Thanks to the people on this awesome Reddit thread, a huge conspiracy theory has been unraveled. Well, okay, we do love our hyperboles, so not a conspiracy theory exactly, but the way some brands get you overpaying for their pretty labels and fancy words. Yup, these unsung heroes dug deep, experienced things with their own skin, and found which expensive products are exactly the same as their cheaper dupe products. No, not even dupe, to be exact – they are the same products, with different labels!
So, this might come as quite an unexpected fact to you, but a large chunk of the foods that we find in stores do actually come from the same product lines and share the exact same compositions in the exact same amounts of ingredients. The only thing that’s different is the product label! No need to look for substitute products that are similar; the ones mentioned in this list are absolutely, exactly, and positively the same! So, if you’re looking to cut costs on your groceries, hygiene products, and all the daily-use stuff, the submissions that we’ve rounded up from this AskReddit thread will be your almanac for the upcoming year. No need to worry about the quality of cheap vs. expensive products here, as they are exactly the same, just labeled differently.
Ready for your world to be shaken and flipped around? If so, then scroll down below, and check out the findings these generous people shared. Once you are done reading, be sure to rank these tips by their unexpectedness or saving value; whichever way you like! After that, share this article with your friends because this is the information that definitely needs to be known by all and spread around generously.
#1
“Melamine sponges vs Magic Erasers. You can order a case of like a hundred for about as much as a pack of magic erasers (last time I checked). And they are the same thing.”
Image source: B_crunk
#2
“Tons of makeup companies use private labeling, which basically means that some of the high end stuff comes out of the same factory as some of the drug store stuff. A good example of this is probably Kylie Cosmetics and Colourpop.”
Image source: pumpmar
#3
Lord_Malgus said:
“Most of the eyeglass industry is run by like 1 guy who just lets his company branch into several brands so they can pretend prices are coming from competition and quality when in fact he’s just an a***ole charging way too much to fix people’s eyesights.”
Reditor replied:
“They covered Luxottica in my Strategic Management class my senior year of college. Really put a damper on my desire to get any Ray Bans. They have a global monopoly on eyeglass frames. I think the documentary we saw was on 60 Minutes and something like 90%+ of the world’s frames are made by Luxottica in Italy and they own LensCrafters, Sunglass Hut, and many other major retailers.”
Image source: Lord_Malgus
#4
SailingmanWork said:
“Butter. I worked in a dairy plant for a few months. In the butter room, we would load in the wrappers and boxes for brand name butter. Run that order. Change the wrappers and labels to a store brand. And run that order. It is the exact same butter.”
Zifna replied:
“I believe you in general, but Kerrygold is way different than most other butters.”
Image source: SailingmanWork
#5
Corn-G said:
“Anything but Lego. No one can say “yeah but Megabloks are the same thing.” They aren’t.”
Hismop replied:
“I agree. I’ve got a couple of the space sets from the 1980s and the pieces work perfectly alongside pieces from newer sets. I’ve never heard of another toy company that even claims to have that level of quality.”
Image source: Corn-G
#6
GameVoid said:
“Diphenhydramine HCL is an antihistamine that you probably know as Benadryl. Store brand Allergy Relief medications with the same active ingredient are 1/10th the price. On top of that, the same drug is also sold as a “non-addictive sleep aid” since it gets you drowsy. If you buy it as a sleep aid, it is more expensive, even if it is a store brand. So if you want it as an allergy med or a sleep aid, buy the store-brand allergy relief bottle. Zzzquil is just the liquid form of the medicine and is almost 25x more expensive per dose.”
W59-22StruckByTurtle replied:
“Also, Tylenol PM, Advil PM, etc, is just Tylenol/Advil/whatever with Benadryl (diphenhydramine). If you use Tylenol PM to sleep but not for for pain relief, give your liver a break and switch to plain ol’ diphenhydramine.”
