Target is a one-stop shop for everything from housewares to hummus, with devotees of the big box store praising its low prices and wide variety of products. However, it's not just inexpensive grocery shopping and designer collaborations that have earned it such an avid following. Target is similarly beloved for its high-quality generic options, which run the gamut from food to fashion.
So, what should you add to your cart the next time you hit the Bullseye? Read on to discover the Target generic products shoppers can't live without.
Best Life's editors have scoured the internet to bring you the best products out there, and we're hoping you'll love them as much as we do. Full disclosure: we may earn a commission for anything you purchase through links on this page, but that doesn't mean you'll pay more for them (we'd never do that to you!). Pricing and availability are accurate as of the piece's initial publication date, but it's the internet and we can't guarantee that these sweet, sweet deals will last forever, so scoop them up before someone else does!
According to the testers at the Good Housekeeping Institute, the Up&Up Ultra Soft Tissues are some of the best when it comes to bargain brands. After testing the tissues, the Institute found that they were thick, soft, and durable—even against "strong blowers" who need a tough tissue.
There's no need to spend more money on name-brand mouthwashes. Though it's easier to trust the quality and efficacy of a brand like Listerine over anything generic, several of Target's dental health products actually have the American Dental Association's seal of approval. Such products include the Up&Up Anticavity Fluoride Mouth Rinse, the Up&Up Kids' Anticavity Flouride Rinse, and the Up&Up Antiseptic Mouth Rinse.
According to the experts over at Consumer Reports, the Up&Up Sport SPF 30 sunscreen provides "excellent" UVB protection and "very good" UVA protection, both of which are necessary in order to prevent sun damage side effects like wrinkles and skin cancer. And seeing as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates the entire sunscreen industry—generic brands included—you can trust that any sunscreen you buy at Target is going to keep you safe from the scorching sun.
Babies—or their parents, at least—are big fans of Target's Up&Up diapers. Even the experts at the Good Housekeeping Institute gave the diapers a solid 4.5-star rating, noting that they had "excellent absorption speed" and "little to no fluid release."
"Many of the cheaper sets we tested for our cotton sheets guide felt scratchy or cheap, but not the Threshold Performance 400 Thread Count Sheet Set," wrote New York Times review site The Wirecutter about Target's exclusive savings-friendly sheets. "In our tests they performed better than sets four times the price."
The Project 62 Round Decorate Brass Wall Mirror is like the Beyoncé of Target store-brand products. Elegant and adaptable, the gold-rimmed mirror has a cult following and is touted as one of Target's best in-house home accessories—and at just $60, it's easy to see why devotees call it the "perfect mirror."
Women swear by this staple tank courtesy of Target's in-house brand A New Day. It's cheap, it's sleek, it's a good length, and it comes in a bunch of fun colors—really, what more could you ask for from a tank top?
Critics and consumers alike go nuts—pun intended—for Target's Archer Farms Trail Mix. The "flavorful" medley, as Consumer Reports described it, is on par with similar name-brand snacks, and online reviews rave that the savings-friendly snack is "addictive" and "everything you love in one bag."
All it takes is a quick look at the ingredients on Target's Up&Up Acetaminophen caplets to realize they're the exact same product as name-brand Tylenol. And seeing as 100 tablets of Target's store-brand medication costs just $2 compared to anywhere from $10 to $12 for the same amount of regular Tylenol, the fiscally responsible move is to go with the generic product.
Some generic ketchups are watery and lack in flavor, but Target's isn't one of them. In an elaborate taste test, Consumer Reports even ranked the store-brand condiment on the same level as Heinz, noting that its flavor profile was "remarkably similar" to the popular name-brand product.
"The archer farms [sic] frozen snack foods are pretty [dang] good, IMO," wrote one user on a Reddit thread about the best Target buys. If you're hosting company, these Greek-inspired spanakopita pastries are a great option—and only $5!
If you like the sound of a peas, corn, green beans, and carrots melange, then you'll love Target's Market Pantry Frozen Mixed Vegetables. And don't worry about the quality of Target's veggies: according to Consumer Reports, the store's frozen medley is just as good as Birds Eye's, but at a lower price point.
Out of all of Target's California Roots wines, the $5 Red Blend is by far one of the most popular and praised. In fact, when Vine Pair gathered up a panel of professional sommeliers, even they were "impressed" by the "balanced and complex" sip!
Though name-brand ice creams are certainly delicious, they can definitely be pricey. A better alternative? Target's Market Pantry line of frozen treats. According to Consumer Reports, the store's generic offerings taste just as good as Breyers and are significantly cheaper.
Cheaper and "even better" in the taste department than leading brands, Market Pantry's flavored tortilla chips are one of Target's most popular generic products. One consumer even noted on Target's site that though they were "skeptical" about trying a generic dupe, they actually found these chips to be "better" thanks to a seasoning that is "distributed evenly over each chip."
There's a lot to love about Target's organic Good & Gather Maple Syrup. Not only is it a favorite among customers, it's earned an Environmental Working Group score of four, meaning there are low concerns about its ingredients and processing.
Tuna fish is tuna fish, regardless of who packages it. In fact, when Chowhound gathered together some editors to compare the taste of Market Pantry Tuna to Starkist Tuna, they found that they were "too similar to tell apart."
The only difference between Target's brownie bites and those of other brands is the price. Otherwise, the two look the same, taste the same, feel the same, and, well, are the same in basically every way.
When fresh blueberries are out of season, shoppers flock to Target to stock up on the Good & Gather Wild Blueberries. The store's frozen wild blueberries are a great alternative when fresh fruit is overpriced or unavailable—and since they contain no added sugar, you're essentially getting the same product you would from the fresh produce section.
In all honesty, it's hard to tell one tortilla chip apart from another, especially when it's covered in a dip like salsa or guacamole. So the next time you're prepping to host a big party, opt for Target's Market Pantry Tortilla Chips instead. Not only will it save you money, but taste tests have found that the chips are the "same size, shape, color, [and] taste" as Tostitos.
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