Store brands could help multi-generational families save money

According to the New York-based Private Label Manufacturers Association (PLMA), more than 57 million Americans live in three-generation households. A price comparison study by PLMA found that store brands could be one way for these families to save money.

PLMA said it drew up a shopping list of 50 products for a three-generation family and found store brands provided savings of more than 40 percent. Senior health care products, in particular, represented savings up to 50 percent or more in comparison to national brand products in each category surveyed.

The survey revealed that when shopping for 28 food products and 22 non-food products, shoppers who purchased only the national brands were billed $265.40, while shoppers who purchased only store brands were billed $158.79 — an impressive 40.2 percent or $106.61 in savings. Overall, 25 of the food products surveyed had price differentials of 20 percent or more, while 16 of the 22 non-food products saved consumers over 30 percent.

The highest price differential was 77 percent for the store brand version of Colace, an important product for many seniors, while products such as detergent (66 percent), dental floss (65 percent) and whole wheat bread (51 percent) offered significant savings as well. Senior health care products and over-the-counter products overall provided some of the biggest savings. For example, 81mg aspirin (53 percent less), naproxen (48 percent) and senior vitamins (29 percent) stood out, while regular aspirin (53 percent) and acetaminophen (36 percent) also showed large savings. Meanwhile, store brand basic food products such as cereal and orange juice (39 percent), rice (37 percent) and ice cream (36 percent) saved families the most. Canned tuna fish (34 percent), instant oatmeal (32 percent) and coffee (25 percent) were popular products with excellent savings from store brands, PLMA said.