Generic Lovefest
As we were driving into Ballarat on Monday afternoon, I let out a squeal that gave farmboy a heart attack. The word “Aldi” held no meaning whatsoever for him but given I was supposed to be navigating, he assumed it had something to do with the navigation. 
He didn’t really appreciate my explanation either.
We continued on, only to come across ANOTHER Aldi resulting in another squeal from the navigator. Unfortunately at that precise moment I managed to miss a street we were looking for (in my enthusiasm over there being not 1 but 2 Aldi’s in Ballarat!!!!). Farmboy just didn’t share my excitement.
But I know you’ll all understand. What’s a little “getting lost trying to find our accomodation” when there’s an ALDI I can check out. And right in time for writing this post????
I was “good” though and waited until our last day (by which time Farmboy had forgiven me for getting sidetracked) to visit. So I’m going to start with my first impressions of Aldi.
ALDI
Was nothing like I expected.
It was clean and light and well set out and COLOURFUL. All their packaging just looks like a regular brand! Rather than a “no name” brand.
I didn’t buy a lot because well, we had 1200km to bring it.
The prices? I didn’t find them quite as cheap as I expected. As with everything I think you need to know your prices. In general I thought *most* things were either on par or around 10% cheaper than what I’ve bought elsewhere. I didn’t look thoroughly though. One thing I DID buy was some powdered milk as it was $2 cheaper than anything here. So about 25% cheaper.
I haven’t tried anything yet so I can’t comment on the quality. However, my overall experience was positive and if I had the chance to shop there on a regular basis, I would.
Oh, and I checked and a LOT of the products say they are made in Australia. I can’t comment on where the overall profits go but neither can I comment on where the profits from other supermarkets like Coles and Woolworths go either.
One thing I did find interesting was that pretty much the entire first aisle upon entering the store comprised of biscuits, prepackaged snacks and chips. Hmmm….. And I bought…. a box of chips (treat for the kids), 2 packets of savoury biscuits (for the trip home) and a couple of prepackaged snacks for the kids lunch boxes. I’m not sure if every Aldi is set up the same way but it’s something to be aware of. A few dollars savings can easily be eaten up if you’re tempted to buy that kind of stuff on a regular basis.
BLACK AND GOLD
Black and Gold brand here in Australia is a common generic brand in the smaller, independent type stores. To be honest, I’m not a big fan of the products in this range. I have found many of them to be substandard and disappointing.
There are two products that we use regularly and enjoy within this range though.
1. Ice cream - some people hate generic ice cream and I do agree that the more expensive varieties are creamier. However, in many cases this is what you are used to. We regularly use the Black and Gold brand ice cream and enjoy it. A word of warning though, the neapolitan (which is a mix of strawberry, vanilla and chocolate) sends my kids hyper (and generally speaking we don’t have issues with colours affecting our kids).
2. The black and gold lolly range is Y.U.M!!!! I suspect they come out of the Allen’s factory.
WOOLWORTHS GENERIC
To be honest, I’m not all the impressed with the fact that Woolworths (and also Coles) have chosen to release a variety of different types of “store brand” products. I find it frustrating and confusing. In talking here though I’m going to be mainly referring to the basic products that are generally known as “homebrand”.
My favourite products?
Mint slice biscuits and fake kit kats! 
And no, buying either of those is generally not the way to keep your spending down (or your waistline measurements). Ooh, and recently we tried their choc chip biscuits too and they were FABULOUS!!!
I do buy biscuits, baking products, dairy products and many many pantry items from Woolworths (when I shop there - it isn’t my main shop).
What I wouldn’t buy generic from Woolworths again?
Frozen corn. It was TERRIBLE!
COLES
Most of my pantry shopping is done at Coles so we use a LOT of Coles generic products. Again, like Woolworths, they have brought out several ranges of their own products so you have to be alert and aware as to which provide the better value.
To be honest, I am yet to find a generic product in Coles that I’m not really happy with. Most of our pantry staples are generic as well as many dairy products and freezer products.
