I was once an auditor for a chain retail/grocer and noticed on select bills of lading for pasta (for example), the brand name and store brand were on the same manifest.
In all likelihood, the Great Value products are being made by the brand-name manufacturers.
It can be and may be, but it's not always. And in addition to that, some "name-brands" create different quality levels for their production... their own "name-brand" being the best quality they produce, and then a lower quality for "off-brand production".
So, it will show up on an invoice as from that supposedly "name-brand" manufacturer, but it will be a lower quality.
Again, some may be the same and some may not... and you just have to check it out yourself and see.
And, by the way..., it's good marketing on behalf of those manufacturers to sell off their inferior product (compare to their own name-brand) because then they can "pick and choose" the best raw materials and "sell off" the raw materials that they've rejected for their own product and give those raw materials to the "off-brands"... they do that... :-)
You are 100% correct.
All one has to do is google “packaging plant” to get the real skinny.
During the contaminated peanut butter kerfuffle, Great Value & Peter Pan were the recalled brands... I figured that means GV is just Peter Pan with a different label.
You are absolutely right.
One summer I worked part time in a major food processing plant (tomato products). I saw as many as four different store brand names come off the same processing line.
I'd believe that IF the off label brand product measured up in quality and taste but so much falls way short to pass muster with this shopper. Been there, done that and have the T-shirt to prove it. I for one want my quality and taste so I generally stick with the brand names that have proven themselves over and over. Others can keep the pennies and I'll keep the quality.