Dips are a classic snack for any type of gathering, whether sports-watching parties, hanging out with family and friends in the backyard, or just keeping kids happy before dinner. The goal here is to please as many as possible while offering something distinct and moreish. The most appealing dips taste homemade, include quality ingredients, and have a texture and flavor that satisfies everyone.

Target’s Good & Gather brand Buffalo-Style Chicken Dip makes everyone happy

Good & Gather tastes as good as homemade, making it a crowd-pleaser:

• Quality ingredients you can see, smell, and taste
• A creamy texture perfect for dipping
• Mild heat level that still tastes like buffalo sauce

Kroger’s Private Selection brand Buffalo Style Chicken Dip is premium, but niche

Private Selection is a tasty, quality dip perfect for spice enthusiasts:

• White meat chicken stands out as premium and contributes to a chunkier texture
• Authentic buffalo sauce flavor brings too much heat for a group, but is more appreciated by people who like to eat dips alone

And the winner is ….

Good & Gather! This brand is the closest to homemade and the easy choice for the largest group of people. So what exactly have they done so right to tick all these boxes?

Most people buy a premade dip when they don’t have time to make it themselves or need a quick snack to feed a diverse group of people. Let’s take a look at each brand’s approach.

Good & Gather’s brand promise: “Making it easy to eat well everyday”

The Good & Gather dip fits its brand promise by being easier for the shopper and the consumer:

• Easy to find and shop with a strong shelf set and bright packaging
• Easy to understand packaging with inclusive imagery and serving suggestions
• Easy to eat with quality ingredients, layered flavors, creamy texture, and balanced heat that suits all ages and palates

Being easy to eat for more people is truly where Good & Gather excels over Private Selection.

Good & Gather’s buffalo-style chicken dip exemplifies what its store brand stands for. By being easy to find, buy, and eat, consumers can continue to trust the Good & Gather brand and its products while serving the purpose of buying premade.

Private Selection’s brand promise: “Next level flavor without the fuss”

The Private Selection dip partially fits with its brand promise, using elevated ingredients for “next level” flavor, but lacks “without the fuss:”

• Tricky to find and shop for with dark packaging and limited product assortment
• Descriptive imagery but no serving suggestions
• Next level flavor with authentic buffalo taste & spice level, and chunky texture that highlights the white meat chicken, but alienates some consumers who don’t like the texture or heat level

Depending on who is buying and eating the dip, Private Selection may not only miss the mark on its brand promise, but may disappoint consumers looking for a dip everyone enjoys.

Being easy to find is part of Good & Gather’s brand promise and helps the brand differentiate.

Good & Gather dips are shelved together, each with a colorful label that hints at flavor.

The product assortment is striking and makes it easy to find the dips, while the label color leads shoppers to the flavor they want.

Good & Gather’s packaging and placement makes it more likely to discover a dip when shoppers are looking for it - and even when they aren’t intentionally searching for it.

Private Selection’s black labeling blends in with shelving, making it hard to locate.

Private Selection is often shelved with limited SKUs, sinking into the backdrop of products that have breadth and colorful labeling.

The packaging and placement are less likely to be organically discovered. In fact, one shopper had to dig to find a dip that wasn’t expired.

Private Selection does have an advantage of size. Although both dip tubs have the same amount of product, the Private Selection tub is taller, helping it differentiate from hummus and shorter tubs of dips.

Being easily located - whether purposefully looking or just chanced upon - is essential for a convenience product to maintain its convenience status. Packaging color and breadth and depth of product assortment work hardest to direct shoppers to the brand.

Taste and authenticity increase value

Both dips are seen as being less expensive than buying all of the ingredients to make their own buffalo chicken dip. However, when shopping, value is questioned compared to other products nearby like hummus. Because this dip contains chicken, it is expected to cost more than hummus and salsa but has to stay near to the price range of those neighboring products.

After tasting, both dips are considered a good value. Consumers notice the quality of the ingredients and how the dips meet or exceed their expectations for a store brand.

