Name brand vs. generic foods and beverages

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Consumers prefer name-brand beverages over generic brands, even though they costs more, according to the September 2023 Consumer Food Insights Report.

Most consumers are unwilling to pay a premium for name-brand meat, fruits or vegetables, however.

Most of the time, their choice comes down to taste, said Joe Balagtas, professor of agricultural economics and the director of the Center for Food Demand Analysis and Sustainability at Purdue University.

“Most consumers tell us that in the beverage aisle, name brands are tastier,” he said. “Coke and Pepsi are tastier than their generic alternatives.

“We also find that two-thirds of consumers are willing to pay as much as 30% premium for those name-brand products. For fresh foods, we find name brands aren’t quite as important.”

The survey also focused on how income affects consumer food behavior.

“Overall, 13% of our households report being food insecure,” Balagtas said. “That’s the second month in a row that our food security measure is down from its peak in the summer of 16%.

“Among low-income households, however, food insecurity is 35%. That tells us food insecurity is largely a problem of inadequate resources for these households to acquire the food that they need.”

Other survey results include:

• Households making less than $50,000 were more price-sensitive when presented with two generic or store-brand discounts.

• The consumer food inflation estimate, at 6.3% continues to diverge from the government consumer price index of food inflation, at 4.3%.

Read the complete report at https://tinyurl.com/mt2kxnjn.