It Pays to Buy Store Brands

So says Consumer Reports. In their October issue, they say: “In blind tests, our trained tasters compared a big national brand with a store brand in 29 food categories. Store and national brands tasted about equally good 19 times. Four times, the store brand won; six times, the national brand won.” Private label quality has unquestionably improved in recent years, and this test just confirms what many consumers have decided on their own. National brands are going to need to find new ways to justify their price differential, or be forced to fight exclusively on price, which seems like a losing battle to me.