Image source: GameVoid
#7
Edymnion said:
“Frozen vegetables. With the rise of mega farms, the overwhelmingly vast majority of any given kind of vegetable comes from the same farm. So the Walmart brand el-cheapo veggies and the Green Giant/Delmonte stuff are the exact same thing, from the exact same growers, frozen at the exact same time, just put in different bags.”
RVelts replied:
“Except the brand name will have broccoli florets and the generic will be mostly cut up stems.”
Image source: Edymnion
#8
Edymnion said:
“Most clothing. Story from when I worked in electronics at Walmart. Older gentleman came in asking questions about the differences in the TVs (LCD vs. Plasma, so it was more than a few years back), and it gets around to differences between brands. Me being a natural smartass slipped “They’re all pretty much identical really. They’re all made by the same Chinese kid” before I realized it, thought I was going to get in so much trouble for that. Guy laughed, and went “You don’t know the half of it. I’m the general manager at (nearby textile plant). We make bluejeans. You know what the difference is between the KMart brand and a pair of Wranglers? We sew a W on the back of the Wranglers!” Virtually all name brand clothing is the exact same thing as the discount stuff, they just sew a logo on it after the fact and charge you 10x more.”
AdviceDanimals replied:
“Clothing quality is just awful these days. I’ve done my best to only buy brands still known for their high quality. I have pants from Levi’s that I got 3 years ago that look new, and a pair of pants from against all odds that are on the verge of falling apart after 6 months.”
Image source: Edymnion
#9
Ryonez_17 said:
“Fossil and Michael Kors. Fossil watches, handbags, sunglasses, clothing, whatever- they’re made in the same factory, with the same materials, in the same way, by the same people as Michael Kors. One just happens to be about 30-50% cheaper than the other.”
cparex replied:
“Fossil actually makes a lot of the big fashion brand watches as well. Burberry, Armani Exchange, Kate Spade, Adidas, etc etc.”
Image source: Ryonez_17
#10
“Walmart water filters are the same as the Brita ones. They’re actually made by same German company that supplies Brita. Learned this from a Brita employee who came to speak in one of my classes.”
Image source: Schlauer
#11
stebus88 said:
“A lot of medications. I’m a pharmacist and it baffles me when people pay £3 for a box of Nurofen when they can buy a packet of ibuprofen for like 20p.”
hildawg311 replied:
“My doctor, wrote a medical prescription for Pepcid, didn’t know the cost and went to pick it up. It was $20 for 30 day’s supply. Asked the pharmacist for cheaper options and he showed me the same thing, $4 for 50. The ingredients are the exact same. Kroger brand all the way. The pharmacist went on a rant on how Dr’s shouldn’t write scripts for medicines that are on the shelf.”
Image source: stebus88
#12
“A buddy of mine owns a small nail polish company. We bottle it by hand from squeeze bottles. All the colors for almost every company come from one company in New Jersey. The most expensive part about it is the schmancy bottle it comes in. They sell for about $15+ a bottle at Sephora and cost under $2 to produce, maybe under $3 if you include the $15-$20 an hour I got paid to fill and package them. In his living room. In Brooklyn. By hand. From a squeeze bottle.”
Image source: reddit.com
#13
“Baby formula! Our pediatrician told us not to bother with the name brand stuff (Enfamil, etc.) because the supermarket brands are literally the exact same thing. Apparently, formula is government-regulated, so the ingredients are the same. Just compare the labels, there’s no difference. A canister of Enfamil could run you $30. A canister of the Wal-Mart brand? $12.99.
To add: Yes, some babies need more specialized formula, or have allergies, so this might not work for everyone. But formula is such a huge expense (especially if breastfeeding is an issue, like it was for me) that just buying store brand makes a huge difference.”
Image source: reddit.com
#14
“I was at a gas station once in need of a bottle of Pepto Bismol. All they had was an identical looking bottle with the same pink liquid inside but it was just called Stomach.”
Image source: uzifight
#15
killcrew said:
“For cold sore sufferers, most drug stores sell those little single-use vials that you crack and apply to your cold sore. The price ranges from $10-15 bucks for 2-3 single applications. If you take a look at the active ingredients, the main ingredient is benzalkonium chloride… which is the same active ingredient in Bactine. You can buy a 6oz bottle of Bactine for $5, and thats probably the equivalent of 100 doses of the single-use application.”
