When it comes to house brands, we previously we found out that the price differences do not necessarily vary as much even though these house brand products were initially introduced as a cheaper alternative to established brand name items.

The premise is that house brands provide a cheap, no-frills alternative, in which cost savings from lower (or non-existent) marketing and advertising can be passed on to consumers.

In recent years, house brands have been a major focus for supermarkets in Singapore. For example, FairPrice is still planning to roll out 300 more new products to refresh their offerings of house brand items.

They have also committed to freezing the prices of 100 house brand products until June 2020, on top of providing a further discount for the Merdeka Generation, to keep prices competitive and house brand products affordable.

With the expanded range of house brand items on offer, we'll examine to what extent house brand products are cheaper than brand name items.

PRICES OF HOUSE BRANDS TODAY

In this exercise, we take a look at the basket of items commonly purchased and compare the cost differences of house brand items with brand name items.

Cooking Oil (2 litres)

FairPrice Premium Cooking Oil: $5.95

Knife Premium Cooking Oil: $7.50

Naturel Brand Cooking Oil: $7.80

Kaya Spread (250g)

FairPrice Kaya Spread: $2.50

Frezfruta Kaya Spread: $3.95

Glory Kaya Spread (No Sugar): $3.30

Mayonnaise

FairPrice Mayonnaise (330g): $2.50

Kewpie Mayonnaise (310ml): $4.50

Best Foods Mayonnaise (220g): $2.65

Pepper Powder

FairPrice White Pepper Powder (100g): $4.15

Anchor Brand White Pepper Powder (100g): $4.00

Pagoda White Pepper Powder (25g): $2.35

Ketchup

FairPrice Ketchup (320g): $0.90

Delmonte Ketchup (340g): $1.20

Heinz Ketchup (300g): $1.15

Salt (500g)

FairPrice Salt: $0.45

Pagoda Brand Salt: $0.50

Nature First Sea Salt: $3.95

Canned Halved Peaches (825g)

FairPrice: $3.00

Hosen: $3.55

Delmonte: $4.55

Canned Tuna (185g)

FairPrice : $2.10

Farmland Tuna In Brine: $2.20

Tesco Brand: $2.65

Full Cream Milk (1 litre)

FairPrice: $1.70

Marigold: $2.30

Harvey Fresh: $2.10

Dutch Lady: $2.50

White Rice 5kg

FairPrice: $6.65

Royal Umbrella: $16.20

SongHe: $13.95

Bee Hoon (400g)

FairPrice: $0.95

Chilli Brand: $1.20

Tai Sun Brand: $1.15

Apart from pepper powder, the price of most of the house brand daily essentials range is about 20 per cent cheaper and can even be up to 40 per cent cheaper.

IS IT JUST ABOUT MONEY SAVED?

When it comes to essential groceries, brand names and external packaging are inconsequential to the more important qualities of a product such as taste and cost.

Unless you had prior negative experience in using brand name products, the cost savings you get from switching to house brands for essential products like rice, oil and vermicelli can be rather substantial given that their markdowns can be as high as 40 per cent based on the basket of goods we compared. They are, on average, 10-15 per cent cheaper than brand name items.

The house brand offerings have also diversified, with different house brand products under sub-brands depending on the category of the product you are looking at. As an example, these include FairPrice, Pasar, Home Proud and Pasar Organic brands that cater to quality foods, fresh produce, homeware and organic food, respectively.

The extensive array of sub-brands and significant cost savings offered by house brands are meant to ensure that there remains an affordable option for your essential needs.

Of course, brand name items may still be your preferred option in instances of brand loyalty, or if you have specific preferences on the scent of your detergent, or have any allergies or ingredients you are sensitive to in the makeup of your product.

This article was first published in Dollars and Sense.