Do you buy WalMart generic (Great Value) products? Have you found that's just as good as name brands? I just tried their peanut butter and found it to be just as good as the major brands. Some things I've been reluctant to try, but being the economy the way it is I'm having to really stretch my dollars.
By Betty
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I use the WalMart brand of several items. I particularly like their grape jam (not jelly) which tastes just like Welch's. I've been using their brand of powdered dishwasher detergent for years. It works well for me. I also use their brand of dryer softener sheets. I cut them in thirds and get a lot of uses out of one small box.
Wallmart brands that I buy are their Great Value coffee and cranberry juice.
Also their laxatives and lubricant eye drops are good too. They have good cranberry capsules and fiber capsules.
You will find that store brands taste just as good as name brand, mostly because many of the store brands are made by the name brand company's suppliers and labelled for the stores. Not true of ALL store brands but it is for many. Always try a store brand before you judge it. Personally, the Food City brand orange juice tastes like watered down orange coolaide. >p
I have bought a lot of Great Value products over the years. But I have now checked ingredients on your Cinnamon Oat Crunch cereal and find it also includes trisodium phosphate. Since there is no way you can justify putting this in cereal, we will no longer buy any of your products.
Someone does not understand science. Watch out many Walmart products also contain a strong solvent, dihydrogen monoxide !
TSP is just like Sodium Bicarbonate (baking soda)
Yes there is a way to justify it. They do it for a reason. The FDA advocates no more than 70mg per day. Massive doses can irritate your food track. But let's look at something all most all people consume. Coffee. Too much Caffeine can flat out kill you.
do you what adenosin triphosphate? sounds bad? well that is the compound from where our body cells get energy from, we need sodium and phosphorus, having it in a cereal is not bad.
You know what can also kill you? water, its called drowning and I don't see people complaining about having it as an ingredient in products
It has been commonly added to foods for years and there appear to be no health concerns. Here is a Snopes article about it:
I believe GV coffee is made by Folgers. I do not buy generic jams/preserves, never use jelly. I almost always buy generic, with a few exceptions.
Their cereals are great! In fact, their Crunchy Raisin Bran is better than the orginal.
I use all sorts of Great Value products and love them. I use that brand of honey, coffee, diced tomatoes, jelly, pop tarts, dishwasher detergent, flour, brown sugar....I know I'm forgetting a lot.
My son's science class did an experiment with paper towels, they found that the GV brand were most absorbent and least expensive!
The one thing I don't recommend is the mayonaise...it's runny!
Many store brands are name brand products with the store's label on them. Name brands have the perception of being of better quality and that simply is not so. A retailer like WalMart can ask a manufacturer to "private label" products because WalMart can purchase in such high volume, allowing the manufacturer to maintain profitability on the product.
I also buy most of the Great Value brands and find I like most and some are better than the brand names. I do look at ingredients first to see what is in it before I buy it. There are only 1 or 2 products that I have not liked in the vast amount of items I have tried.
It depends on each individual thing you are buying. I use a lot of Great Value items. If it's one I haven't tried yet, then I get a small size of it and try it. Most times it's just as good (like one lady said, the same thing) as the name brand, but much cheaper. Once in a while I run across something that's not as good, in which case I go with another brand of that item.
For the most part though I'd have to say yes, Great Value brand is just as good as the more expensive name brands.
Just tried their juices this last week, the bottle is large, but the family didn't know the difference from V-8 for their vegetable juice, nor the white grape from Welches.
Walmart's Great Value brand of ice cream is just delicous. No artifical ingredients, flavorings or preservatives...just plan natural ice cream. Very happy that I discovered it.
I was concerned about the meat that Wal mart sell, while listening to a talk about meat regarding the shots that are given to the animals to fatten them. The speaker said that Wal mart would not buy any meat that had been treated with the injections. Hopefully they are keeping their word, as I am now buying a lot of my meat at Wal mart it is also quite a lot cheaper. Also their own brand of dishwasher powder is very good.
