When buying items, most of the time I opt for whatever is on sale. If we need laundry detergent, I have my favourites…but not enough to pay full price. Ditto just about everything else.
But I’ve realized there are a few things where it extends beyond preference to allegiance.
- Raisins. Sunmaid or bust. I have tried so many other brands (mostly because they were cheaper), but Sunmaid are my favourite. Now I only buy Sunmaid.
- PC Ketchup. This is a store brand in Canada and it is the best ketchup. I don’t buy anything else. (Definitely not Heinz, despite the header picture. PC is far superior.)
- ED Smith Cherry Pie Filling. Unbaked Cherry Cheesecake is my absolute favourite dessert. Nothing (nothing!) ruins a good cheesecake like bad cherry pie filling. I have tried other brands and they all pale in comparison to ED Smith.
I prefer Kraft peanut butter and it borders on allegiance. I do make exceptions if Kraft is not on sale because we go through a lot of peanut butter and it is SO EXPENSIVE these days. Fun fact: when my sister – who now lives in America – visits Canada, she takes home as much Kraft peanut butter as she can fit in her suitcase; ditto my brother who lives in Denmark…it’s that good).
Do you opt for the best sales regardless of brand preference? Or do you always reach for your favourite brand regardless of price? What brands are you especially partial to?
Header photo by Madison Oren on Unsplash
Joy
This is the signal that you’ve made it – when you spend big (haha) on your favorite ketchup!
I share these preferences. PC and Kraft! For some reason I always choose Farmers for milk/crean, although I’m sure there’s not a big difference, I just like Farmers better.
Elisabeth
Ha! You know that I always wait until it’s on sale, though, right? At one point we had 3 bottles of PC ketchup because I DO NOT WANT TO BE WITHOUT IT.
Kraft is the best…
I honestly couldn’t tell you what milk we have in the fridge right now. I think Scotsburn? I don’t drink cows milk, so pay little attention to it. I actually do think the kids have a preference, but I can’t remember which one they prefer and tend to grab the brand that’s the closest to the corner where I pick it up!
mbmom11
Soap – has to be Dove Sensitive skin. Name brand Cheerios are a must. Peanut butter – for me, it has to be Peter Pan smooth, and my husband prefers Jif. Jarred pasta sauce – Newman’s Sockerootoni. For food, we mostly get whatever store brand is cheapest. For all my pickiness about eating, I can’t tell the difference between milk brands.
Laundry detergent — no brand preference , just cheap and unscented.
Elisabeth
Soap! That makes a lot of sense to be specific with that; I’m definitely all about whatever’s on sale, but if I had sensitive skin I’d be a lot more choosy!
Jenny
Hmm! What is it that’s so great about Canadian Kraft peanut butter??? I’m intrigued! When I make my dream trip to Nova Scotia I’ll have to try it. I’m actually picky about peanut butter- I like it crunchy AND SALTED. Our grocery store brand happens to be my favorite, but I also like Trader Joes. I also like the Trader Joe soymilk. But other than those things i’m usually happy to buy whatever is on sale.
Elisabeth
I like crunchy natural PB, but prefer smooth and no one else likes crunchy so I rarely have it. When I used to make a lot of nut/date balls I would buy crunchy for the texture to add to those. Definitely need some salt in my PB.
sarah
Some things like salad dressings and chocolate chips (ONLY Ghirardelli) and ketchup (Heinz) and chocolate milk (Fairlife) and pretzels (ROLD GOLD OR BUST) and PB (JIF natural) are hard and fast must-buys. But I can be pretty flexible with other things. I really like the Whole Foods store brand and the Kirkland store brand of just about everything. Right now the only yogurt anyone will eat is Oikos, but this is not always the case, and lots of times we go through fierce loyalty phases.
Elisabeth
I feel like we have cycled through some favourites as well. I also think that because we only shop at a handful of stores, there are really pretty limited options of what I’m going to come across. I go out of my way to only buy my favourite ketchup, but it’s not like we have a dozen options, either!
NGS
We are brand loyalists and basically only buy things on sale accidentally. We buy food brands that we know are safe for my husband to eat and we don’t really branch out from that. I’m envious of people who can shop sales and be more adventurous, but we are who we are, I guess.
