Additional Coverage:
- I compared Costco shopping carts of Kirkland Signature products and brand names. The price differences surprised me. (businessinsider.com)
Kirkland Signature: Your Wallet’s Best Friend at Costco? We Crunched the Numbers!
**Local Shoppers, Listen Up! ** We all know Costco is a go-to for bulk buys and often better unit prices than your everyday grocery store.
But what if we told you there’s a “cheat code” to even bigger savings hidden right in the aisles? We’re talking about the legendary Kirkland Signature brand.
This isn’t just any store brand; Kirkland Signature is a colossal force, raking in roughly a third of Costco’s whopping $267 billion in worldwide sales last year. From gasoline to gourmet cheese, this brand is everywhere, and a recent deep dive into pricing suggests it’s a serious contender for your hard-earned cash.
Our intrepid local journalist recently embarked on a mission to a Costco warehouse, armed with a calculator and a keen eye for a bargain. The goal? To pit Kirkland Signature products against their national brand counterparts and see where the real savings lie.
The Shopping Cart Showdown
Focusing on 17 representative items that were close matches in terms of function and key ingredients, two imaginary shopping carts were filled: one exclusively with national brands, the other with Kirkland Signature.
The results were eye-opening! The national brand cart totaled a hefty $297.
The Kirkland Signature cart? A much more wallet-friendly $215 – that’s a $72 difference right off the bat!
But the savings truly amplified when adjusting for actual pack sizes, pushing the Kirkland cart down to an effective $186, translating to a phenomenal **37% overall savings, or $111! **
Where Kirkland Signature Really Shines
The pharmacy section emerged as a major MVP for savings. Over-the-counter essentials like allergy pills, cold medicine, and pain relievers offered some of the most dramatic price differences.
Let’s break down some of the star savers, ranked by unit price savings:
- Allergy Medication: A shocking 89% less per tablet compared to its national brand rival (think Zyrtec!).
- Cold and Flu Medication: Save around 83% per caplet with the Kirkland alternative to NyQuil.
- Tortilla Chips: Prepare to be surprised! Kirkland Signature’s bag is twice as heavy, leading to a 62% lower per-ounce price than Tostitos.
- Pain Medication: Kirkland’s acetaminophen is about half the price per gel cap as Tylenol, even with Tylenol discounts.
- Bottled Water: A 40-pack of Kirkland Signature water is $4, while Ice Mountain costs $7 – a 43% savings.
- Fiber Supplement: Roughly one-third less per serving than comparable national brands.
- Batteries: Kirkland AA batteries come in at $0.35 each, a third less than Duracell.
- Cheddar Cheese: Save $1.20 per pound with Kirkland Signature over Tillamook.
- Snack Bars: Similar to Kind bars in ingredients and serving size, Kirkland Signature offers eight more bars for roughly the same shelf price, a 27% relative saving.
- Facial Tissue: A 12-pack of Kirkland Signature tissues offers a 25% savings over Kleenex.
- Plastic Storage Bags: Kirkland Signature freezer bags are about 25% less per unit than Ziploc, offering more bags for a similar shelf price.
- Sugar: While you’ll buy a 10-pound bag, Kirkland Signature organic cane sugar offers a tidy $1.20 per pound, leading to an effective $1.70 saving overall.
- Whole Bean Coffee: Heavy coffee drinkers rejoice!
Kirkland Signature Colombian beans are about 13% less than Starbucks Pike Place roast – essentially getting eight bags for the price of seven.
- Organic Chicken Nuggets: Even with Costco’s lean towards organic, Kirkland Signature frozen organic nuggets are about 11% cheaper than a similar Just Bare product.
- Laundry Detergent: Kirkland Signature’s “free and clear” option closely matches a similar All product in unit price, with a slightly smaller pack size and lower shelf price.
- Apple Sauce Pouches: While the unit price is the same as GoGo Squeeze, the Kirkland version is organic, making it a value decision for shoppers.
The Lone Exception
Our intrepid journalist even managed to find one functionally matching product where the national brand narrowly beat Kirkland Signature: Palmolive dish soap. At $0.088 per ounce, it edged out Kirkland Signature’s $0.089 per ounce, a tiny $0.074 saving in favor of Palmolive.
The Bottom Line
After years of covering retail and a self-professed obsession with store brands, our journalist was genuinely surprised by the sheer impact of these numbers. Making a few simple choices in the Costco aisles, opting for Kirkland Signature, can significantly lighten the load on your wallet. It seems the “cheat code” to maximizing savings at Costco is truly just a Kirkland Signature away!