I’ve read where NN products are actually brand name merchandise kinda gone wonky like the veggies. A few years ago I found out the jam at the time was actually Smucker’s inside - end of a batch not enough for a new one kinda thing. Or .0001% not enough sugar to make the grade. The brands inside keep changing sorta like a discount store buying up samples or discontinueds or irregulars and slashing the price. NN just rewraps them in yellow.
In the 80s, Safeway had their own no name, with bright blue packaging with yellow font. They made the best knockoff KD (Mac and cheese, for non-Canucks)…I still think about it!
This was brilliant!!! I guess No Frills and no name aren't as big over here yet. I literally just discovered the store when I moved to my new hood 2 months ago and I'm already in love with the prices! I can actually walk to no frills from my house.
I wish we had houses wrapped in labels that said house or even "unaffordable house."
Thank you for this...it made my whole evening 😁 Especially that Instagram screenshot. So epic.
We buy some things with no name. But others are just a little higher quality with a name. I draw the line at canned mushroom soup! Having a name makes it taste better
Most of our grocery stores have their own brands and many of those items are made by the name brand companies and packaged/sold as less expensive. Even Costco (big warehouse store) does it. But none of them have the snarky marketing or labeling like no name. Who doesn’t want entertaining groceries?
I love the practicality of Canadians! We could use more of it in America. As you can see from our current election, some of us buy into insanity just to feel like we’re part of something “special.”
Sorry about the housing. That’s just ridiculous. That’s happening in my town where we were named one of the nicest places to live for the last several years. I kept telling them to stop bragging and shut up. But did they listen? Nope and now our population has exploded and housing costs are insane. Blah!
Exactly, many of the store brands are the exact same thing as the fancy brands--just without the expensive marketing. But it's even better when they're snarky about it 😆
And yes, Canadians can be a very practical people. I like it about us too.
Yeah, housing is getting ridiculous in a lot of areas. Here we're putting pressure on the government to fix it, but we'll see how that goes.
Great article, as usual. But you hooked me with mentioning Loblaw's. We used to have one of those in the North Hills (Pittsburgh, PA suburb) in the 1950s-1970s. I completely forgot about that store until I saw it mentioned in your article. That prompted a quick visit to Wikipedia to see if it were the same chain. It was indeed the same chain, but it was soon to be on its last legs in the US at the time. Fascinating history of the store and its business model.
I remember the yellow blah-blahs - coined by 3yr old daughter who couldn’t pronounce LobLaws 😝. When I was a kid everything was yellow. I loved their yellow no frills chocolate chip cookies. Then something happened and they went to President’s choice and got rid of all the yellow. Those cookies never tasted the same 😂.
I’m glad they came to their senses and brought back all the yellow.
I left an earlier message about Walmart being a corrupt organization; I got some of that information from a Pro Publica documentary I saw many years ago as well as my own experience.
coffee filters, canned artichokes, dry sweeper cloths, yellow bags of spices..., these are a few of my favourite things 🎶💛
😆😆 That's awesome, my first singable comment response!
I’ve read where NN products are actually brand name merchandise kinda gone wonky like the veggies. A few years ago I found out the jam at the time was actually Smucker’s inside - end of a batch not enough for a new one kinda thing. Or .0001% not enough sugar to make the grade. The brands inside keep changing sorta like a discount store buying up samples or discontinueds or irregulars and slashing the price. NN just rewraps them in yellow.
Who knows the magic behind the curtain at NN. That could be true, or it could just be wild rumors (that probably they started haha).
Who knows. And As long as they remain dirt cheap in comparison, who cares?
That's really cool. So good branding and good products
Love this article…..more aboot Canada….A……please and thank you!
You have a very special gift for written humor!!!💕😂
Thanks Michael! :) There is more Canadian content coming soon eh.
In the 80s, Safeway had their own no name, with bright blue packaging with yellow font. They made the best knockoff KD (Mac and cheese, for non-Canucks)…I still think about it!
Awesome and hilarious, Robin!💕
Some of the no name products aren't too shabby! You remember this one 40 years later--that's impressive.