Last I knew Walmart gets a LOT of their beef from Taylors in PA now Cargill and last I knew they don't do the whole injection thing and myself and several family members have and still work there. Nothing but top notch beef.
I use a lot of Great Value brands also. I believe their milk, like their meat, is also hormone-free. My kids & husband LOVE their bread, it's a soft, white bread comparable to Wonder brand (but I only indulge that occasionally ,they usually have to settle for whole grain!).
I think most of WalMart store brand is as good or better than the name brand stuff, Consumer Reports has even rated some of it higher-like the vitamins & I believe the fabric softener?
I recently tried their dishwasher soap & love it! The other brands are getting SO expensive & don't seem to work as well, but we have had a great result from the Great Value brand.
The only thing I won't buy is their canned fruit. It's disgustingly mushy & flavorless!
Please reread "SavingGrace's" comments as she is correct . . .
SavingGrace quote: "Many store brands are name brand products with the store's label on them. Name brands have the perception of being of better quality and that simply is not so. A retailer like WalMart can ask a manufacturer to "private label" products because WalMart can purchase in such high volume, allowing the manufacturer to maintain profitability on the product. I buy store brands whenever possible. I work for a food broker ~ the middleman between the manufacturer and the retailer, so know what I'm talking about. :)"
I've have retail work experience, so I know what I am talking about, too. Like SavingGrace stated, a company as large as WalMart has the ability (financial edge) to work with many different brand name companies and can negotiate a multitude of "private label" (Great Value, in WalMart's case) manufacturing deals.
That said, some items are as good as brand names, as they are brand names with private labels and if it's the actual brand name you prefer, and others are not (might be a private label, brand name that is not your favorite). As others have posted here, buy a small quantity first so you can "test it out" before you commit to a larger quantity purchase.
Compare labels; ingredient lists, (the order of ingestable ingredients matters as manufactures are required to list the highest content first, at least in the U.S.) and nutritional content. It's often difficult to compare items that are in tin cans, but with bottled, bagged, and boxed items, often, but not always, the store brand (private label) will be identical in size and shape to the name brand bottle, bag, or box. Again, compare the ingredient lists and nutritional content to make an educated guess.
In the over-the-counter medicine aisle of many large retail stores including WalMart, you'll find a lot more items that actually say "Compare this to (name brand) product" which gives you a heads up of what brand name product is being repackaged as a store "private label". Wish they would do the same on all food products (sigh) but 'tis not so!
As far as fresh meat, poultry, fish, produce, etc., goes, I'm guessing most of it depends on how locally grown the items are. The farther the products have to travel from the harvest source, chances are the less fresh they will be. No rocket science here, just good ole' common sense. Good luck finding the best bargains for your buck! :-)
Dollar General has a lot of good items, too, but I do not recommend their dishwasher tablets--they didn't clean at all and left a lot of the tablet residue on everything.
I firmly believe generic products in general are as good as name brand. The only exceptions I make are for Marie Calendar and Campbell's. Why pay more for a name? When I was sighted I compared my multivitamins and ibuprofen with the store brand, side-by-side, line by line. Generics may have a tiny bit more filler, but the active ingredients are the same.
I find most of the WalMart brand items are good. One thing to watch out for though. The popular Great Value items are sometimes priced higher than the brand name items. They are counting on you just grabbing the brand and not looking at the price. A WalMart cashier told me about this and I've found it to be true when I started looking.
The only generic brand I consistently do not like is Always Save, but Wal-Mart does not carry that. If you are near an Aldi store, they have great prices on most things and almost all their food is wonderful. I don't particularly care for their mayonnaise and their milk has started getting fat deposits near the lid. It wouldn't bother me, but when a teenage boy opens it, it becomes a "yuk" factor for him. It is wise to look at their prices as there are a couple of things one can get cheaper at Wal-Mart (eg., pistachio nuts). Good luck.
Many stores offer a "store brand as good as name brand" guarantee. They will give you your moner back if you dislike their store brand. Not sure if Walmart does-ask them. I know Costco, and Trader Joes will do so.
