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Some generics are brand-name products in disguise

Last night, my husband and I had quite a discussion on whether some generic or private-label products are actually brand-name products in different packaging.

He said he didn’t think it would be a good idea for brand-name manufacturers to also sell their product to private label companies.

I think that’s absolutely what’s going on.

If Del Monte sells some of its product to Aldi, it’s still making money, perhaps even more than it would make if it just sold Del Monte-labeled products. Remember, Del Monte has to compete with Green Giant and other brands of canned vegetables. So, say it sells 1,000 cans of Del Monte at $0.70 each, and sells 1,000 cans to Aldi for packaging and selling at $0.20 each. They’d be making $200 more than they would if they only sold products under their brand label. It’s a larger share of the market.

When you think about it, there has to be a limited number of food manufacturers in this country. It would be too expensive for a company to have a plant for making every little product they carry on their shelves. It would be cheaper for stores to buy from an established manufacturer and package it as a generic, don’t you think?

When you buy a brand name, in many cases you’re simply paying for the marketing of the product. It costs money to run an ad campaign and distribute coupons (another form of advertising). Companies have to recoup the marketing costs by charging more for those products.

"Choosy moms choose Jif," according to the tagline in one commercial.

Oh, do they?

I’m not a choosy mom, or any kind of mom for that matter–but I choose Jif as well. Only, in the container, it’s not called Jif. It’s called "Flavorite" and is distributed by Supervalu Storebrands, Inc.

Some people are brand snobs, and wouldn’t be caught dead with a generic packaged product in their pantries.

Companies know this, and know that to reach a wider market share, they’ll have to sell a pretty brand-name product, and a generic-packaged product to people who are fine with those.

Some generics are just plain bad. They’re clearly not repackaged brand name goods. If you find a terrible generic, take it back to the store. But don’t let it prevent you from buying another generic product.

Some generics really are just as good as brand name products, if not identical inside.

Which generic products do you suspect are really brand name products?

I’m willing to say with 98 percent certainty that:

• Aldi brand (called "Happy Harvest" in this case) canned cut green beans are actually Del Monte cut green beans. Growing up on the Del Monte version, I feel like I can say with reasonable authority that this is the exact same product.
• Flavorite peanut butter (purchased from Kuhn’s grocery) is Jif peanut butter. I’ve had other brands of peanut butters, and I’m quite certain that the Flavorite stuff I picked up for $1/ jar is Jif.

Dumpster-diving for food and furniture

When both my mother and my mother-in-law called me within a few minutes of each other and asked if I was watching Oprah, I knew I had better turn on my TV.

The topic of the first half of the show? Living the "freegan" lifestyle.

At the beginning of the show, we saw hordes of people going through trash in New York City to salvage food from groceries and bakeries that have been tossed. They salvaged fresh fruit, bagels, dairy products, canned goods, and nonperishable boxed items to take home and use.

Next, we met a newlywed couple has a closet full of cereal, a bunch of shampoo, an ab roller machine, a desk, and so much more, all from their dumpster-diving trips they regularly take.

They definitely have the money to buy these things, but they want to prevent perfectly good, usable items from going to landfills. Also important to them: They want to decrease their overall product consumption.

One guest made a great point: The more you work, the more you consume. But if you consume less, you’ll be able to work less and still live a great lifestyle.

Instead of spending their paychecks on buying a bunch of things they don’t really need, the newlyweds choose to donate their money to charitable causes, and also to pay off their mortgage.

So what do you think about dumpster-diving?

I’m not comfortable with going through trash for food. It bothers me that there is so much that’s going to waste, but we don’t know why the food was tossed, for sure. Maybe an item was recalled. Maybe a frozen item accidentally thawed within the grocery, and they had to throw it out. Maybe something spilled all over a box of items. Or maybe, most of it is perfectly good for human consumption.

I don’t know. And I don’t think that I’m willing to take that risk.

Instead, I’d rather see restaurants and groceries be more responsible with their waste. Why not put things on super-clearance? That way, we know the food hasn’t been in the trash, at least. Or, arrange for items to be sent to homeless shelters.

As far as furniture and household goods, I say go for it!

Furniture can be found outside of apartment dumpsters all the time. When I was in college, these places were a goldmine at semester’s end.

I found a really nice TV stand, bookshelves, and more sitting on the outside of a dumpster. I don’t think I’d want to climb into a trash can–I’m afraid I’d fall and hurt myself, or get cut on glass, or find some rodents.

Have you found anything great via dumpster diving? Would you consider trying it in the future?

Volunteering to take a later flight

On our honeymoon, our flight connection from St. Louis to Seattle was overbooked.

Since our cruise ship wouldn’t leave for another few days, I jumped at the chance to see if we could get some sweet rewards for volunteering to take a later flight.

You see, airlines typically overbook their flights. For one reason or another, some people don’t show up to flights they’ve booked. I don’t know why they don’t, but it’s enough that airlines often sell more tickets than they have seats to ensure a maximum-capacity flight.

When everyone shows up for their flight, airlines typically first ask for volunteers to take a later flight. Sometimes it’s later that day, and sometimes it’s the next day or so.

Airlines try to compensate you for your troubles. You’ll likely receive vouchers for food, a voucher for a future flight with the company (perhaps worth up to $300 or so) and if you have to stay overnight, they might even put you up in a hotel.

When the  announcement came over the PA that  our flight to Seattle was seeking  volunteers to take a later flight, I practically ran over to the ticket counter to put our names on the list.

I forget the exact amount of compensation, but they would put us up at a hotel overnight, we’d get dinner vouchers, and we’d each get a free round-trip flight in the future.

Thinking how great it would be to be able to fly home for free, and considering we had some wiggle room in our travel plans, it seemed like a good idea.

Unfortunately, the airline didn’t need us to take a later flight after all. Enough people didn’t show up, so we made our original flight.

When we go to Florida in a few months, we’ll consider being overbooked volunteers again, so long as the terms are reasonable.

I hope that someday, I’ll be able to get a free flight!

For more on how this works, read this article on About.com. Have you ever been an overbooked volunteer? How did it go?