Consumer Perceptions of Store Brands Versus National Brands

Store Brand is broadly defined as “a product manufactured specially for a retailer and bearing the retailer's name.” example: Minute Maid. In the other hand National Brand is “The brand name of a product that is distributed nationally under a brand name owned by the producer or distributor; brand name owned by a manufacturer or other producer.” Example: Fiesta, Kroger, and H.E.B. These two brands can be compered based on how consumers perceived them. In consumers mind, and for business, the brand is what differentiates products in the competitive environment.

In their studies, De Wulf, Kristof; Gaby Odekerken-SchröderView Profile; Goedertier, Frank; Gino Van Ossel affirm that consumers have stronger preferences for national brand than store brand. The consumers tend to see the national brand as superior (which leads them to sell their product at higher prices). We can all notice when we go to grocery stores that the store brand products are at lower prices, poorly packed and are almost never advertising. Unlike, national brands gamble on image, advertisement, and promises for quality to reach brand equity to enjoy premium prices.

In their studies, these authors took minute maid orange juice and a store brand orange juice for a bling test taste. The result shows that the national brand and the store brand orange juice; which have the same ingredients are both appreciated by the customers. This study leads to the conclusion that consumers choices are led by the image that the brand reflects.  It also shows that once the customers (low price sensitive customers) have brand loyalty for the store brand, they tend to by the store brand in every store they go to.

After comparing these two brands, we can list some other brands types:

Private brands:  brand name placed on products marketed by wholesalers and retailers such as Kleenex.

Captive brands:  national brands that are sold exclusively by retail chain such as Kmart.

Family brand:  brand name that identifies several related products such as Heinz.

Individual brand:  unique brand name that identifies a specific offering within a firm’s product line and that is not grouped under a family brand such as Irish Spring.

Work Cited

De Wulf, Kristof, Gaby Odekerken-Schröder, Frank Goedertier, and Gino Van Ossel. "Consumer perceptions of store brands versus national brands."The Journal of Consumer Marketing. 22.4/5 (2005): 223-232. Print.