Famous Brand. What Does the Extra Money Get Me?

*On supermarket own brands and an awkward question in the aisle.*

A shopper is looking at two bottles of cooking oil. One carries a familiar name. The other is the supermarket’s own brand, with a friendlier price. Somewhere far away, the first brand has spent years building an emotional connection. Here in the aisle, someone just wants to fry some potatoes.

At moments like this, branding faces a remarkably honest job interview. What exactly are we paying extra for?

There may be a good answer. A taste we love. Consistent quality, an origin we trust, a bottle that pours properly, a product that hasn’t let us down. People are perfectly entitled to pay for what matters to them. But “you recognise our logo” is a fairly lazy argument to make to someone carrying a calculator in their phone.

Supermarket own brands interest us because they bring that question into focus. Someone tries the cheaper alternative and finds it perfectly good. Going back to the more expensive product now requires a reason. Habit is powerful, but the checkout total can make a persuasive speech of its own.

For the supermarket, the job doesn’t end with a lower price. A simple label and the word “value” are a start. If people are going to buy the product for years, they need to know what to expect. How will it taste? Will the quality hold up next time? How do they find the right product among everything else in the range?

Suddenly, the supermarket is working on positioning, design, personality and consistency. Congratulations: you’re building a brand. There turned out to be a little more to it than printing a cheaper price tag.

We like own brands with a clear idea behind the product. Who is it for? When is it useful? Why is the range organised this way? Then people can make a choice they understand and come back to it without conducting a weekly comparative study of sour cream.

The same questions are worth putting to the big brands. A reputation deserves respect when it continues to do something for the customer. At the shelf, they’re paying for their next experience. The company can pay for its own anniversary party.