The Store-Brand Groceries You Actually Want.
For most of its nondescript life, the humble store brand has played the role of poor cousin to more glamorous brand-name products. Its packaging was basic, even ugly; the quality, good enough. From cereal to cookies to canned beans, the store-brand product’s main allure was its bargain price.
But store brands, also called private label or “own brands,” are casting off their bland reputation and transforming themselves from dull to desirable. At Foxtrot, a fast-growing chain of trendy convenience stores, the house bourbon is handpicked by bartenders from the Violet Hour, a Chicago craft-cocktail bar, and its potato chips come in flavors like spicy dill pickle and Himalayan salt and vinegar. Online grocer Thrive Market specializes in well-priced staples like coffee and coconut milk with ethical and eco-friendly pedigrees.
