Is Generic Formula Just as Good as Name Brand?!

M.,
My little one was started on Enfamil, Lipil in the hopsital and I used it for a couple of months and read actually here online to buy the generic versions because it was getting so expensive! I took their advice and switched her to Walmarts generic brand of Enfamil and had no problems in doing so and saved me lots of money!!

Hi M.,
I, too, was interested in the generic formula. I compared a bunch of brands, and was appalled to see that one of the Wal Mart ingredients was Corn Syrup. It is in way too many of the things we eat, and I didn't feel like it was something my newborn should be ingesting! The Target brand was also pretty inexpensive and it didn't have the corn syrup. That's the one I went with!

Do not "feel bad".
As long as you compare the ingredients you have no reason to.
That is why store brands are available.
They are cheaper because they do not spend millions on advertising like Enfamil, etc.

I have spoken to a nutritionist about this and she said that all formula's are strictly regulated by the FDA. The only difference between the name brands and generic is the type of whey that is used. The generic brands tend to curtle more in the stomach than the name brands. If your child can handle this, use the generic. Both of my children did very well on the generic formula. I don't see the need to pay the steep prices for the name brand formula if you don't need to. Remember, the nutritional values are identical.

I started out using Similac when my first daughter starting taking formula. Formula didn't seem to work well with her system until I tried Parents Choice gentle. I have used this ever since. In my case, the generic brand was better. I don't know if this will be the case when my new baby (almost 6 weeks!)starts transitioning but I hope so.

My dr told me they are the same. If you look at the ingredients on the label you can see that. You may have a little transition period if you do switch but it shouldnt be for long. Your baby may have a change in stools for a few days but it should be fine.

The Federal Government regulates the formula industry extensively. Go ahead and buy a cheaper brand. They are all essentially the same. HOwever, I personally found Carnation Good Start to be the easiest on my babies stomachs.

We used Similac Advance and switched to Target brand. It is HALF the price!! I don't feel bad at all. Connor is a very healthy happy growing baby! My pedi had not problem with it either.

I use generic (the walmart brand) wit my 6 month old and he seems to like it better than when he was on similac! Use it because it is SO MUCH CHEAPER!

I used it too! My ped told me it's the old enfamil formula. It's more reasonable, same ingredients, more of the good stuff for baby. My daughter did great on it!

my ped actually rec target brand formula great savings and she loved it

Yup, they are all the same, just keep in mind you have to compare like formulas. The generic Enfamil isn't the same as the generic Similac, but the generic version of each formula is as good as the name brand (if that makes sense).

M.,

I used the name brand formula after my milk ran dry with mu 1st daughter. When we had the second and my milk dried up again I went with the Jewel/Osco generic(2 kids-one job+a mortgage=having to be cretave with $$:). Everything I read said it was the same stuff, minus something that makes the texture a bit diffferent.(The name brand appears to be smoother at first. You just need to shake the generic a bit more.) When I compared the ingrdients for myself I found that all of the ingredients except for the last 5 were the same in the same order. The last 5 was the same stuff, just in a different order. The container on both jars said that those(and most of the ones before them)made up less than 2% of the ingredients. Don't feel bad about trying to save a few $$. If it makes you feel better take the $10 you save per jar and put it in her savings account. That was what I had planned on doing...but I also had planned on losing 5 more lbs., neither of which has happened yet!

Some kids like the name brand while some like the generic better. Personally, I went with Enfamil over Similac and generic brands because it mixed much more smoothly and less foamy for my baby who spat-up a lot.

Kirkland (Costco) Brand Formula is wonderful!!

By law, all formula sold in the US must meet very strict dietary/nutrional guidelines. They are pretty much all equal and all are very nurtritious for your baby so don't worry about it. Formula is expensive so why spend more money than you have to?

Hi there-

After a post on here a while back, one of the Mom's told me that Target makes generic Enfamil and Similac brands. I was completely surprised by this as I knew that there were generic formulas but I didn't realized that my generic versions of the name brand formulas. Anyway, I have a baby that suffers from Gastric Reflux and we literally went through 10 different formulas before finding one that worked best for her. She finally settled on Enfamil GentleEase and while I was hesistant to switch again, I thought that the formulas were enough like to try it and it worked! We are using the Target Brand Enfamil Gentle Ease and loving the savings.

Hope you have the same success. Good luck.
N.

