A woman is warning consumers everywhere: If you buy name-brand soda, you’re getting scammed.
TikTok user Tania (@taniaesmerodriguez) is a food influencer who also posts videos about parenthood. On Tuesday, she posted a video with a bit of advice for soda lovers. “Stop letting these big name brands scam you,” she says.
In the video, which has amassed more than 24,000 views, Tania explains her husband is teasing her for buying H-E-B-brand Wild Red instead of the name-brand Big Red. “He says I’m cheap, but they taste the exact same and this is half of the price of Big Red,” she says. “So now I’m making him make me a little drinky drink.”
Is buying name brand a ‘scam’?
In the comments section of the video, users overwhelmingly sided with Tania’s husband on this matter.
“No way Wild Red tastes like Big Red,” wrote one user, accompanied by a face with tears of joy emoji.
“They don’t taste the same but still good,” wrote a second user. Tania replied, “My hubby said the same, but I swear by it.”
“What’s next? That Shasta soda tastes the same, too?” joked a third user.
However, some users weighed in to say that the drinks might be closer in taste than many people think.
“I worked in food manufacturing. We would stop the line, change the packaging from our brand to whatever store brand and keep rolling. Same product,” alleged one user.
Are generic and name-brand sodas made at the same factory?
According to MoneyCrashers, this is true to a certain extent. Generic brands are often packaged in the same factories as name-brand products but can be sold at a lower price because the grocery store saves on development and marketing. In terms of quality, it can vary depending on the product. Blind taste-tests of soda products indicate generic soda might be more comparable than most people believe.
Commenters on this Reddit thread appear to back up this theory. One user claiming to work for a chemical distribution company said that, in some cases, the store brand purchases the product from the name brand and sells it under the generic label. In this case, the product is literally the same as the name brand.
“Sometimes, yes, the store brand is of a lower quality, and they can buy it at a lower price. But most of the times, the store brands are made by the same big-name manufacturers that produce name brand items,” the user wrote.
@taniaesmerodriguez #foryou #foryoupage #viral ♬ Scheming Weasel – Tsoulfas Panormitis
The Daily Dot reached out to Tania, Keurig Dr Pepper, and H-E-B via email for comment.
Update Sept. 9, 1:02am CT: In an email to the Daily Dot, Tania wrote, “Man oh man! I did not expect that video to even get as many views as it did let alone all the feedback. I really just wanted to blast my husband for making fun of me for trying to save a coin! Lol everyone has their own opinions but I really do believe they taste the exact same. We even got influenced by the comments to try Dr. B which I’m going to try out today.”
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