Hello, there! I recently started a blog reviewing affordable products which can be purchased at Target and thought it might be helpful to provide a quick overview and comparison of Target’s two main house brands of groceries, Market Pantry and Archer Farms.
Market Pantry is officially described by Target as:
Big brand taste. But priced much, much lower. You get the same quality, but for much less than you’d pay for national brands.
Redundant much? Much, much, much. Their product descriptions are pretty fantastic, too: have you seen my review of Market Pantry Toasted Oats Whole Grain Oat Cereal? I’m not really criticizing – I mean, it’s good information to have – but I still find it a decent source of entertainment.
Expect to find Market Pantry products located directly next to the name-brand product that they’re ripping off of, quite possibly with massive “Compare and Save!” signs pointing directly at them. Pretty classic example of a low-price strategy.
In terms of quality..it’s a bit of a mixed bag. There have been cases where I’ve actually preferred Market Pantry products over the name-brand alternative, and there have been situations where I’ve been physically unable to choke them down.
It’s actually surprisingly difficult to find reviews of some of these products online. Hence my new blog. Hopefully people find it useful. But I digress. =)
Now we shall investigate Target’s description of Archer Farms:
Our highest quality made with the finest ingredients. We promise you’ll love every little bit, bite, and sip. 100% satisfaction guaranteed.
As you can see, there’s a bit of a difference in how they’re marketed – and rightly so. Market Pantry is pretty much equivalent to the lower-priced generic brands you’d find in any grocery store, whereas Archer Farms is pricier and fancier-sounding.
This might sound a tad gimmicky, but I’ve had really fantastic experiences with Archer Farms products in general. A huge percentage of them are organic, and both the packaging and the taste are exceptional. Some of them contribute to charitable endeavors as well – if so, the packaging will usually state as much.
There’s also a bit more of a personality to the Archer Farms brand: it’s quite obvious that they’ve chosen to differentiate their products in terms of quality ingredients and interesting flavors rather than implement the low-price strategy that Market Pantry emphasizes to a somewhat-irritating degree.
Unfortunately, with premium quality comes premium prices. Expect to pay just as much, if not more, as you would for a national brand. Worth it? That’s up to you.
Other Store Brands:
There are a few other brands which are also exclusive to Target. I’ll summarize briefly for you: Choxie offers high-end chocolates, Sutton & Dodge offers Angus beef, and Wine Cube offers..well..cubes of wine? I’ve never actually witnessed said Wine Cubes, but according to Target’s website, they’re pretty colors, win awards, and are available in three sizes.
Bottom Line:
Market Pantry offers cheaper alternatives to brand-name products. The good ones are great and the lemons are inedible. Never fear..I’m here to provide guidance!;)
Archer Farms offers just-as-expensive alternatives to national-brand products. They’re consistently of the highest quality, and many products are organic as well!