When you shop for goods, one of the first things you notice is the brand name. One company is trying to disrupt this norm: Brandless.
This company prides itself on not having a brand, being all online, and having every item cost $3. They believe that not having a brand name saves the consumer money by not having to pay what they call BrandTax. That’s why none of their packing has a giant brand emblazoned on it.
After hearing about this “niche” brand on like Facebook, I wanted to try it out. Being the broke college student that I am, the thought of buying groceries and necessities — each priced at $3 — really sold the deal for me. So, I caved and bought a lot of stuff. Read on to see reviews of everything I bought — including food, kitchen supplies and body care products!
Silicone Measuring Cups
These cups are great. They’re collapsible, which means the whole set doesn’t take up a lot of space, it’s easy to figure out what size they are because of big lettering, and the silicone acts as a great jar opener for when those jelly jars are too hard.
Organic Virgin Coconut Oil
The second I smelled this stuff, I was like, “This is amazing.” It semlls like cookies, and I love it. This is my first time buying coconut oil, and I certainly don’t regret it. I put it on my face every night and my face feels great. If it wasn’t oil, I would honestly eat this stuff up.
Foaming Hand Soap – Eucalyptus & Lavender
I got the Eucalyptus & Lavender scented hand soap, and let me tell you, it smells great. Sure, it isn’t as foamy as you might want, but it makes my hands feel great. They feel clean because the soap is very concentrated and full of essential oils.
Organic Agave Nectar
I wanted to try their agave because I love putting it in my tea. Like the coconut oil, I wanted to eat all of this up, but I had to exercise self-control again. It’s sweet, and you get so much for it just being $3. Highly recommend!
Thai Peanut Cooking Sauce
I love peanut sauce, and once I got this, I could not stop putting this on my ramen. I even bought more ramen because of it. I also tried it with fried chicken, and it was *dank.* Yes, please!
Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil
It’s the simple things that are the best in life, right? This olive oil is great, especially with white mountain bread. I found one facet of the taste is not my favorite, but overall, I liked eating and cooking with this oil.
Organic Sesame Ginger Dressing & Marinade
When I made tacos with some of the products, I used this dressing on the meat and it tasted great. This would be great on a salad, and like lot of the products on this site, you get a lot for the price.
Organic Cane Sugar
Sugar can be annoying to store, so it was really nice to see that this came with a zipper. It is sweet, and I like it when the grains are big. Also, it came straight from the cane unlike other sugars, which makes it taste way better.
Organic Turmeric
I am Bengali, and turmeric is essential to many Bengali dishes. I haven’t been able to use turmeric because it’s so expensive. Thankfully Brandless sells it and it has improved my cooking exponentially, and it tastes great.
Organic Butternut Squash Soup
Out of all of the products, this had to be my least favorite. Normally I like squash soup, but this one wasn’t up to my standards. It’s good, but it wasn’t thick enough, and I had to put salt in it.
Organic Blue Corn Taco Shells
I wanted to buy these shells to make edgy tacos, and let me tell you, they were edgy. They tasted different than regular taco shells and tasted a little bit sweet. It made taco night interesting, and I loved it.
2 Pack Lip Balm – Maple Sugar
$1.50 for lip balm is great, especially when it’s maple sugar-scented. This lip balm didn’t feel heavy on my lips unlike other lip balms, and it kept my lips from being dry for a while. I highly recommend for anyone who doesn’t want dry lips during the upcoming winter (aka everyone).
Shipping
What’s also great about Brandless is that their shipping is always at a flat rate of $5, and it’s free when you order $48 worth of products. Also, for your first order, you’ll only pay $1 for shipping, and they offer $1 shipping if you buy certain items. The shipment also came in a little less than a week, which was not bad!
Overall Reaction
Overall, I loved my Brandless experience. I’m probably going to order from them soon again, which will only slightly destroy my wallet, since the items are all so reasonably priced. I highly recommend it to anyone skeptical to online grocery shopping. It’s sleek, cool and doesn’t have a brand name that’s hyped up. It’s exactly what it says it is: Brandless.