tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-987738695581729895.post9104139713247637527..comments2024-03-14T08:51:30.185-07:00Comments on History's Dumpster: Generic Products of The '80sLarry Waldbillighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09251746085990599751noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-987738695581729895.post-2820674127789758782016-10-19T04:34:10.197-07:002016-10-19T04:34:10.197-07:00With any generic or store brands, it's usually...With any generic or store brands, it's usually a gamble. Many store/generic brands are quite terrible while some are actually better than some of their name brand counterparts.Anon.https://www.blogger.com/profile/06333598796207259830noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-987738695581729895.post-43962020129728902442016-10-16T16:09:45.180-07:002016-10-16T16:09:45.180-07:00The point of generics wasn't to save money on ...The point of generics wasn't to save money on the packaging, it was to save money on advertising and promotional costs, of which there was none. They were marketed on price alone. No gimmicks. No slogans. No celebrity endorsements.That's why the generics cost so much less than the name brand products. JoeSnowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10342798174600661006noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-987738695581729895.post-81443966762235874972016-07-09T21:00:07.341-07:002016-07-09T21:00:07.341-07:00I miss Fed mart and Smith's.I miss Fed mart and Smith's.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05808196572355722374noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-987738695581729895.post-13668183943639782562016-05-17T06:12:13.947-07:002016-05-17T06:12:13.947-07:00I'm gonna guess that depending on which items ...I'm gonna guess that depending on which items you bought you got better or worse quality. my mom only bought the least processed generic items canned fruit like pineapples, pasta, rice, etc...stuff that wouldn't have to be formulated and taste tested. so nothing instant like mac & cheese or something like baked beans. the items she picked were fine. Strange Sista's Bloghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10569142482744220170noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-987738695581729895.post-33251421145635594712016-04-29T11:44:04.083-07:002016-04-29T11:44:04.083-07:00wow!wow!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-987738695581729895.post-59263841329573180112016-04-27T18:54:49.806-07:002016-04-27T18:54:49.806-07:00Basics was horrible. The last item I bought was a ...Basics was horrible. The last item I bought was a can of beans, back when I was struggling financially. I took one bite, dumped it in the trash and never bought any again. Paying a higher price for food I could actually eat was much more cost effective.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-987738695581729895.post-45394196954997401932016-04-11T19:29:59.302-07:002016-04-11T19:29:59.302-07:00I remember store brands in the 80's (Roundy...I remember store brands in the 80's (Roundy's, etc...) and they didn't even have pictures on them. Unless you were buying something name brand, the packaging was pretty plain.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15552906581510360711noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-987738695581729895.post-5646543755523375672016-02-20T09:04:06.431-08:002016-02-20T09:04:06.431-08:00"... in any blindfolded test it was hard to t..."... in any blindfolded test it was hard to tell the difference between say, a generic can of corn and a name brand one. And some even thought the generic packaged products tasted better."<br /><br />You gotta be kidding.<br /><br />I remember our family trying that generic stuff in the stark black on white packaging way back when and most of it was *noticeably* lower quality than brand name counterparts. (BTW: I think your dates are off on this one. We started buying generics like this when I was still living at home and in high school - and that would have been 1973 - 1976.) The boxed mac-n-cheese was just awful compared to Kraft - gritty, watery and... not much actual cheese flavor. Paper towels were thin and largely pointless. The ice cream was pretty flavorless. Etc. etc.<br /><br />I seem to recall when this concept was launched that there was a lot of flak from manufacturers, that although the products may have been made in the same plants, the generic versions had to be of a noticeably different - cough, cough lower - quality than their brand name counterparts. (There are only so many various type food processing plants around. And I'm sure the Big Brands, having contracts with those plants, could have easily placed pressure to make sure generics were not the same quality.) Based on what I remember of the products that sure seems closer to the truth as I can't recall a one of them that was as good as or better than a brand name, even a store brand name.rickajhohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15932856460047270591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-987738695581729895.post-25836063506459567792016-01-26T12:40:23.155-08:002016-01-26T12:40:23.155-08:00I remember Staff brands. I grew up in the 80's...I remember Staff brands. I grew up in the 80's and I remember my mother buying them. The packaging was very similar but they must have said "staff" on them for me to remember it so clearly.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15806862558367623822noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-987738695581729895.post-91798604959964593922015-01-24T23:17:30.770-08:002015-01-24T23:17:30.770-08:00I was a teenager when the generics first came out....I was a teenager when the generics first came out. A lot of people that I knew used to put these down quite a bit. My family was fairly low income so we bought them and it was a 50/50 split. Some things were good if not better than the name brands and some things were not. But we used the generics anyway. I think beer was the only thing nobody really liked. I usd to hear people compare it to "Billy" beer. LOL!Kelly Reinlasodernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-987738695581729895.post-31713040537400782672013-11-30T20:05:58.079-08:002013-11-30T20:05:58.079-08:00Kroger's use to be like this a lot.Kroger's use to be like this a lot.Chris Sobieniakhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09838106041175506925noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-987738695581729895.post-47793799365834918292013-10-18T10:43:40.794-07:002013-10-18T10:43:40.794-07:00Thanks for the great post. I vividly remember the...Thanks for the great post. I vividly remember these products from the early 80s! Matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14703680247366335301noreply@blogger.com