groceries

Generic Vs. Brand Names in Groceries

Dan Agri-Business, Commodities, Economy, This Land of Ours

What’s in a name? That depends when it comes to groceries. That’s coming up on This Land of Ours.

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Most consumers appear to prefer brand-name beverages over generic or store-brand beverages. That’s according to the September 2023 Consumer Food Insights Report.

The Purdue University College of Agriculture report further indicates that consumers make this choice even when presented with a sizable price discount on generic or store brand names. In contrast, most survey respondents said they weren’t willing to pay a premium for brand-name meat, fruits, or vegetables. Not surprisingly, households making less than $50,000 a year were more price-sensitive when presented with two generic or store-brand discounts.

The survey also shows the consumer food inflation estimate of 6.3 percent continues to diverge from the government’s consumer price index of food inflation at 4.3 percent. While consumers with the lowest incomes already choose more generic brands over name brands, this disparity tends to grow quickly when the discount on generic or store-brand foods is doubled from 15 percent to 30 percent. 

From the National Association of Farm Broadcasting.

Listen to Sabrina Halvorson’s This Land Of Ours program here.

Generic Vs. Brand Names in Groceries

Sabrina Halvorson
National Correspondent / AgNet Media, Inc.

Sabrina Halvorson is an award-winning journalist, broadcaster, and public speaker who specializes in agriculture. She primarily reports on legislative issues and hosts The AgNet News Hour and The AgNet Weekly podcast. Sabrina is a native of California’s agriculture-rich Central Valley.