Generic brands of consumer products are distinguished by the absence of a well-known brand name. They may be manufactured by less prominent companies, or sold by supermarkets as their own brand (hence the frequently used term "store brand"). Generally they imitate more expensive brands, competing on price. Generic brand products are often of equal quality as the branded product, though not necessarily, and many are made on the same production line. However, the quality may change suddenly in either direction with no change in the packaging if the supermarket changes the supplier for the product. This article is about brands in marketing. ... Exterior of typical European supermarket (a Tesco Extra) Exterior of typical North American supermarket (a Safeway) A typical supermarket in Hong Kong. ... Store Brand is a regionally successful rock band in Southeast Michigan. ... A method of production which embodies groups of workers repeating the same procedures of production along a line over which the product is moved and gradually completed. ...

In the early 1980's, generic products in the United States had plain white labels with blue or black lettering, or yellow labels with black lettering, describing what the product was (ie: "Yellow Cake Mix", "Tuna In Water", "Chocolate Flavor Syrup", "Deodorant Soap") with little other information, save for any ingredients and preparation information required, but no brand name at all on the front panel. This was during a sharp economic downturn when many consumers were placing more emphasis on value rather than brand loyalty.

Some supermarket chains were known to have their own "brand" of unbranded items. Examples: Pathmark had a subdued version of their company logo incorporated into the small red and white band at the bottom of the label, with the words "NO FRILLS". A&P had their generic products with white labels with green ink, and their "A&P" logo was replaced with "P&Q" (presumably standing for "Price and Quality"). Pathmark NASDAQ: PTMK located in Carteret, New Jersey is a supermarket chain founded in 1968. ... For the short story by John Updike, see A&P (story). ...

This style can be observed in the 1984 cult film, Repo Man, in which all of the consumable products in the movie have the old-style blue and white generic packaging, especially the beer cans (labeled "Beer"). Also, In 1982, the punk rock group Flipper made light of this concept with an album entitled Album - Generic Flipper, with generic black on yellow artwork. In 1986, Public Image Ltd. released an album entitled Album, featuring generic blue on white artwork. The four alien bodies. Repo Man is a 1984 cult film directed by Alex Cox, produced by Michael Nesmith, and starring Emilio Estevez and Harry Dean Stanton. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Generic Flipper is the debut album by the San Francisco band Flipper. ... Public Image Ltd. ... Album (also known as Compact Disc or Cassette depending on the format it is released in) is an album by Public Image Ltd, released on February 3rd, 1986. ...

Today, such stark package design is no longer used. Generic products today usually bear the name of the store or supermarket where they are sold, or the name of the distribution company that supplies that store. A variation on generic labeling that is now common in the United States is private labeling: brand names owned by the store that sells the product, that are not the same as the name of the store. For example, supermarket chain Safeway, Inc. sells contract-packed dairy products under the Lucerne brand, while the Kroger's line of supermarkets sells products under several names, ranging from the top quality Private Selection [1] down to the budget-driven line FMV (For Maximum Value) [2]. Exterior of typical European supermarket (a Tesco Extra) Exterior of typical North American supermarket (a Safeway) A typical supermarket in Hong Kong. ... Distribution is one of the four aspects of marketing. ... Swedish grocery store where private label products (under the brands Hemköp and Eldorado, Axfood) are placed along with other brands such as Knorr (Unilever) and Blå band (Campbell Soup). ... It has been suggested that Vons be merged into this article or section. ... Kroger headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio. ...

Membership-based "warehouse club" stores have begun their own contract-packed generic brands. The Wal-Mart owned "Sam's Club" sells products under the name Sam's Choice (a reference to company founder, Sam Walton), Costco sells products under the name Kirkland Signature (a reference to corporate home office location, Kirkland, Washington), and BJ's Wholesale Club sells products branded Berkley & Jensen. A warehouse club is a retail store selling a small amount of merchandise in terms of variety. ... Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Samuel Moore Walton (March 29, 1918 – April 6, 1992) was the founder of two American retailers, Wal-Mart and Sams Club. ... Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ: COST) is a membership warehouse club chain and headquartered in Issaquah, Washington, United States, with its flagship warehouse #1 in nearby Seattle. ... Nickname: The Little City That Could Location Location of Kirkland within King County, Washington, and King County within Washington. ... BJs Wholesale Club, Inc. ...

Patents may prohibit generic brand manufacturing. In the specific case of drugs, generic drugs are made chemically indistinguishable from the brand name products, to satisfy regulations. New drugs are nearly always patented and therefore generic versions of drugs may only be made legally in most of the world when the patents expire. As with other generic products generic drugs are much cheaper due to both competition and the fact that research and marketing costs do not need to be factored in. A patent is a set of exclusive rights granted by a state to a person for a fixed period of time in exchange for the regulated, public disclosure of certain details of a device, method, process or composition of matter (substance) (known as an invention) which is new, inventive, and... Oral medication A medication is a licenced drug taken to cure or reduce symptoms of an illness or medical condition. ... A generic drug (pl. ...

Sometimes generic brands can be referred to as house brands or home brands, in the United Kingdom they are often referred to as own brands.

See also

• Research exemption
• Private label