Okay, be honest: how many times have you stood in the cereal aisle, generic box in one hand, name brand in the other, doing the math on whether the savings are actually worth it? We’ve all been there. But here’s the thing — 84% of shoppers now say they trust store brands as much as (or more than) national brands, and when people take blind taste tests, they usually can’t tell the difference at all. Sometimes they even like the generic version better. So we dug into the real taste-test data from Aldi, Costco, and Trader Joe’s shoppers to find out exactly which store-brand swaps are worth it — and which ones you should skip. Grab a cart, because your grocery bill is about to get a lot smaller.
The Twist: Blind Taste Tests Keep Proving Us Wrong
Here’s a fun (and slightly humbling) fact: a recent consumer study found that more than 7 out of 10 shoppers couldn’t tell store brands from name brands once the labels came off. The catch is that when people know they’re eating the generic version, they instinctively rate it lower — even if they preferred it in a true blind test. Basically, our brains are the problem, not the pasta.
“If you can barely taste the difference between the two, there’s no reason not to buy the store brand.” — that’s the verdict shoppers keep landing on, trip after trip.
Costco’s Kirkland Ice Cream Might Be the Best Swap in the Store
Let’s start with the big one: Kirkland Signature Super Premium Vanilla Ice Cream. It’s dense, creamy, and shockingly close in flavor to Trader Joe’s vanilla — which makes sense once you learn both are made by the same California creamery, Humboldt Creamery. You get two half-gallons for $12.99, which works out to roughly half the price per ounce of premium name brands like Häagen-Dazs. If you’re already stocking your freezer for fall baking season, this is the easiest upgrade you’ll make all year. Speaking of freezer wins, if you loved our roundup of Trader Joe’s fall frozen finds, this belongs right next to them in your cart.
Aldi’s Private Labels Win Almost Every Blind Test
Aldi doesn’t really do name brands — more than 90% of what’s on its shelves is exclusive to the store, spread across labels like Simply Nature, Specially Selected, Millville, and Benton’s. And shoppers keep putting them to the test. Benton’s Fig Bars beat Fig Newtons in a head-to-head taste test. Millville Fruit Rounds held their own against Froot Loops at nearly a third of the price. Happy Farms American Cheese slices were called a “dead ringer” for Kraft singles — but thicker and cheaper. Even Corale Baked Beans went head-to-head with Heinz and came out “exactly the same,” according to one taste tester, at less than half the cost.
If you want to see exactly how far Aldi’s private labels stretch a grocery budget, pair this with our list of Aldi shopping secrets regulars swear by — the two strategies stack really well together.
The Categories Where Generic Almost Always Wins
Not every product is a coin flip. Some categories are basically guaranteed store-brand wins because there’s so little room for a “secret recipe” to make a difference:
- Baking staples — sugar, flour, and baking soda are processed identically across brands. Sugar is sugar.
- Dry pasta — most brands use the same durum wheat, so the ingredient list barely changes.
- Juice and canned goods — 100% apple juice is 100% apple juice, whether the label says Mott’s or Nature’s Nectar.
- Frozen breakfast items — Aldi’s Breakfast Best waffles beat Eggo in texture tests, at less than half the price.
Generic groceries typically run 25% to 30% cheaper than their name-brand twins, and in categories like these, you genuinely won’t taste the trade-off. That kind of savings adds up fast — especially if you’re already using the viral 6-to-1 grocery method to plan your weekly cart.
Where to Still Splurge on the Name Brand
To be fair, not every generic dupe sticks the landing — some Aldi copycats of nostalgic snacks and viral desserts have gotten mixed reviews from shoppers who say the texture or flavor just isn’t quite right. So this isn’t a “throw out every name brand” situation. It’s a “know which nine times out of ten you can switch and save” situation. Start with ice cream, pasta, and baking basics, then work your way through the rest of your list one taste test at a time.
Ready to put it to the test yourself? Grab one generic and one name-brand version of something you buy every week, do your own blind taste test at home, and let us know on socials which one won. Your wallet is rooting for the generic.
Photo credits: Hero image — The Image Party/Shutterstock via Tasting Table. Second image — Matthew Horwood/Getty Images via Mashed.