PmYourSpaghettiHoles replied:
“This is true as long as you’re not comparing it to Abreva. Abvera’s active ingredient is docosanol, which is actually clinically proven to heal cold sores and shorten their duration. All other products just alleviate the symptoms until the sores run their natural course. Docosanol is not available as a generic product, they hold drug exclusivity rights the same way name brand prescription drugs do. Abreva is not a generic. Source: I’m a pharmacist.”
Image source: killcrew
#16
“2 years ago, we replaced our company pickup truck. We needed heavy-duty floor mats, as we’re a factory and there is stuff on our boots that is very bad for a vehicle interior. Weathertech is the go-to brand for heavy-duty vehicle mats. I discovered that the sporting goods store Cabela’s gets their floor mats from the same factory as Waethertech. And they’re 20-25% cheaper in addition to offering free shipping. Two years of metal, coolant, and grime later, our Cabela’s floor mats are still going strong.”
Image source: Blenderhead36
#17
“Aldi’s Clancy brand chips and Frito Lay chips. My boyfriend worked for Frito Lay for a few years and they are the exact same thing. Same chips, different bags.”
Image source: jessicaeileen10
#18
ovalseven said:
“There is no difference between Excedrin Migraine and Extra Strength Excedrin other than the label. And the cheaper, generic store brand is the same as either one.”
Brawndo91 replied:
“Usually, the Migraine versions will have caffeine in addition to whatever the main painkiller is. So if you don’t have the migraine version, you can take Midol. It’s Acetaminophen (I think) and caffeine.”
Image source: ovalseven
#19
“Dell printers are Lexmark. I had the dell logo actually fall off a printer (stuck on) and underneath was a Lexmark logo.”
Image source: DaSpawn
#20
“I was an exchange student in France and took a tour of my host parents’ champagne company that has been in the family for generations. At one point, the bottles were coming down a production line until it hit a “Y” and every other bottle was sent down a different path (or arm of the “Y” if you will). The bottles funneled down one line was being sent to Belgian boutique shops, the other line – of the exact same champagne – was being mass sold at grocery stores. It’s really fun to f*** with phony wine snobs by putting cheap-o wine in an expensive, high-end bottle and ask them what they think.”
Image source: scottnshadyside
#21
“Where I grew up there was a restaurant called Captain Eddie’s that was run by a husband and wife team and supplied by the fishing fleet run by the husband, Captain Eddie. Well they split up and he kept the restaurant while she got the fleet and renamed it Admiral Jane’s. I loved how petty that was.”
Image source: Papa_Hemingway_
#22
“Monistat Anti-Chafe powder gel and Smashbox Photo Finish primer have the same ingredients. It’s just the advertised uses are different. Smashbox sells for $36 at Ulta, and you can get the Anti-Chafe gel at Walmart for $6.”
Image source: DahliaRenegade
#23
hearse83 said:
“In Canada, Walmart ‘great value’ ice cream is Chapman’s ice cream.”
MentalThinking replied:
“Just make sure that you’re actually buying ‘ice cream’ and not ‘ice milk’ – vastly different product. Ice milk doesn’t freeze properly, for example. You’re always going to get ‘soft serve’ consistency, which is why Dairy Queen doesn’t use ice cream. Their products are ice milk.”
Image source: hearse83
#24
“Ok, so up until recently my family bought Nestea all the time. Then, for some reason, it disappeared from the stores. Now there’s Fuze Tea, which is the exact same thing, in the exact same bottle, and made by the same ol’ Coca-Cola company. Apparently they ended their deal with Nestle, and all Nestle got out of it was the brand name.”
Image source: Dawidko1200
#25
kolorado said:
“Ultrabrite toothpaste is literally just Colgate in a different box. The tube even has Colgate branded into it.”
mrpeabodyscoaltrain replied:
“$0.89 a tube. I’ve used it for years.”
