Leading brand or private label: does it come from the same factory?
Leading brands are becoming increasingly expensive, while private labels are getting cheaper, according to the Consumers’ Association. How much truth is there to the story that these products simply roll out of the same factory, and that leading brands just have a shinier label than the cheaper private-label products? ‘The cookies on the conveyor belt were for Verkade and for Super de Boer’s private label.’
You can’t help wondering: the packaging is the same size, the coffee tastes more or less the same—does this private-label butter simply come from Melkunie, but with a different wrapper around it? It certainly could, if you do a little searching online. ‘My sister worked in a factory where they packaged Blue Band tubs. And some of them got a different wrapper, from a cheap private label.’ Ha, so it’s simply the same margarine after all. And someone who worked at Verkade for a while confirms this. ‘They also made cookies for Albert Heijn and Super de Boer. And the chocolate was made for several other shops too.’
Different recipe, different beer
Of course, that doesn’t mean private-label products are the same as the familiar leading brands. A different recipe, different ingredients? All possible. This was also revealed in an episode of Keuringsdienst van Waarde, which investigated pilsner. Albert Heijn’s own-brand beer came from the Bavaria factory, but according to the manufacturer, it is still a different beer.
The ontbijtkoek war
Sometimes, producers see these private-label products as unfair competition, especially when the packaging looks strikingly similar to that of a leading brand. This was the aanleiding for the famous ontbijtkoek war of 2005: Peijnenburg removed its ontbijtkoek from Appie’s shelves because the supermarket was selling it too cheaply. AH hit back by putting a private-label ontbijtkoek on the shelf that looked strikingly similar to the famous ontbijtkoek, and was even slightly cheaper. Unilever also went to war with Albert, because the private-label products looked far too much like the coffee creamer and Earl Grey tea from the major supplier. No way: they were spending lots of money on advertising while Albert Heijn profited, and they weren’t having it!
Also read:
- Complaints about Coca-Cola are pouring in
- Snackspert is ecstatic: ‘This is the best supermarket snack in croquette form ever
- These are the most misleading products in the supermarket
Source: Business Insider, Goeie Vraag