There are some items, like cocoa, that I’ve yet to try (I have tried Woolworths cocoa and didn’t like that but reader feedback has caused me to reconsider) so I really need to consider doing that.
I was also disappointed when they recently switched to using syrup for their canned fruits. They now only offer canned/tinned fruit in fruit juice in their more expensive range.
FOODLAND
I think Foodland is a South Australian company so may not be familiar to many of you. Having said that, I was THRILLED when our local store became a Foodland store as I LOVE their generic brand products. I haven’t found any that I haven’t liked. When I was first living on my own, Foodland was the closest supermarket to me so I did most of my grocery shopping there. In particular, I REALLY like their multigrain bread. We also like their tinned two fruits.
I still choose to purchase many of my products from Coles as overall their generic products are cheaper than our local Foodland. Some would argue the case for shopping locally but that is a topic for another day.
LET THE BUYER BEWARE
A couple of things I have learnt in my journey to be more frugal.
1. Generic is not ALWAYS the cheapest. I have had other shoppers point this out to me before when I’ve automatically reached for the generic product. Items like sugar will sometimes go on special for a price LOWER than the generic product. You do need to be aware when it comes to shopping (which is annoying I know).
2. Generic products DO come on sale. Keep your eyes open because they will sometimes drop by 10% and it’s a good opportunity to stock up.
3. Check things like weight and percentage of product. On the sides of canned goods in Australia, they have to indicate what percentage of the product you are purchasing is in the can. Often-times generic products have a higher percentage but not always so it is something to be aware of.
OVER TO YOU
Please take the time to read these posts and comments made by others. It’s great to get a variety of perspective in regard to these things. As you’re aware, I have been rather distracted of late so if I’ve missed your post or comment, please let me know and I’ll add it in ASAP.
Generic Grocery Brands by Lizzie from Lizzie’s Home.
Generically Speaking by Maggie
Marita states:
When it comes down to it. Everything that ALDI sells is generic and I find in 99% of the time it is better than label brands.
My only label addiction is Pepsi Max. I can not stand generic cola. Hubby loves the Maxi Ice cola. Both of us loath Coke.
Some comments from River:
“..tomato sauce was alittle runnier…” HA!! I tried a savings (coles) tomato sauce and it was like coloured water and tasteless. The Farmland brand (coles) was ok, but it’s been replace by You’ll love Coles, and it’s not as good.
I buy other generic stuff, flour, sugar, paper towel, “glad” wrap etc. but a lot of the foods just aren’t as good. Canned tomatoes are more liquid than tomatoes, baked beans are hard and tasteless, both savings brand (coles). Farmland brand which is now you’ll love coles is better, but if I was in Foodland, the generic black and gold brand baked beans were nice. Generic biscuits are okay and jelly crystals, but I don’t like the cake mixes. years ago I tried a generic garlic bread and it wasn’t nice but hubby bought some home today to have with our pizza coles “smart buy” which has replaced the blue and white “savings” and it was nice. I’d definitely buy it again. I don’t buy the smart buy icecream, it’s yuk in my opinion, but the you’ll love coles vanilla is okay. Mostly i buy generic for single use things such as tissues, cottonbuds etc, or for foods where the taste doesn’t really matter, for instance flour will be mixed with other things and can’t be tasted in the final product.
Polly has given her feedback which has prompted me to rethink my stance on the cocoa and give it another try (it has been over a decade since I tried the generic cocoas):
I completely agree with you. However as a somewhat chocolate compulsive/expert, I think the homebrand cocoa is superior to the other supermarket brands. It is the richest, and finest I have come across, with a high percentage of cocoa….
Chris has added:
Totally agree with you in buying generic. My mom raised us in name brands but I raised my children with generic brands. Now they rather use generic than name brand…LOL
If you have something you’d like to add on this topic then feel free to jump in via the comments section. If you have a post on generic products, feel free to send me the link and I’ll add it to this post. 
A FEW OTHER POSTS I’VE FOUND
How to Choose Generics or Store Brands