Image source: kolorado
#26
“Virtually all cartridge-based shaving blades… sold by Gillette and the like… are Dorco blades. That ridiculously expensive pack of Mach 7 blades you buy every three months? You can get literally the exact same blades from Dorcousa.com for 90% cheaper because you’re cutting out the middleman who’s reboxing them. After learning this a while back I now spend more on shaving cream than I do on blades in a given year. Speaking of which, if anyone wants to thank me for saving them hundreds of dollars please share the generic equivalent of Nivea Men’s products.”
Image source: amiintoodeep
#27
“Walmart sugar is the same as Dominos sugar. It’s literally this. Stop the production line. Switch bags from dominos brand to walmart brand. Fill Walmart bags.
So Dominos sugar is a name brand located in Baltimore near under armor headquarters. They produce sugar for all kinds of off brands. It’s literally the same sugar, on the same assembly line. Just change the bags. Although I can’t tell a difference, sugar is a crop that is grown in a lot of tropical areas including Hawaii in the US. Maybe it’s artisanal like coffee for some people or something. If people can taste the difference between Walmart and Domino’s, maybe it’s the way Walmart stocks it? Like they sell old stock sitting in a warehouse? For people who say it’s clumpy, that’s typically because of it being stored in humid areas, it really needs to be in an environment controlled area for best storage.”
Image source: mattleo
#28
“Pretty much every consumer-level TV not made by LG or Samsung (edit: or Sony) is just a generic Chinese model with a different label. Toshiba was the last competitor (I believe), but they sold their naming rights to Compal a few years ago.”
waitshedidwhat replied:
“My boyfriend and I just did a lot of OLED vs QLED research when buying a new tv. We learned that Sony and LG are the only brands that have OLED panels, and the Sony models generally run about $1,000 more. This is because Sony buys their OLED panels from LG, and then has to charge more for the exact same product with a their brand name.”
Image source: reddit.com
#29
deegethesqueege said:
“Ozark Trail stainless tumblers. Literally the same exact thing as the Yeti tumbler, but a fraction of the price. And without a sticker.”
slickastro replied:
“There is a YouTube video where a guy compares a Yeti, Ozark Trail, a knockoff yeti and the pelican tumblers ability to insulate hot and cold beverages. They all performed identically with the exception of the pelican tumbler, it insulated about 20% better than the others. I went with the pelican and love it.”
Image source: deegethesqueege
#30
jansnakehole said:
“Celestial Seasonings makes Trader Joe’s Chai. I took a tour of the CS factory and they had boxes specifically labeled as such.”
ladykatey replied:
“Thanks for confirming this, I had noticed it used the same “pairs of unwrapped teabags with perforations in waxed paper box liner” packaging as CS!”
Image source: jansnakehole
#31
“The Honeywell backup generators they sell at Costco and such are actually Generac. Honeywell literally buys them in bulk, changes the cosmetics of the outside shell, then sells them as Honeywell generators, often at less cost because the Honeywell name sells. Source: I am a Generac installer.”
Image source: shadowdill
#32
Chinstrap_1 said:
“Anything labeled as Amazon Basic.”
diphling replied:
“Amazon basic is on part with Aldi for online consumer goods.”
Image source: Chinstrap_1
#33
“You can buy Girl Scout cookies anytime at a Walmart for much cheaper and without interacting with any Girl Scouts. Keebler makes the cookies so they just decided to sell the cookies themselves independent of the Girl Scout organization. For example, Thin Mints are labeled as Grass Hoppers and Samoas as Coconut Dreams. So if you’ve got a hankering for some Samoas, don’t answer the doorbell for a Girl Scout-go to Walmart instead.”
Image source: rationallunatic
#34
lostshell said:
“Aldi’s chicken is the same as Tyson chicken. I spoke to the manager about it. They get their chicken from Tyson.”
swipswapyowife replied:
“In the U.S., 5 companies produce about 95% of all the chicken consumed nationwide. Tyson, Purdue, Sanderson Farms, and JBS top the list. If you eat chicken, no matter where you buy it from, it came from one of these companies.”
