Giant Store Brands: My Taste Test Challenge

Recently, Giant Store ran a promotion about Giant store brands. It was a promotion to get you to try their store brand food over a name brand. Given that inflation is at an all-time high and people may be looking to cut costs, I thought it was worth revisiting this topic of store brands.

Giant store brands promotion

So, how did this Giant store brand promotion work? When you bought a certain name brand product and then also bought a comparable product from Giant’s own brand, the Giant brand product would end up being free.

I remember taking advantage of this promotion in a number of ways. For example, I purchased sliced deli turkey for my kids’ school lunches. So, I bought a package of Hillshire Farms turkey for making lunches. Then, I got the Giant version of the same kind of turkey for free. FYI, my kids didn’t know the difference when I made sandwiches for lunch.

My taste test of Giant store brands vs national brands

After that experiment, I tried another taste test. This time I compared brands of barbecue sauce.

That is, the PR people from Giant Food Stores had sent me a package with Sweet Baby Rays BBQ Sauce and Giant’s Own Brand BBQ Sauce. This was for the promotion running the last week of June through Independence Day weekend that year.

I used this opportunity to marinate a few chicken breasts in the brand name BBQ sauce. Then, I marinated chicken breasts in the store brand BBQ sauce.

As you can see from this photo, I did the marinating in Ziploc-type bags. I let the meat marinate overnight in the refrigerator to maximize flavor.

Cooking for the taste test

The next day, it was time to fire up the grill. I made sure to cook all the same kinds of marinated chicken on separate sides of the grill. This way I wouldn’t mess up the results of my taste test. I must say that the chicken grilled up beautifully.

That night for dinner I decided to make what was my version of a Southern meal. In addition to the barbecued chicken, I baked corn muffins. Also, I grabbed containers of applesauce that were leftover from packing lunches during the school year.

I’d stockpiled the applesauce when it was on sale and I had a coupon. Let’s just say I bought more than I needed. But we were able to use up the rest of it by adding it to that night’s dinner menu.

When it came time to serve and eat dinner, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the Giant’s Own Brand-marinated chicken actually tasted better. I cooked both kinds of chicken exactly the same, but the brand name BBQ sauce was almost too sweet. The store brand was less sweet, a little bit more savory, and perfect to my palette.

My husband, who you could say is a bit more flavor challenged than I am, couldn’t tell the difference, but he liked them both the same. My daughters had the same reaction–delicious. She didn’t care which brand of BBQ sauce it was, she was happy with the dinner I’d made. Score!

Cost of store brands versus name brand

Of course when it comes to comparing national brands to store brands, cost is always involved. With the turkey that I bought, the brand name was less than a dollar more. The BBQ sauce was similar.

I realize that a dollar is not life-changing money. However, it can add up. So, if the store brand is just as good, why would you spend a little bit more on a name brand?

I know that with my palette, sometimes I really can taste the difference, and the store brand just isn’t worth it. But other times, sure, let me spend less if my family can’t tell the difference, as was the case with both the BBQ sauce and the turkey.

In fact, I’ve gotten into the habit of reaching for the generic, store brand first these days. This is true whether I’m buying bread for sandwiches or Greek yogurt. Where I draw the line, though, is reading the ingredients list. 

That is, sometimes the brand-name version of something has fewer ingredients or hard-to-pronounce ingredients. On the other hand, the store brand version of that food feels like it is chemical laden. In those instances I’ll choose my health over the price.

Get $5.00 OFF your next grocery purchase of $30 or more from Giant Food grocery delivery and pickup.

Here is info on private label store brands, including at Giant stores.