afraid of change.

“If I chose the Great Value over name brand and I feel like it’s the same product, I’ll chose the Great Value because it’s cheaper,” said Angie Brown, business teacher and mother. She thinks that price is the biggest factor in deciding which brand.

“I don’t know that there’s any reason to why I buy what I buy accept cost.”

India Whitaker, Soph, feels the same way.

“It tastes just as good, my opinion doesn’t change. Food is food,” said Whitaker.

The average difference in price between the Great Value and name brand of 20 randomly selected items is $1.04. Though that may not seem like much, it makes a difference when adding up a cart of groceries.