Image source: lostshell
#35
“Ladies might like to know that the manufacturer of Maidenform bras (sold at low price retailers like Kohls) is the same one that manufacturers pricey Victoria’s Secret bras. You’re paying for additional lace and whatnot. Same product.”
Image source: MacAttack_126
#36
XIGRIMxREAPERIX said:
“Chevy and GMC. Same exact vehicle with different badging.”
wordthompsonian replied:
“I sell both, and I will tell customers that they are practically identical. The biggest differences are in styling and trim level pricing. A base level Equinox and base level Terrain are maybe $1-2k different in price, but the GMC comes with a few more options per trim level. Tahoe / Yukon are also identical except up until this year you couldn’t get the power-extendable running boards on the Tahoe, that kinda thing.”
Image source: XIGRIMxREAPERIX
#37
“My dad worked in law school at a Smirnoff bottling facility. Smirnoff also makes Popov vodka, which if you’ve ever been in college you know it’s vile but dirt cheap. Some days it would cost more to switch the sills and all the machinery out between the two, so it was more cost-effective to just fill the Popov bottles with Smirnoff (which, again, is pretty damn cheap, but tastes a lot less strongly of paint thinner and at least comes in a glass bottle. He estimated about 25% of the Popov bottles they shipped had Smirnoff in them. This was in the early 70’s. He said they didn’t do the reverse because someone would notice and sue the pants off, but there were no complaints about accidentally getting nicer vodka.”
Image source: blackswan11
#38
“Oatmeal is oatmeal. You can’t really shake up rolled oats.”
Image source: fudgyvmp
#39
“Not the exact same, but Kroger stuff seems to always cut corners in a way which actually improves the product. Kroger Oreos just use icing instead of normal cookie filling, Kroger Poptarts seem to be using some kind of cookie dough as the crust, and most Kroger cheese snacks seem to be using a more natural cheese flavor. The flavored water is also way better.”
Image source: reddit.com
#40
“Cereal. Usually just the plastic liner/sleeve and the box is changed. Contents are the same. Source: worked in a cereal factory.”
Image source: pmandryk
#41
“I once worked at a Purina pet food facility. They would literally run the brand name Purina dog food on the line until the order was filled. Then they would set up the generic Ole Roy bags or whatever the name was and put the exact same food into those. They place smells horrible also.”
Image source: Alonzara
#42
“Hydro flask and Fifty/Fifty water bottles are the same. Couple got divorced and he kept HF while she started FF.”
Image source: plainwhitetyler
#43
“Cheez It’s are not the same as Cheese Nips, or the generic store brands. Generic/Nips almost have this weird waxy coating, while the Cheez it’s are melt in your mouth goodness of cheese powder and salt.”
Image source: Wentzed
#44
“OxyClean is sodium percarbonate. Look for much cheaper brands at the dollar store. The one I’ve got says “LA’s Totally Awesome Power Oxygen Base Cleaner” on the label.”
Image source: reddit.com
#45
“Whirlpool, and Maytag products. Most are literally the same exact machine with a different interface. And there are smaller brands that also come off the assembly line, like Amana or Roper. I’ve seen an Amana washer and a Kenmore washer that look to be exactly the same for about a $100 difference. Same thing between a Whirlpool and a Kenmore. At Sears the Kenmore will always be more expensive even though it is literally the same thing.”
Image source: spastic-plastic
#46
“I used to work the production line that made the foam mattress toppers, “Foam made in the USA”, and they are all literally the same. The difference in the target brand and the “homedics” brand which the hypoallergenic brand that’s supposed to be better for you is literally the cover it comes with. When it comes to mattress toppers check which type of foam it is and find the same foam cheaper and it’ll be the same exact thing.”
Image source: Aguzei
#47
“Buying Benadryl, Nyquil, or Zzquil instead of just buying store brand diphenhydramine products. You’ll shell out double just for the name when it’s the same God damn chemical component, more or less.”