My doctor said the generic was just as good. My kids switched between Target and Jewel brands and liked both. My doctor did recommend using the formula with Lipil which does raise the cost. Good luck.

most of the time the off brands are made in the same place just put in different packages. i use generic all the time

I read a few of the other responds to your question and agree. They are all the same and are all highly regulated. I've found that the best deal by far is the Walgreens brand. Also my doctor informed me that nursery water is a complete waste of money and your better off using tap water. He told me that nursery water is not sterilized as most people assume (like i did) and that if I choose to use it I might as well boil it just as I would my tap water. He said regular tap has floride and such in it. So between using my regular tap water and generic formula I saved big time!!

Hi Mandi.
Our pediatrician told us that baby formula is federally regulated and most of the time, the generic brand is manufactured in the same place at the name brand stuff, so don't feel guilty about saving some money!!

Hi M.
Formula is strictly regulated, no matter who makes it. Formulas, nutrition wise, are all the same. Taste wise, they differ and your baby might like one over another.

I used generic with my 2 youngest (4 & 2) and they were just fine. We used the Target Brand.

I too was uncertain at first. I asked my pediatrician and she said Sams club brand is the same as the brand name. I used Sams club brand for both of my boys and it still was expensive even though it was half the price of the brand name. But I guess $20 compared to $32 saves money.

M.,

I breastfed until 6 months for my first son (and doing still for my 5 month old), so I was pretty naive when it came to formula when it was time to use it. At first, I only bought the brand name, premade, liquid form (most expensive...duh!). As I realized the cost and I started to do some research, I ended up changing to powder-form Similac.

As I learned more (lol), I ended up trying the Target brand and what I did was mix it 1/2 and 1/2 with the brand name. We pretty much stuck with that until we switched to whole milk. I didn't need the brand name, but for some SILLY reason I felt bad using generic. I can tell you that if I use formula with my second son, it will be generic (unless there is a medical reason).

T.

According to my Dr., as long as it had iron in it, it was fine. I breastfeed and when I do supplement formula I always use the store brand. I also use the store brand diapers...let me tell you I save a lot of money.

i know i am responding late but i have not had a chance to check emails. i do want to tell you that a nurse that I know works in the intensive care unit (baby) and they use the cosco brand and if they use that one why wouldnt you. They all have the same things in them
I hope this helps. Look at the lable.
M.

I personally have not used the generic brand of formula as of yet. I am still currently breastfeeding my daughter. However, friends of mine were very please with the Walmart brand formula. She had done all the comparisons between formulas and Parent's Choice had everything the name brands did. She did say that one thing was a slightly higher like a % or 2 of what the nutritional value is. If that makes sense. I fully intend to use generic formula when the time comes, unless there becomes a problem, but from a money stand point, go for it. Good Luck to you.

By all means, don't feel guilty about using generic formula. We used Kirkland (Costco generic) formula for our twin boys; I compared the ingredients between Kirkland and the leading brands (Enfamil and Similac), and they were identical. When you use Enfamil and Similac, the only thing you're paying extra for is the marketing behind the brand.

I used Nestle Good Start for my first and Parent's Choice for my second. They are both as healthy as can be!! I plan to use Parent's Choice with my third if I don't breastfeed for a year!

My pediatrician recommended Sam's Choice formula. Said it was actually slightly better than the big name brands when it comes to vitamins, DHA, etc. But told me to steer clear of other generics if I could.

My doc described the difference between the formulas as the difference between pepsi and coca cola. they are all much of a muchness, despite what the companies want you to think.

I know this question is from a long time ago, but I wanted to tell anyone else who may be looking into this same thing. Store Brands are just as good, if not better than the national name brands. I don't use the word "generic" because honestly, there is no such thing when talking about infant formula. The FDA has very strict regulations on infant formula manufacturers, requiring all of them to create the formula following specific nutritional guidelines. They are all made nutritionally equal, and thus parent's can buy the much less expensive store brands, and know that their baby is getting all the same nutrients that they would have with a national name brand that costs almost double the price.
I did a comparison shop blog post comparing prices of infant formulas at Sam's Club. I added everything up... It's crazy.. Check it out here: http://www.mommybrainlife.com/storebrandvsnamebrand/

You can also check out the Parent's Choice formula calculator here: http://www.parentschoiceformula.com/baby-formula-savings-...

Hi my name is L. and I have a 1 and a half and 2 year old. I use to get coupons for milk at a program called WIC and it was for similac advanced. The cans were $15 a pop, but the coupons covered them. My advise to you keep buying the generic cans because it will save you money. The brand name milk is so expensive because you pay for the fancy labels, but if I were you I wouldn't feel bad about the generic milk they have the same ingredients

We switched to Sam's Club brand formula around four months old and it was one of the best decisions. We noticed no difference and it only costs $20 for a can twice as big as the other brands.