Chasing the Fionist Dream

Grocery prices keep going up and up, and it’s easy to feel like sticking to a budget gets harder every month. We might assume that store brands or less popular brands are not as good as the name-brand products we are used to. While prices continue to change, it can feel safer and quicker to just grab the familiar name brand you know your family likes.

Did you know that oftentimes, the off-brand is produced by a popular name brand but costs shekels less? We always check to see where the product was manufactured. Comparing nutrition facts is another good way to check if an off-brand product is comparable.

In this post, we’ll highlight some common no-name grocery items we and our friends buy that are just as good, if not better. These small changes can save you money and, equally important, increase competition and help encourage name-brand companies to lower their prices.

Hint: Scan the more out of reach, out of view supermarket shelves to find these. The most expensive brands are typically at eye level and are easy to reach.

Store brand and no-name options that work for us:

• Grains, legumes, pastas, and some cereals. Rice, buckwheat, oatmeal, beans, chickpeas, ptitim, pasta, etc. Rami Levy and Shufersal carry their own brands. Sometimes buying them by weight from open bins brings their price down even more. While we are big fans of off-brand cornflakes and have tried many varieties, we found knockoffs of Cheerios and other cereals to be sugarier and of lower quality than the name brands. We’ve found all brands of שקדי מרק or soup nuts to taste and crunch the same.
  
  
• Cleaning products. Dishwasher tabs, dish soap, oven cleaner, bleach spray, stain remover, etc. We tend to do bulk orders from Supercare and supplement mostly Rami Levy and Carrefour store brand items. We find Carrefour dishwasher tabs to be wonderful and inexpensive.
  
  
• Toilet paper and paper towels. Check the number of squares you are getting when you price compare. Even off-brands have double-ply versions.
  
  
• Baking ingredients. Flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, etc. We bake a ton and haven’t noticed a difference. Every store brand or off-brand we tried has been good – with the exception of Rami Levy cocoa powder. While it’s much cheaper, it doesn’t seem as rich. Sometimes we buy it. Sometimes we go for the Elite.
  
  
• Dairy (and alternative dairy) products. We use Shufersal brand or other less-known-brand cheese for the pizza we make every week. Comes out great. We also love Carrefour’s soy milk and stock up when we’re there.
  
  
• Hygiene and health. Shampoo, hand soap, etc. We have a lot of Rami Levy and Life brand products in our bathroom. We all use Rami Levy shampoo. The only brand name we buy is Fiona’s facewash.
  
  
• Canned goods. Tomato paste, tuna, olives, etc. We prefer Shufersal and Carrefour over Rami Levy, but will happily buy the RL versions if that’s where we’re shopping.
  
  
• Crackers & other snacks. Both Machsanei Hashuk and Rami Levy have plenty of home-brand crackers, pretzels, rice cakes, and knockoff bamba. No need to pay double the price for Osem.
  
  
• Condiments. Ketchup, mayo, barbecue sauce, peanut butter, etc. Our kids love Rami Levy ketchup. We think Rami Levy barbecue sauce is fine. We prefer our European name-brand mayo.
  
  
• Diapers and wipes. We are past this stage, but we loved Babysitter, Shufersal, and Rami Levy brand diapers. Our kids never wore Pampers or Huggies.

Will it really save me money?

Switching a few of these items can save you a few hundred shekels a month. If you are hesitant about the switch, buy just one to see if you like it. Like anything else, some of these might take some getting used to.

That said, if the name brand is running a sale and is even cheaper than its competitors, then by all means, buy that one. While off-brand items are usually cheaper, this is not the case 100% of the time.

It is all about habits and changing them. Prices will only come down if we vote with our wallets. It worked in 2011’s cottage cheese protests and it can work again today.

Which non-name-brand products do you like to buy?

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