Image source: CARNIesada6
#48
“Here in the PNW, Fred Meyer’s store brand milk is just Darigold with a new label slapped on it. Pretty much all our store brand milk comes from Darigold Farms (unless otherwise branded).”
Image source: The_Mighty_Jericha
#49
“Skoda and Lamborghini are pretty much the same… both owned by VAG.”
Image source: FormidableFish
#50
“Weird but for any travelers out there – Malarone the anti-malarial. Malarone is just the original brand name but they lost the patent so if you say that name to a pharmacist, they’ll give you a cheaper version. Happy travels!”
Image source: ShawaddyBeamboy
#51
“Most store brand multipurpose solutions are actuall Bausch and Lomb ReNu. The only offbrand of BioTrue is Kirkland, if I recall correctly.
Sauce: previous BNL employee that worked very closely with all products.”
Image source: DillPixels
#52
“Marshmallow Mateys are just as good as Lucky Charms. Marshmallow Safari is horrible.”
Image source: Mr_IsLand
#53
Bunkfoss said:
“I used to work for a large medical device company as a mechanical engineer. We had an agreement with an LCD monitor company: we would buy the monitor (normal desktop monitor) and snap an injected molded bezel over it with our company’s name screen printed on it and sell it as ours. All we did was design and manufacture a bezel that could easily be taken off to see the true manufacturer’s name underneath and charged customers nearly ten times what we paid for the monitor.”
Pet_me_I_am_a_puppy replied:
“All high-tech manufacturers do this. I work in their supply chains and many (most) ancillary devices are rebrands of someone else’s device.”
Image source: Bunkfoss
#54
“Professional pianist here.
Never buy a Steinway. There are three things you’re buying when you shell out that $80,000-$250,000 for a Steinway, and two of them are the label. See, when buying a piano, there are essentially three main components that go into the sound production, that any lay person can easily familiarize themselves with before setting foot in the shop (assuming you’re comparing type to type, like grand piano to another grand piano, not to a bad upright spinet, for example.) Those three things are: the action, the soundboard.”
Image source: ActualNameIsLana
#55
“One for all the Brits: Sainsburys Vintage Cider and Morrisons Vintage Cider are both produced by Westons. Nice ciders and notably cheaper.”
Image source: Skeletorfw
#56
“Great Clips Solutions hair care line is manufactured by Matrix. The same company that makes Biolage and several other more expensive salon brands.”
Image source: ally_quake
#57
PaulsRedditUsername said:
“A friend of mine was a health and safety inspector for a Wonder Bread factory for a while. He told me that there’s no difference at all between Wonder bread and Walmart generic bread, except for the packaging. Which makes sense if you think about it. The bakery ran 24/7. It’s far more economical to just put different bags in the bagging machine at the end of the line, rather than stopping everything to change the ingredients.”
TheRedMaiden replied:
“White bread yeah? Because there’s definitely a difference between Walmart whole wheat and name brand. Comparing ingredients Walmart brand is more corn syrup than anything.”
Image source: PaulsRedditUsername
#58
“Best Buy has two brands, Dynex and Insignia. They’re both made by other companies who bid for the opportunity to do so. Dynex is often the ‘trash’ bid, and insignia is often used to fill price gaps when they don’t have a product in that price range. We had an entire line of Insignia TVs that were the same panels as the nicer LG TV, just without fancy features in the firmware/remote.”
Image source: Blisteredhobo
#59
savvygirl13 said:
“A Toyota Matrix and a Pontiac Vibe are pretty much the same car with a different badge on them.”
Redittor replied:
“Same engines as a Lotus, and a Celica, and a Corolla. Seriously. A lotus has the same engine as a corolla.”
Image source: savvygirl13
#60
“Anything auto parts. Car batteries especially. Exide makes a lot of them but they get different brands slapped on. You pay for the warranty. The difference in this filter by this brand vs this filter made by the same brand but packaged cheaper and sold cheaper under some off name.”
Image source: reddit.com
#61
“Vinegar.”
Image source: elee0228
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