The group had tasters sample 21 different food products and compare national brands with their store-brand equivalents.The results?Store brands either beat or tied their national-brand counterparts 14 times, with store brands trouncing such iconic household names as Campbell's, Tropicana, and Oscar Mayer.And as Consumer Reports points out, picking up a few store brands here and there can save big bucks. "The study reaffirms that store brands are worth a try," said Tod Marks, senior projects editor for Consumer Reports. "For a family that spends $100 a week on groceries, the savings could add up to more than $1,500 a year." Consumer Reports found the average savings with store brands was 30 percent, but shoppers saved as much as 52 percent on some items.
– Consumer Reports offers some age-old advice the next time you're cruising the grocery aisle: Don't pay for the brand name. It recently sampled 21 food products and found that generic brands beat or tied the brand-name version in taste on 14 of them. Campbell's Chicken Noodle Soup, for instance, lost to Food Lion's Lotsa Noodles, while America's Choice hot dogs outdid Oscar Mayer. Bonus: A family that spends $100 a week on groceries will save $1,500 a year by buying generic. More details here and at SlashFood.