Which store-brand products are exactly identical to name brands?

November 2, 2020 6:17 AM

I've found a lot of listicles that give examples of, say, 10 store-brand products that are made in the same factories as name-brand products, but I'm curious if anyone's prepared a spreadsheet that compiles lots of examples in one place. Bonus points if it includes a price comparison!
posted by LSK to Shopping (5 answers total)

It’s well known that Costco’s house brand Kirkland is largely comprised of rebranded products made by highly regarded producers.
posted by slkinsey at 6:22 AM on November 2, 2020 [2 favorites]

Trader Joe's products are a great example of this.
posted by zdravo at 6:45 AM on November 2, 2020 [3 favorites]

Same with Aldi.
posted by Jess the Mess at 7:08 AM on November 2, 2020 [1 favorite]

I can't help with a proper spreadsheet with specific items but budding detectives can find a lot of this info (e.g. Seneca and Aldi cinnamon chips or Cost Plus/Walmart/O Organics herbs) on the FDA's product withdrawal page. You can also click into specific private label withdrawals (e.g. Aldi flour is made by ADM and some President's Choice bagged produce is made by Dole).

On preview, that's what zdravo's link already said. Oops.
posted by AgentRocket at 7:36 AM on November 3, 2020

IKEA cabinets use the exact same Blum hardware used by high-end manufacturers (Blum makes it for IKEA to their specs, it is sold by IKEA without any Blum branding).

VW owns Audi and Porsche, and many of the parts are the same or interchangeable.

Generic medicines are nearly identical, because of FDA regulations. (Some people seem to experience sensitivities to the inert ingredients in drugs, which may vary between brand-name and generic.)

Gas at different branded gas stations (Chevron vs. Shell for example) comes from the exact same refineries and pipelines.
posted by amaire at 11:05 AM on November 3, 2020