FOOD & DRINK

Store brands put to the test

Who has best OJ? Cookies? Ketchup? We sorted tasty from inedible

By Addie Broyles
AMERICAN-STATESMAN FOOD WRITER
Tuesday, July 21, 2009

With grocery budgets stretched thinner than a piece of plastic wrap, store-brand products are pulling in legions of new fans. Major grocery chains spend millions of dollars researching and developing new products to compete with national brands, but how do they compare to each other?

We conducted a blind taste test of 14 everyday items from three of the biggest Central Texas grocery retailers: Wal-Mart, Randalls and H-E-B.

Serving as judges were Austin360.com content editor/writer Matthew Odam, assistant news editor (and newsroom grocery store expert) Jodi González and me. For a change of pace, we put restaurant critic Mike Sutter on the line in the kitchen to prepare samples, labeled only with numbers or letters. The three judges then tasted each of the products side-by-side, picking a winner in each category and taking notes about why we preferred one food over another.

After 14 rounds of ewwws, yums, seconds (macaroni and cheese), pinched noses (mayonnaise) and enough pizza for a small birthday party, none of the store brands jumped out as the clear front-runner. Wal-Mart's Great Value products won six matchups, and foods from Randalls' Safeway line ­­- named for the parent company that owns several grocery chains, including Randalls - won five. H-E-B won three.

In some comparisons - such as green beans, applesauce and pizza - the winner was unanimous. In others - such as macaroni and cheese and waffles - the product with the most votes was declared the winner.

Since 2008, supermarket store brand sales have increased by about 10 percent, according to Nielsen reports. One survey found that 60 percent of shoppers say they buy store brands, up from 40 percent three years ago, according to the Private Label Manufacturers Association.

Stores often have several store brands. H-E-B, for instance, has Hill Country Fare, H-E-B, H-E-Buddy and Central Market products in its stores. Randalls sells both Safeway and Safeway Select products and has a handful of specialty brands such as Lucerne and Eating Right. Great Value is the dominant Wal-Mart store brand, with products also sold under the Sam's Choice label.

To achieve as direct a comparison as possible, H-E-B, Safeway and Great Value brand products competed in every matchup except pizza, cola, cereal, waffles and ice cream, which featured store brands with different names (see sidebar).

The prices shown reflect sale prices and discounts for preferred-customer cards.

abroyles@statesman.com; 912-2504

Macaroni and cheese

Both Safeway macaroni and cheese in a box (75 cents for 7.25 ounces) and H-E-B (50 cents for 7.25 ounces) were more creamy and enjoyable to eat than Great Value's neon orange and macaroni (50 cents for 7.25 ounces) that looked "radioactive orange-ish yellow" to Odam and had a "faker cheese taste" to González, but it was Safeway's slightly sharper cheese taste that put it on top.

The winner: Safeway (Randalls)

Italian dressing

In clash of Americanized food items, we dipped a piece of French bread to try Italian dressing, which allowed tasters to pinpoint the levels of vinegar and sugar in each. Safeway's ($1.79 for 16 ounces) was "vinegar city," said González, but Great Value's Zesty Italian dressing ($1.24 for 16 ounces) had a balance of salt and sugar that beat out competitors. H-E-B's Spicy Italian ($1.89 for 16 ounces) was too salty for tasters' liking.

The winner: Great Value (Wal-Mart)

Coffee

Great Value's 100 percent Colombian coffee ($2.48 for 11.5 ounces) was noticeably superior to the other two. Tasters liked the aroma and "robust, nutty and round flavor" of the coffee from Wal-Mart but thought the H-E-B ($2.79 for 11.5 ounces) and Safeway ($2.89 for 11.5 ounces) blends were more bitter, and in Safeway's case, González likened the flavor to a cigarette ashtray. "It smells like airplane coffee," Odam said.

The winner: Great Value (Wal-Mart)

Ketchup

The ketchup comparison wasn't exact because H-E-B's store brand ketchup ($1.59 for 20 ounces) is now produced without high fructose corn syrup, which was surprising to tasters who found it overly sweet in the test when eaten with tater tots. Safeway's ($1.49 for 20 ounces) had a strong tomato flavor, but Great Value ketchup ($1.08 for 20 ounces), with a balance of salt, sugar and vinegar, tasted most like name-brand ketchup, González said.

The winner: Great Value (Wal-Mart)

Applesauce

Texture is what put Safeway's applesauce ($1.79 for 24 ounces) ahead of the others. H-E-B's ($1.39 for 24 ounces) was too sweet and Great Value's ($1.18 for 24 ounces) was too runny, but Safeway's actually tasted like apples, González said.

