Velveeta is not real food as far as I am concerned, even though I grew up eating it. When I was eating store bought I ate only Skippy Peanut Butter, liked the flavor so much more. For the past 5 or so years I've tried to eat food closer to how it occurs in nature rather than boxed and processed food. Ingredient lists are scary reading.

Like it or not everything has a brand name. Republican or Democrat? Coke or Pepsi? Straight or LGBTQ? We have all some kind of brand.

Brand names don't matter much to me. Usually the same quality exists in an off brand. In fact, sometimes the same product is the off brand. (When there was a recall on peanut butter several years ago, it was specifically Peter Pan peanut butter and a particular off brand. This isn't to say that Peter Pan is all that great, but it illustrates a point: Manufacturers often produce more than they can sell directly, with the extra being sold under a generic or store-brand label. This allows them to continue making profit, even though it's a lower margin than when they sell directly.) When I have nothing better to do, I'll sometimes compare the location on product labels to see which ones match up, suggesting that they're really the same product. With that said, I have found that some foods are generally better as the brand name, like Doritos and Cheetos. Occasionally I'll find an off brand that's not bad, but usually the flavor is off and the food will cause mild digestive distress. With non-food items, it's a mixed bag. Sometimes paying a little bit more for the brand name makes a huge difference in quality. This seems to be common with cleaning products. Oh, and clothing! I've got to stop buying clothes at Walmart, no matter how convenient it seems. The quality is almost always lacking, where garments wear out quickly or shirts shrink. Paying twice as much for better quality usually pays off in terms of much greater durability.

There is a website called brandless, if you wanna check that out. I haven't bought anything from them, just letting you know there are movements to remove brands and just sell "Organic peas" or "Potato crisps" instead of Dole and Pingles.

With the exception of Gold Medal Flour, I hardly ever by a brand name product, from toilet paper to frozen pizza. Nearly all your store brand items are made in the same factories as generics. The reason the cost less is they don't have to cover advertising costs. Now, yes, I've been disappointed with some generics. But at least at Kroger stores, there are often several off-label choices, and once I find which is the one I like, I stick to it. Their french bread pizzas, for example, cost $1. They actually have more toppings than the Stouffer's do, $4 for 2. It's half the price.

The Gold Medal Flour? Well, I wrote them after my parents had a fire in the home and mom lost all her pantry cookbooks. A family favorite was a holiday cookie recipe collection she got from a bag of flour in the early 1970's. I wrote to see if they still had it in 2006. It took them 6 months, but one day I got a call from General Mills. Someone found it for me. Best gift I ever gave my mom (she said I didn't give her a gift, I gave a memory). That, to me, is worth a couple extra bucks when I make my cookies,

I agree about Velveeta. It is brand-specific to me. If that's what I want, nothing else will do.
Overall, I don't rely on brands too much. Although, I have found out the hard way that not all generics are created equal. I've also learned that many of the store brands are equal to their brand-name counterparts. Publix brand items are definitely a good example of this.

I'm like you @silvereyes. For some things, it REALLY matters. For others, not so much. But, that has not always been the case. It's only been in the last five years or so that I'm able to do store brand or the less popular brand for SOME things -- like Persil laundry liquid soap (rated #1 by Consumer Reports), paper plates, butter, regular cheeses, OTC meds.

A few of my absolutes -- because I CAN tell the difference and learned the hard way:
Heinz ketchup
Best Foods/Hellman's mayo
Daisy sour cream
Oroweat or Dave's Killer Bread
Ziploc storage bags
Heinz or French's mustard
Steamfresh frozen vegetables
Rosarita or Old El Paso refried beans
Yoplait yogurt
Dawn dish detergent

I've heard that Bently is a nice brand of car.

Sometimes they do, and other times..........not so much. Things that definitely need to be nae brand include:

Ben & Jerry's Ice cream. Maine has a wealth of premium ice cream makers have been eating B & J for over 35 years and have watched them "bury" favorite flavors and then create new favorites. That is currently Truffle Kerfuffle.

There are some serious wine snobs out there but it doesn't have to be THE name brand, and some wines are all hype. Long ago I was training to be a sommelier and had a liking for Monsieur Henri wines. Then I realized I just like bordeaux.

While I don't necessarily take to the whole Wisconsin cheese thing, having lived in Vermont for years, I developed a liking for Cabot cheeses and in Maine they are readily available. Fine with me.

