Giant-Carlisle, Martin's expand Guaranteed Value line

Giant Food and Martin's Food Markets will expand their private-label business, nearly tripling the number of products that will be available under the Guaranteed Value line by October. New items will include paper towels, bandages and perishable foods such as dairy and produce.

I don't think the new labels are appealing. What do you guys think?

OMG I was going to ask the same thing when I saw the recent flyer. Could they have designed something that looked any more generic? Packaging helps sell products and they haven't done themselves any favors here! Ick!

I was trying not to be too negative, but it is rather unappealing, isn't it!

They are the most appealing but they are cheap. I bought some oil yesterday for less than even the Giant brand. My DH is label concious and he swears generic is bad so I just put the generic into the name brand container. No one notices things like cooking oil, paper plates, napkins. If the milk and eggs are cheaper then I'm in. I wouldn't buy the cereal, ketchup, or mustard because those are free a lot of the time.

That's a good trick. DH is absolutely sworn to his favorite shampoo, deodorant, etc, and some food things. I can understand a bit for health and beauty items, and occasionally we can tell the difference for some food items. If he saw me using things in the new GV packaging he'd think I went over the edge in my new money-saving quest. I'm not brand loyal at all when it comes to things you mentioned like cooking oil, eggs, milk.

So these are different than Giant brand?

Yes they are a different label than the Giant brand and sit right next to it. According to DH, he can tell the difference between generic garlic powder and the name brand. DH has been using the store brand in the McCormick container for 7 years LOL LOL LOL

I wonder if it is the new Giant brand...and they will eventually phase out the "Giant" labeled items and replace with the Guaranteed Value line?? My DH hates generic too...and these new packages really don't help make them more appealing in his eyes!!

My DH thinks he can tell the difference between light and regular sour cream of the same brand.

Just read this article on msnbc about the increasing popularity of store brands.

Grocers get savvy about selling store brands - Food Inc. - MSNBC.com

On the second page, it mentions that stores are using a tiered approach and carrying different versions of their own brand at different price points. So if Giant is following this, maybe they'll keep the regular Giant brand as their mid-range, introduce Guaranteed Value as their low-end, and Simply Enjoy is their high end.

Although it looks like Giant missed the memo on this part. Quoted from the article: "Gone, for the most part, are the gray, no-frills cans with nondescript labels such as "peas," packaging that evoked cheap, bland taste."