I can't believe that none of you posted the fact that a good portion of great value food tastes like cardboard. the key is finding the products that are simply repackaged brand name items. however, the toasted whole grain oats (cheerios) are horrifyingly bad. same with the "crisp rice". which reminds me that their white rice is terrible. sweetened condensed milk is a no go as well. yogurt, fuhgidabowdit! Some gv stuff is better. Lemonade, apple juice, frosted mini wheats, multigrain flakes, ranch dressing, fun topic! Oh yeah, word to the wise. never let your baby walk around in wallyworld brand diapers!
Hate to break it to you, but my Dad worked 40 plus yrs in printing business, for several different companies. They run so many prints for Pampers brand and switch the press to run so many prints of the private label for Wal-Mart. Same diaper.
Thanks for sharing. I have heard this same story for pancake mix, like Krusteaz. They just change out the bags to the store brand, adding the exact same mixture.
Me personally I do not care for great value products they are not of quality to me some of the products are disgusting with a bad after taste I'd rather spend more on name brand
I use all of their products and never been disappointed. Their cheese and pop tarts and chips and peanut butter and pickles and blue cheese dressing are top of the line. That's just to name a few.
I've used many Great Value brand products and can say there's really no difference EXCEPT for the swiffter dusters. They are horrible, fall apart so fast and not very thick at all!
Here is something you NEVER want to buy.
Nuts are not cheap. But I couldn't be more disappointed than when I bought Walmart Great Value smoke flavored almonds. I will never expect good quality again under the name "Great Value".
1 out of every 3 almonds were "rancid". Each time I put a couple almonds in my mouth, I had to spit the rancid taste out right away! They are horrible!
This Answer opportunity won't allow photos or I would post a picture of what a rancid almond looks like and you could decide for yourself if you would want one in your mouth.
You can certainly add a photo if you wish, just click on the "Upload an Image" link below the text box. So sorry about your rancid almonds, that sounds terribly disappointing.
I'm enjoying letting the customer know about the Great Value products in our store. Everything is economical and very good. I enjoy passing on the savings to the customers.
Great value is probably the best saving product I have ever found within the past few years! I have not had any issue with any of their products eveything taste so yummy and even sometimes you can find chips that are great value that taste better than lays or any other top brands out their. They have such great quality from mayo to mustard , even rice and definitely canned veggies or beans ! It all taste the same , so worth it and definitely saves you tons of money everytime you grocery shop!
condiments like horseradish and spicy mustard are watered down and gross when you use them.
Their ice cream sandwiches dont melt and Their long grain rice floats because of the plastic in it.
I use a lot of Great Value products and find them to be every bit as good as name brands, but boy! Did I get disappointed tonight! I heated my so-turkey and dressing dinner and opened it only to find it had about 6 pieces of turkey cut into 1/2 squares and the driest dressing Ive ever seen! Have you folks ever heard of gravy? Ill keep buying your products but they sure wont include your turkey dinner!
I have tried a number of different products under the Great Value label. Personally, I find them to be hit or miss when it comes to quality. One thing I do remember trying was their frozen breakfast sausage patties, which I found to be very unpalatable! They made me want to gag! But I also tried their grape juice, which I found to be quite delicious. So all in all, it really depends on what you buy. So I would simply recommend the advice of friends and family.
Most are ok, won't buy any GV cheese, frozen corn or ice cream.
It's not about how product taste but what the the public is consuming question is true value corn beef same as libbys
We buy GV brand all the time, and usually love their products (cheese, tortilla rounds, bread, milk, corn cereal squares, Greek yogurt, etc) Their oat rounds (like Cheerios) are terrible though.
I've tried many Great Value products but just tried a few of their Rising Crust Pizzas. Perhaps the worst frozen pizzas I've ever eaten. The sauce is only tomato sauce and has no taste of any spices at all. It is flat compared to a real pizza sauce. The crust does not rise very much at all. And it is void of any taste, also. If they wish to compete in the frozen pizza market they are going to have to make drastic changes to these products. Utterly terrible.
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