[ryandrake]

Pretty scary how many people get fooled by "premium" branding. Think about what made you think that Boars Head was "premium". Was there any evidence that their meats were higher than average quality, that didn't ultimately come from the company itself? Or was it all their product positioning, price, what stores they were found in and so on (in other words, Marketing).

[sandyarmstrong]

Compared to other brands available in the supermarket, my family finds that Boar's Head deli meats consistently taste better. There is something "cheap" that I find hard to quantify in the taste of generic grocery branded deli meats.

I'm not educated enough to know what the difference is here, but I don't think the fact that Boar's Head costs more is entirely a marketing device.

[mock-possum]

> There is something "cheap" that I find hard to quantify in the taste of generic grocery branded deli meats.

They tend to be watery and under seasoned. I can only assume it’s to make them as inoffensive as possible to accommodate the widest possible audience - but there’s no character to cheap deli meat, no striking taste.

[sandyarmstrong]

Watery, yes, that's definitely a component of it!

[ToDougie]

To my unsophisticated palate, Boar's Head tastes like it has less filler. Will never purchase their product ever again. The findings were so egregious, it makes my blood boil.

[AlexandrB]

Not to discount your experience, but taste is so context sensitive and subjective that just believing that you're consuming a higher quality product is often enough to make it "taste better". There's a great Penn & Teller's Bullshit episode that illustrates this phenomenon for fancy water[1].

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2qydjVbLJk

[sandyarmstrong]

Yup, that's completely true. But as somebody who typically prefers to buy "cheap" brands, and is usually completely satisfied by them, the fact that I experience such a wide gulf between Boar's Head and other brands makes me think it's not a marketing mind trick.

[poulsbohemian]

Ryan - You aren't wrong, but I'd note that in my local grocery stores, it's generic brands and your Smithfield / Oscar Mayer / Hormel in the cold case. You find Boar's Head at the in-store deli, sliced to order, and priced higher. So the illusion of premium here extends beyond marketing dress.

[cdchn]

I honestly thought Boars Head tasted better and offered more variety than other brands, but then again I never did a blind taste test. It could have all been affected by their marketing. They do a LOT to separate their products from other deli meat - even down to having separate displays and even cooler units.