Couple of days ago I went to HEB specifically to buy water. As I was walking down the beverage aisle my brand options were vast. From Fiji and Panna to Hill Country (the HEB brand). Thus far I haven't really shared anything that you have not encountered... we all have a plethora of options when grocery shopping.
What caught my attention this particular time was how HEB was promoting their own brand. Below is the video I took with my phone, hence all of the drastic movement, but the idea is clear.
You have to give it up for HEB though... they are doing exactly what a P&G or GMI is doing, treating their Private Label brands like National Brands.
Going back to my original question... how far is too far? I mean, how can National Brands compete at this level? You are playing in their own turf?
As a consumer, you get to the water aisle, and though flavor is important, at the end of the day all you want is water... so you will most likely be price sensitive and go for the cheaper one.
To Vic's posting (about loyalty to brands) what PL brands do you buy, and why?
As a college student, PL brands tend to show up quite frequently in my HEB shopping cart. Although I must say there are at least a couple brands that come to mind of which I am loyal to due to the fact that I grew up with them and have yet to change.
ReplyDeleteOne of these is Ozarka. Even though I can go to a restaurant and be content in ordering a glass of tap water, I have never really considered purchasing a brand other than Ozarka at the store. I guess this is where my parents' influence on my purchases comes into play.
A second brand is Kraft. When I shop for cheese I nearly get tunnel vision. I head straight for the blue package with the swishing glass of milk as if no other brand were offered.
Aside from being brand loyal to these two brands, I try to be a money savvy college student as much as I can. This means Hill Country Fare and big bags of cereal as opposed to boxed cereal where you pay more for less! Hill Country Fare fruit and cream oatmeal tastes the same to me as Quaker fruit and cream oatmeal; I just don't feel as guilty buying it because it's helping me save money. Another factor that I must consider is grocery shopping with my roommate who is about 5x's more brand loyal than I am. We split the cost of groceries so that we don't have two of everything in the fridge. In this case, I eat whatever she prefers and sometimes try to reason with her on certain products.