You have seen all the tips and trick of grocery shopping but is the private label brand food really cheaper than the brand name food? Today I looked at various foods and found that the way things are placed on the shelf and their pricing strategy are designed to make you think that private label is cheaper and increasing their sale. Are you really getting the best bang for you buck?

I’ve always been conscious of pricing of things and always looking for the best deal. I have a fairly good idea on what is a price point that is expensive, reasonable and fill that cart and stock up price. A large majority of people know this for most items they buy on a regular basis and grab deals when they can. How many people based that on habit of buying the item opposed to actual math and signage? Everyone looks at the big sticker price but very few check the small print on the tag . I watched today at the grocery store and never saw a single person look at the small print on the tag . You than have the added confusion of stores strategically placing similar private label along side of brand name items but with a lower sticker price on the big price tag even if the packing was smaller. Most people, because their is a significant price different quickly rationalize the smaller portion as the price is so good and it is not that much smaller so you are saving money. That however is not true at all and I have some pictures to show you.

I needed some canned pumpkin and it is not an item I normally buy on a regular basis so I have no idea what a good price or bad price is for this item. I looked at both the private label and the brand name quickly, noted the price difference and initially had the private label one as it appeared without really looking to be the best deal. I stopped and thought, wait, let me check and I was like “WHAT??”

At initial glance the 389 ml of No Name Pumpkin at $3.29 looked like the best deal compared to the 796 ml of E.D Smith pumpkin for $4.99 that was directly beside it on the shelf. Due to the shapes of the can, just looking at them didn’t seem like a big difference, until you look at the small print. The small print written to the left of the shelf tag above the bar code gives you the numbers you need to compare to see if you are really getting the best deal. The name brand one is Actually 20 cents cheaper per 100 ml of product that the no name one! That should be the opposite way around shouldn’t it, if private label really is the cheaper option?? The private label no name pumpkin cost you $0.82 per 100 ml of product whereas the brand name E.D. Smith pumpkin will only cost you $0.62 per 100 ml of product! This wasn’t even an item that was on sale, this is regular every day prices. It was a common theme throughout the store that product after product, the private label was actually more expensive than the brand name product.