Elisabeth
This makes sense – knowing you have brands you love and trust is so important for Dr BBs health. But I can understand wishing you could be a bit more spontaneous with purchases <3
Jenny in WV
When I first was considering moving into an apartment with friends, one of the things I said to my mom was “will we fight, what if we buy different kinds of ketchup?” We did buy different brands of ketchup, but we didn’t fight about it, we just had two bottles! I prefer Heinz, probably due to mostly living near-ish to Pittsburgh. I also only buy Helmann’s Mayonnaise.
Cheese curls are something else I won’t compromise on. Only Snyder’s of Berlin. Everything else is too dry and bitter tasting.
Elisabeth
Ha! Two bottles of ketchup sounds like a great compromise.
We also like Hellman’s and prefer it (but don’t mind Great Value or our local store brand for Mayo), but Kraft is a HARD pass for mayo.
Nicole MacPherson
I’m not generally swayed by sales because I’m pretty brand-loyal to things like Kirkland coffee (although I will buy other coffee if Kirkland is not available). Lately I’m into Vlassis pickles rather than Bicks. For a while I really liked French’s ketchup, but now I’m back to Heinz. When it comes to clothes I am very loyal to Lululemon for sports wear and Silver jeans, Skecher shoes because COMFY. I like Kirkland peanut and almond butters, but I also buy Kraft for the guys, who don’t like natural peanut butter. I also like Kraft Natural Chunky.
Elisabeth
I’ve never been a Bicks fan! I tend to prefer store brand pickles, oddly enough.
I love your new Sketcher sandals!
Gigi
I don’t do the grocery shopping, usually, so I can’t speak to preference or allegiance. But I do know that in this house it’s Peter Pan peanut butter or else(at my demand). There’s also a huge rivalry between Hellman’s or Duke’s mayonnaise around these parts. I don’t have a preference and The Husband buys whatever is on sale. I prefer Maxwell House for coffee but will accept substitutes.
Elisabeth
I love how you called it a “demand”…
We don’t have Duke’s, but definitely find Hellman’s to be among the very best for mayo!
Diane
I didn’t think I had brand loyalty, but then I realized that I only buy the soy sauce and sesame oil I grew up with as a child (Kikkoman soy sauce. I don’t actually know the brand of soy sauce, but the bottle is very distinctive.) There’s something really comforting about the brands of childhood, I think. Mostly, though, I look at ingredients and nutritional label and happy to switch if I think it warrants it. (Which is a kind of brand loyalty, I guess.)
Elisabeth
You’re so right about some of our brand loyalty stemming from what we grew up with!
I think there are also so many more options now. Growing up Heinz was my favourite ketchup (but my parents only just bought what was on sale, and Heinz tended to be the most expensive so I didn’t have it a lot). Now there are so many more options! Which is overwhelming for someone like me who gets decision fatigue, but it also means we get a chance to spread our wings a bit.
I think my love of ED Smith canned fruit it tied to my mother. She always – ALWAYS – bought things on sale, but never bought anything but ED Smith for canned cherries and I’ve tried to go the sale route and it’s a disaster. ED Smith forever!
Joy
Like you, I often buy the store brand, but there are a few things that I really prefer a particular brand. I do try to get things on sale, but if I’m out, I’ll still pay full price.
Parmesan cheese – the real stuff for cooking and only Kraft for my son to use on his pasta. The noname brand just isn’t the same.
Cheerios –every other brand we tried melted in the milk. Only cheerios didn’t. I don’t know how they do it.
San Pellegrino –just the right amount of fizz. Most others, even brand names, have too much carbonation for me. And SP’s lemon- flavored water is the only flavored water I like. I can’t stand any others.
Coffee–I drink it black so it has to be a better brand like Peet’s. I’m similarly snobbish about tea. 🙂
Elisabeth
I am in awe of anyone who can drink coffee black and now that I think of it, of course it would make it all the more important to have a brand you love (no hiding bad coffee behind creamer)!!
My kids love Cheerios. I will say that the store brand (PC again, common here in Canada) makes great Cheerios and the kids will consume them interchangeably. But we’ve had other knock-off Cheerios that are terrible!
Shelly
We tend to stay with a lot of the Costco brands they stock. French’s mustard and Heinz ketchup. I buy Kraft peanut butter because Costco has big tubs!
I’m surprised how many don’t care about laundry. Smell is important. Right now I use Purex and downy rinse and refresh. Teens are stinky and many detergents don’t cut it for me! Maybe I’m doing laundry wrong or it’s our water? But I want my laundry to smell good!