And thanks Sheila :)
This was brilliant!!! I guess No Frills and no name aren't as big over here yet. I literally just discovered the store when I moved to my new hood 2 months ago and I'm already in love with the prices! I can actually walk to no frills from my house.
I wish we had houses wrapped in labels that said house or even "unaffordable house."
Thank you for this...it made my whole evening 😁 Especially that Instagram screenshot. So epic.
I didn't know it was a more regional thing! Canada's too big to keep up with all of it haha.
lmao at the "unaffordable house" 😆😆. That's accurate.
Their IG is sooo good. Marketing brilliance that makes me laugh every time.
Oxymoron or tautology? Either way, the whole diatribe made me laugh like a loon. You do have loons up your way, no?
Kristi beat me to saying that we have so many loons that we call our $1 coins 'loonies'.
Is this a real question? Our money is called Loonies 😁🤣
You beat me to it.
That is amazing branding. I love that YouTube commercial 😂 and the Instagram with "clickbait for your attention" 😂
Right?! Soo good 😆
I died when I saw that Instagram screenshot 😂
Kind of towel I’d be holding up for you while you change
Cue the nude beach 🏝️
I hear 🇨🇦 has those🐾🐾❤️🤛🏻
I’d go just run to water and say in the ocean 🌊 have a surf board as my cover
We probably do somewhere, but our beaches are pretty cold and I often wear sweaters haha
We buy some things with no name. But others are just a little higher quality with a name. I draw the line at canned mushroom soup! Having a name makes it taste better
Yeah, certain things you just have to buy the name brand for. But their "corn" is the same as everyone elses corn hehe
I'm surprised you (the health nut) buys any canned soup. The minute I see 600mg of sodium on a package I cannot buy it in good conscience 🤣
Let him eat his soup 😆
Everyone’s got their secret indulgences lol. Every once in a while I have a can of cream of mushroom
If cream of mushroom soup is your 'indulgence' then I'm sure you're eating just fine haha
Same here, with tomato 🍅 😬
Most of our grocery stores have their own brands and many of those items are made by the name brand companies and packaged/sold as less expensive. Even Costco (big warehouse store) does it. But none of them have the snarky marketing or labeling like no name. Who doesn’t want entertaining groceries?
I love the practicality of Canadians! We could use more of it in America. As you can see from our current election, some of us buy into insanity just to feel like we’re part of something “special.”
Sorry about the housing. That’s just ridiculous. That’s happening in my town where we were named one of the nicest places to live for the last several years. I kept telling them to stop bragging and shut up. But did they listen? Nope and now our population has exploded and housing costs are insane. Blah!
Exactly, many of the store brands are the exact same thing as the fancy brands--just without the expensive marketing. But it's even better when they're snarky about it 😆
And yes, Canadians can be a very practical people. I like it about us too.
Yeah, housing is getting ridiculous in a lot of areas. Here we're putting pressure on the government to fix it, but we'll see how that goes.
And more toxic plastic for the environment. Really not a good solution. I even wonder what is in the yellow dye.
Great article, as usual. But you hooked me with mentioning Loblaw's. We used to have one of those in the North Hills (Pittsburgh, PA suburb) in the 1950s-1970s. I completely forgot about that store until I saw it mentioned in your article. That prompted a quick visit to Wikipedia to see if it were the same chain. It was indeed the same chain, but it was soon to be on its last legs in the US at the time. Fascinating history of the store and its business model.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loblaw_Companies
I remember the yellow blah-blahs - coined by 3yr old daughter who couldn’t pronounce LobLaws 😝. When I was a kid everything was yellow. I loved their yellow no frills chocolate chip cookies. Then something happened and they went to President’s choice and got rid of all the yellow. Those cookies never tasted the same 😂.
I’m glad they came to their senses and brought back all the yellow.
I guess those capital letters really are expensive to print!
Sound the Coldplay licensing opportunity alert.
I left an earlier message about Walmart being a corrupt organization; I got some of that information from a Pro Publica documentary I saw many years ago as well as my own experience.