Brandless, a website that sells food, household items and school supplies all for $3, advertises its products as less expensive than their name-brand equivalents.

Its motto: “One big mission. One little $3 price. Around here, your values have value.” The company claims to provide better deals since it doesn’t have a “brand tax,” which supposedly hikes up the prices of name-brand products. We decided to test Brandless and ordered its versions of three popular snacks.

Cheese cracker squares (Cheez-Its):

Sandhya: Cheez-its are crispy, thin and most importantly, cheesy; however, the Brandless knock-off version was slightly stale and hard, lacking the cheesy-goodness I had expected. With its high price tag and measly portion, this overpriced Brandless product will never replace the original.

White cheddar popcorn:

Amy: The taste of the Brandless White Cheddar Popcorn wasn’t overpowering so I could eat as much as I wanted without feeling full. Since the product was cheaper than its name-brand version, the Brandless popcorn lived up to the website’s motto of providing a better value for the same type of food at an average supermarket, making it the only Brandless product that satisfied my expectations.

Chocolate Creme Cookies (Oreos):

Amy: The moment we took out the box of Brandless chocolate creme cookies into the Journalism Room, a hoard immediately crowded around. By the time I tasted one, there were only four left in the container — and for good reason. The cracker of the creme cookies resembled a bitter dark chocolate taste instead of the overpoweringly sweet Oreo crackers. Though the outsides of the Brandless chocolate creme cookies tasted a bit better, Oreos still prevailed due to their cheaper price and ability to satisfy cravings at any time.

Conclusion:

We weren’t too impressed with the snacks that we ordered from Brandless since its products weren’t always cheaper than the name-brand equivalents and the portions were much smaller. Adding that to the hassle of ordering online, paying a shipping fee ($3 with a coupon code) and waiting four days for the products to arrive, we decided that Brandless is not worth our time or money.