Comment by JoshTriplett
18 hours ago
> Is it really higher quality?
Yes, genuinely. At most stores, "store brand" equates to "cheap, lower quality". Kirkland Signature is sometimes higher quality than other brands, and there are items for which they're my preferred brand.
I’ve learned from FarmTok that Costco is a big reason farms maintain proper standards even going beyond what’s required from them to keep Costco’s business.
Products get made to the standards of the pickiest customer. The condiments and sauce industry has the (((same situation)))[1] going on. If Costco went poof tomorrow the change would only be a marginal one down to the standards of the next pickiest customer worth optimizing for which is probably only a hair's breadth away. If Costco was trying to drag the standards way up then farms would raise separate stuff for them.
[1] Many condiments are Kosher not because the recipe inherently is, but because it's easy to do without much downside so doing so pencils out handily. I couldn't resist the parenthesis joke.