The winner: Safeway (Randalls)

Chocolate chip cookies

The differences between the chocolate chip cookies were clear before we even tasted them. Great Value's cookies ($2 for 15.25 ounces) were dark brown and brittle, and Safeway's Treasure Chips original ($2.99 for 16 ounces) and H-E-B's Chips Galore cookies ($2 for 16 ounces) were uniform in appearance, but the soft and chewy texture of Safeway's cookies easily put them ahead of the others. Odam said he still thought the chips tasted a little fake, but overall the cookie was better than the hard, almost stale biscotti nature of the others.

The winner: Safeway (Randalls)

Green beans

Few matchups had as clear a winner as the cut green beans. H-E-B green beans ($.69 for 14.5 ounces) were mushy and to Odam tasted like hospital-style food, but Wal-Mart's ($.63 for 14.5 ounces) were too salty. Safeway green beans ($.79 for 14.5 ounces) were plump and had just the right amount of salt, González said.

The winner: Safeway (Randalls)

Mayonnaise

Like the macaroni and cheese, mayonnaise from each store had a distinct color and texture. H-E-B's grainy, yellow mayo ($2.44 for 16 ounces) looked almost like margarine, while Safeway's ($2.79 for 16 ounces) was also gritty and too salty. Creamy yet firm, Great Value mayonnaise ($1.57 for 16 ounces) easily won over tasters.

The winner: Great Value (Wal-Mart)

Orange juice

H-E-B orange juice ($2.39 for 64 ounces) was the only juice of the three not to be made from concentrate, and tasters could tell. Safeway ($2.50 for 64 ounces) and Great Value ($1.98 for 64 ounces) orange juices didn't taste as thick or as flavorful as H-E-B's, which didn't designate a pulp but had a light texture.

The winner: H-E-B

Cereal

Special K with Berries was such a hit when it came out that grocery chains have been quick to try to replicate it. Toasted Rice and Wheat Flakes with Strawberries ($2.99 for 12 ounces) from Eating Right, Randalls' nutrition-focused brand, and the Great Value Strawberry Awake ($3.28 for 16.7 ounces) didn't match up to H-E-B's Special Flakes with Berries ($2.59 for 12 ounces), which had plentiful berries and not-too-sweet flakes.

The winner: H-E-B

Pizza

In the most anticipated matchup of the taste test, Great Value rising crust pepperoni pizza ($4.50 for 28.3 ounces) was an easy winner with its meaty pepperoni, not-too-chewy crust and sauce with a distinct flavor and kick. The crust of H-E-B's homestyle pepperoni (labeled Classic Selections, $4.29 for 31.33 ounces) was more like cardboard, and the pizza had a runny sauce and tough pepperoni, Odam said. Safeway Select's pepperoni pizza ($3.99 for 29.6 ounces) had a spicy sauce that reminded several tasters of the distinct flavor of Chuck E. Cheese pizza.

The winner: Great Value

Ice Cream

When it came to cookies and cream ice cream, H-E-B's cookie-loaded Creamy Creations ($4.48 for a half-gallon) won over judges. Great Value's ($2.50 for 1.75 quarts) weird color and texture put it in last place. Randalls only sold a Safeway Select version called Tuxedo ($2.49 for 1.75 quarts), which had few cookies and a flat, almost carton-like taste.

The winner: H-E-B

Waffles

Great Value homestyle waffles ($1.22 for eight) tasted similar to Bisquick, but it was the cardboard texture of both H-E-B's waffles (labeled Classic Selections, $1.39 for 10) and Safeway's ($1.49 for 10) that sent Wal-Mart's brand to the top. Safeway waffles were tasteless, and H-E-B's waffles had a good flavor but were too tough to recommend.

The winner: Great Value (Wal-Mart)

Cola

Odam said Sam's Cola, Wal-Mart's store brand cola (78 cents for a 2-liter), tasted like it had been sitting in the back of his grandmother's pantry for 10 years. H-E-B's ($1 for a 2-liter) was spicier and more like Coca-Cola, but upon a second and third taste without ice (we were getting thirsty after all that mayonnaise and Italian dressing), Safeway cola (83 cents for a 2-liter) earned our vote.

The winner: Safeway (Randalls)

Store-brand shuffle

We did the best we could to compare the exact same products and brands, but with each store having multiple store brands (Randalls alone has about 10 labels that are considered house brands), in a few cases, we had to include a slightly different house brand such as Safeway Select or H-E-B Classic Selections.

And the winners are ...

	H-E-B	Randalls	Wal-Mart
Macaroni and cheese		X
Italian dressing			X
Coffee			X
Ketchup			X
Pizza			X
Cereal	X
Soda		X
Applesauce		X
Cookies		X
Green beans		X
Mayonnaise			X
Waffles			X
Orange juice	X
Ice cream	X
Total winners	3	5	6