Elisabeth
I find heavily scented laundry makes me feel sick (I’m sensitive to scents). This is an ongoing debate in my household because my husband likes it heavily scented. I’ve won for now and we use a lightly scented (natural) detergent with no dyes. It leaves a subtle smell, but not much and seems to work well with getting the smells out?
San
I am loyal to the Trader Joe’s brand LOL (I shop 80% at Trader Joe’s, so most of the items I buy are Trader Joe’s own brand. I will usually look for sales when I shop elsewhere, but there are a few things where we are brand loyal. I will only buy Silk Unsweet Soy Milk (for my coffee), I am very picky about my pickles, and I think Trader Joe’s Almond Butter is the best.
What’s so special about Kraft Peanut Butter? (I do relate to your sister and brother though, I bring back things from Germany all the time :)).
Elisabeth
I’m not sure what makes it so good…it’s just the best. We have both hydrogenated and non-hydrogenated and I will say that it matters a lot less for the natural. I think it mostly tastes standard but for the…less nutritional but oh-so-delicious option, Kraft is just…better!
Jan Coates
There are certain products I buy that I have to buy brand-name, but typically I buy whatever is on sale, too. I’ve used either laundry gel packs or liquid in a big plastic bottle for many years, but Shannon’s using those Eco sheets now, and I think I’ll convert – so much less packaging, and I’m sure they’re equally effective at cleaning clothes. Hope you’re enjoying these final few kid-free days before summer starts in earnest!
Elisabeth
I’ve used Eco sheets before and really thought they were wonderful!
It’s been an intense week. A has pneumonia, so not only has she been home all week, the parenting has been extra intense (and John’s out of town). Oh well. Sometimes summer starts with a whimper, I guess.
Hope your days on the lake are fantastic so far.
Lindsay
I thought of this post this morning because my daughter put up such a protest because the Mr. had gotten a different type of strawberry jam for her oatmeal and she claimed “the textural differences make it inedible”, sigh! I think most of our brand allegiances are because of her vs. how he and I have navigated times of more and less money in our lives together and apart. When I was struggling with multiple jobs and too many bills, brands meant nothing to me as I looked for the best deal and were sometimes a treat – like, “oooh, name brand cereal from my youth – I’m living large this week!”, haha!
Elisabeth
Sorry – the “it makes it inedible” is just too hilarious.
I know what you mean about feeling like it’s a HUGE SPLURGE to get to buy a favourite thing. My favourite combo is having my favourite brand on sale! Hard to beat!
Ally Bean
I have a few preferences, but they’re based on the ingredients in the product not the company so much. I am unable to digest certain things, like aspartame or high fructose corn syrup, so if it’s something I don’t buy it. Regardless of price.
Elisabeth
This makes sense; MSG doesn’t sit well with me and I hate (hate) aspartame. It gives me a horrible headache and can make me nauseous.
Suz
Like you, I have a few things that I will buy no matter the price, but I have so many items that I’m flexible on and will buy if the price is better. I will always have Dawn brand dish soap on hand to clean up oily/greasy stuff in my kitchen.
I had no idea Kraft made peanut butter: mind blown!
Elisabeth
I don’t think Kraft PB exists in the US. But it’s the “main” brand of PB here in Canada!
I agree that Dawn is the best for any oil messes. I always keep Dawn in my laundry room because it’s the best at getting stains out of clothes (especially if they’re grease stains).
Lisa's Yarns
I will only eat JIF peanut butter! I haven’t tried Kraft but unless it was absolutely necessary, I wouldn’t try anything else. We use Tide laundry detergent. I will only drink coke products. These days I drink Coke zero so I really only drink it at home. But 100% would not drink pepsi. And yes, I can detect pepsi v coke in a blind taste test. They taste VASTLY different. As did mellow yellow v mountain dew. I will not drink those sodas but previously when I did, I would only drink mountain dew. Now I want to vomit when I think of drinking them!
Otherwise we buy a lot of generic brands of things at Aldi because it’s far cheaper and I often can’t tell the difference. I’m trying to think what else I am brand loyal to and am coming up blank!!
Elisabeth
I prefer Coke products (and don’t really drink either). I’m convinced I COULD tell the difference between Coke and Pepsi but I haven’t actually done a blind test before but want to some day. I have never had Mountain Dew (or Dr. Pepper) in my life.
I wish we had an Aldi around here…