A shopper’s pre-meal surprise highlights online speculation about manufactured products and brand packaging. When a TikTok creator opened a package of Land O’ Lakes butter, buyers saw a stick wrapped in Walmart’s Great Value brand label. On TikTok, some shoppers were convinced that the butter was actually the same and that branding and packaging simply caused the price difference. “I’m sure Land ‘O Lakes makes great value butter but they mixed up the wrappers on the production line,” one TikTokker wrote. Another added: “It’s crazy the number of people who don’t know this all comes from the same factory.” One commenter on Facebook recalled a worker telling him the machine would be stopped to change labels and continue packaging.
Walmart customers appreciate value products at great price points. “Everything is made by other companies and is simply branded Great Value Sam’s choice,” one Reddit user wrote. “Honestly, there’s never been any issues with Great Value. Especially considering most, if not all, Great Value products are made and packaged by their name brand.” For example, Sarah Lee is associated with Value White Bread and Peter Pan is associated with Value Peanut Butter, but it may take some detective work to determine the specific answer.
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The challenge of decoding tags
Butter on display in a Walmart store – refina/Shutterstock
On Quora, industry insiders revealed that dairy production may vary by region, as well as the available suppliers. “Two companies I definitely know on the east coast are Land ‘O Lakes and Blue Bonnet,” the user revealed, before adding that the brand name on the packaging label will change during the manufacturing process. “Great Value is Walmart’s private label brand; the butter sold under the Great Value name is produced for Walmart by multiple co-packers rather than a single manufacturer,” the user explained. One Facebook user explained that Walmart contracts with brands to package value products. Another added: “Land ‘O Lakes and Great Value are the exact same butter, made in the same factory, on the same production line, just changed labels and packaging.” “I work in a name brand factory that also makes regular products. But we would stop and change labels and the machine operators would change the recipe,” one TikTokker chimed in.
To find details about a specific manufacturer on packaging, the name of the manufacturer and co-packer will usually be listed somewhere near the ingredients and nutritional facts. Product codes can also indicate information about a specific facility. Additionally, customer service can provide vendor information that corresponds to the recorded code. However, due to changes in Walmart’s supplier network, the information may only refer to a product’s specific code and date, making it difficult to provide a comprehensive statement and fueling rumors that continue to circulate online.
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Read the original article on Tasting Table.