Maple Syrup is a food item where the criterion is REAL. Corn syrup items like gag Vermont Maid or Aunt Jemima have ABSOLUTELY NOTHING on any real maple syrup from Vermont, Maine or Canada. If you have never tried it and do; you will curse that ti took so long.

Last stop.......hot dogs. I've eaten all kinds and Mainers seem to really like red snap dogs. For my money, NOTHING beats a good grilled Hebrew National Beef Frank!

With food, brand doesn't matter, I can usually cook a high quality meal with off-brand items.

Technology is a different matter but that also changes per item;

• Phone - Android(Samsung and Motorola), I hate iPhones(yet work with them daily)
• Laptop/Computer - Apple for the tech savvy and Windows(but not Acer hardware) for everyone else(I have both but prefer the Mac-book when programming)
• Blu-ray Player - Sony
• TV - LG

Just to name a few.

Strictly case-by-case.

Sometimes it's because you know the product is well-made, reliable, durable, etc. Usually this is clothes for me.

Sometimes it's because something in particular suits you like no no other, like with the fit of shoes or flavor of soda.

Sometimes it's because you like the politics of the company and want to give them your business.

Sometimes its a constellation of factors and sometimes you're whittled down to one option, like my grocery store only carrying one variety of peanut butter that does not contain palm oil (oil palm agriculture kills orangutans, y'all).

Sometimes it's just some weird, pseudo-superstition or nostalgia. These get passed down in families, especially re food.

I mostly only care about brands as a way to identify those products I can trust to be worth the money. Usually that means durability, sometimes it's ethics.

Every time I see a certain shade of orange, I get an overwhelming craving for a Reese's cup.

When it comes to tools, Stanley brand has a good reputation, so I feel more comfortable buying those tools. Same with Honda cars. I trust them more than most others, because their reputation sits well with me. If a brand has religious connotations, I will most likely stay away from it. When it comes to food, certain brands tend to taste better than others. When it comes to clothing, I couldn't care less.

Just like you said, it depends. When I have a chance to buy a box of no name or lesser known name of 250 tissues for $1 instead of a box of Kleenex with 250 for $4 then I get the no name every time.

When it comes to electronics, I only try to buy the best. Name brands are usually the best quality and last longer.

Not at all...I don't even pay attention to brand names, but the cost, for the most part....I find that brand names rarely prove to be that much better than their counterparts....in fact, I just got an off brand of nutella which was really good....

Brand names matter now a bit to me. It is the quality of the individual product. Consistancy is a good thing, if I find a product I like I tend to keep buying it, regardless of the brand or any other products made under that name.

I rarely purchase brand names unless I find one at a thrift store, garage sale, yard sale or flea market. All my grocery shopping is for store brands.

In food is a matter of taste versus healthy. Whatever you trust or you are looking for. I am a Pepsi not coke guy. In electronics I always say brand number 2 is as good as brand number 1 but in brand number 1 you are paying a premium for being nr 1 so I always choose nr 2. About cheese... I like flavor on cheese.

They don’t.

At the core of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle is Phaedrus’ quest for quality. It seems to me that quality is inextricably linked to logic.

Simply put, no. I buy mostly generic organic, non-GMO, fresh and frozen.

They don't with food. I can make the cheap taste like gold.. Clothes.. wife is name brand. Tires batteries oil dodge jeep... that's it.

Most of the food I consume is locally grown, fresh (organic) produce. the few times when brand matters to me is more about the actual content than brandname, like toothpaste, shampoo, or the non-content of sugar in curry paste or mustard, etc. no, brand names don't matter much.

I love my Yum Earth gummy bears, they're not GMO. If I want something sweet yum !!
No generic for me because is not available.

Some I try to boycott, like Nestle. ( Trump Hotel anyone? Um, beside the point) In cars I'm pretty eclectic, have owned Fiat, Honda, Toyota, Mazda, Triumph (what's that? is that a brand?) Ford and Vauxhaul - that one was the only one I would have avoided since. My latest car a Peugeot Diesel 306, just getting the hang of it. I like driving. I like cars that start and take me from A to B, and some do it in style and luxury. Oh, and have have driven cars better than the ones I ever owned, Mercedes, BMW ... yea, nice. But so were most of my cars.