Generic brands of consumer products (often supermarket goods) are distinguished by the absence of a

brand name A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...

, instead identified solely by product characteristics and identified by plain, usually black-and-white packaging. Generally they imitate more expensive branded products, competing on price. They are similar to "store brand" or "

private label A private label, also called a private brand or private-label brand, is a brand owned by a company, offered by that company alongside and competing with brands from other businesses. A private-label brand is almost always offered exclusively by th ...

" products sold under a brand particular to the merchant, but typically priced lower and perceived as lower quality. The term ''off brand'' is sometimes used. In the United Kingdom, these products are often referred to as "own brand" items.

Characteristics

Generics may be manufactured by less prominent companies or manufactured on the same

production line A production line is a set of sequential operations established in a factory where components are assembled to make a finished article or where materials are put through a refining process to produce an end-product that is suitable for onward c ...

as branded products. Generic brand products may be of similar quality as a branded product, are commonly made from ingredients same as standard ingredients used for branded products. Without the costs of marketing individual products, generic brands are priced lower than branded products. They are preferred by customers for whom price or value-for-money is the priority. They are generally more popular in recessionary times, when consumers' purchasing power is lower, putting them on the lookout for value-for-money products; they experienced a period of popularity in the United States in the late 1970s and early 1980s, during a period of high

price inflation In economics, inflation is an increase in the general price level of goods and services in an economy. When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services; consequently, inflation corresponds to a reductio ...

. Consumer perceptions about generic brands differ widely. A generic brand skin care product may have a consumer unsure about its ‘health and safety’ quotient. This implies that there are certain product categories more aligned to generic brands. Examples include over-the-counter medications, cereal and gasoline among others. The German discount supermarket

Aldi Aldi (stylised as ALDI) is the common company brand name of two German multinational family-owned discount supermarket chains operating over 10,000 stores in 20 countries. The chain was founded by brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht in 1946, when ...

, is known for their own brand goods and absence of branded goods; with minor exceptions. There has been a growth in demand for own brand goods since the late-2000s, and the stigma of the absence of a brand name is declining with time; as food inflation reaches new highs in 2022, and sales of branded food products decline.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Generic Brand Store brands Brands Branding terminology Patent law Product management

Characteristics

See also

References