Good & Gather’s lower cost makes it easier for more people to enjoy

Less expensive than Private Selection, the Good & Gather brand continues to be easy, its price accessible to more people ($3.49-$5.59). The Private Selection brand is often considered a good value given its quality ingredients ($4.49-$5.99), but there is a price ceiling that some consumers won’t touch.

The higher price of Private Selection seems more reasonable to those consumers who believe the tub is larger than Good & Gather.

Being a store brand requires these products to be less expensive than national brands, but the added value comes in being less expensive than making their own while still having homemade qualities.

Both tubs are tough to open

Good & Gather’s tub uses a tab mechanism to seal it, with no plastic film. Consumers seemed unfamiliar with the tab and struggled to figure out how to open the tub - some for 2-3 minutes.

Private Selection’s tub has a standard lid but uses a plastic film that is also difficult to open, typically requiring a knife to cut through the seal.

While the seal of both tubs was appreciated for keeping a meat- and dairy-based dip fresh, opening both tubs detracts from the premise of being convenient.

Both dips have informative images and descriptions, but the Good & Gather package goes beyond to build trust with more meaningful and expressive images and words. Unfortunately, both packages are hard to open, making them less convenient.

Good & Gather’s label sets clear expectations

Good & Gather provides plenty of information to make it easy for consumers to see what’s in it and how to use it. Private Selection’s label provides less information, but grabs attention with its claim of white meat chicken, making it seem more premium.

With a dip that has origins in being homemade, the packaging needs to exemplify that homemade quality. As a store brand, the packaging needs to display comparative quality. As something to feed everyone, the packaging needs to be descriptive.

Good & Gather’s smooth texture, layers of flavor, and just-right heat make it a favorite for feeding a group. While Private Selection’s buffalo-style chicken dip is tasty, its heat level and chunky texture are best for individual snacking.

Good & Gather: flavor for all

We saw more women preferring Good & Gather’s dip for its all-around appeal and similarity to homemade:

• Smooth texture from flavors that are favorite staples in their homes: cream cheese and ranch dressing
• Quality ingredients that are better for their families: white meat chicken, no artificial flavors/preservatives/synthetic colors
• Spice that adds a layer to the flavor, but calms down: perfect for any heat tolerance, including kids
• Being close to homemade lightens their load

Private Selection: table for one

We observed more men preferring Private Selection’s dip for its buffalo wing authentic heat. This can limit interest to consumers who buy dips just for themselves, but owning that space is an option to consider.

• Big chunks of chicken feel hearty
• Authentic buffalo sauce flavor replicates the real thing
• Intense heat works perfect for them - and they don’t have to share

Both dips have quality ingredients and great taste, and they’re perfect for different audiences. But the Good & Gather dip has greater potential because of its ability to be tasty for more people.

Good & Gather has the perfect blend of ingredients and spices to be a frequent guest at gatherings

• Tastes just like homemade with quality ingredients that are blended to perfection and mild heat that gives it just enough buffalo flavor
• Saves time, effort, and money compared to homemade and national brands
• Easy to find in the store, good value pricing

Private Selection is authentic, but is better in smaller settings

• Quality ingredients that come together for an authentic buffalo wing flavor make it great as a personal snack
• Saves time, effort, and money compared to national brands
• Harder to find in the store, less value pricing

Private Selection is preferred by those who love authentic flavor, but more consumers were likely to purchase Good & Gather because of its easygoing, enjoyable flavor.

Store brands have the ability to become a favorite when they succeed at meeting or exceeding expectations, are good value, easy to purchase, and most importantly, keep those they’re feeding content.

Store bought, private label dips compete not only with national brands, but with favorite recipes. To consider an entry into this category, evaluate current competition and ensure store brand products meet or exceed the experience of homemade or national brands.

Established brands in this category - or any similar situation with store brand dupes - need to keep a keen eye on the category and take a look at how their brands approach solving the consumer need. In this case, watching how Good & Gather’s dips make it easy for consumers to find and serve a quality, crowd pleasing product that saves them time and money.