Brand X-cellent

Kathie Canning, writing in the Costco Connection (Oct 2009), where your humble corespondent also writes on occasion, says the days of brand loyalty are waning along with our economic well-being.

Private label items no longer say BEER or POTATO CHIPS. In fact, a survey shows that nearly 80% of buyers view these positively—and no longer think of them as Brand X.

Why should they? Private label foods are often made by the same companies making the big boys. A&P long had Eight O’Clock Coffee, Sears has Kenmore.

Then TV took over and touted the brand names and we went along. Besides, those black & White generic packages (BEER) were lame.

So the brand equivalents came along—a little sex appeal, lower price. Costco has Kirkland Signature, Target Archer Farms, and Safeway O Organics.

These are lot cheaper, too—an average of 27%!

Private labels are both food and non-food.

So grab for VALUE and go home and have a BEER. You can afford it!