jayeff

I had my shopping list sorted out years ago, moved to the US and had to start over. The own-label manufacturers are different, some familiar products aren't available, unfamiliar brands are, and the price structure is completely different. For example, Kellogs cereals are a super-premium product in this area, ridiculous prices, so I dutifully tried store-label and other brands... and hated them. Now I wait for the periodic 2-for-1 promotions and stock up

I don't buy a lot of canned stuff, but those and cooking oils seem to be the easiest areas to save money without noticing any difference. Cold-pressed own-label olive oil is a real bargain and indistinguishable from all but the highest priced first-press branded oils. There are premium brands I stay away from such as Sara Lee (bread) and Starbucks: very ordinary products at inflated prices. You cannot buy any "real" cheese in supermarkets these days, so you may as well buy store brands.

The US alcohol market is the strangest for me. There are US-made wines which are a premium price here, but were not in the UK, and - to the extent taste can ever be objective - IMO the UK market positioning was a better reflection of their value. On the other hand, there is a lot of snobbery about imported hard liquors and the prices of some "regular" (in the UK/Europe) brands are ridiculous here.

Overall I don't end up with many own brands but with quite a lot of lesser-known brands. Mostly I save money by stocking up when a product I like is on special and over here, temporary price cuts are often much bigger than they were in the UK.