Unfortunately, I was inspired to write this piece because I came down with my first cold of the fall season. In the past I have always been tempted to save a little money by buying the store brand tissues instead of a national brand like Kleenex. After all, tissues are just something that you quickly use and throw away, right?
To satisfy my curiosity I decided to buy a box of Kleenex brand tissues and a box of Great Value brand (Walmart brand) tissues to do a side by side comparison of the two. Both boxes were 120 count, two-ply, white, unscented tissues. I tested the two brands based on price, box design, durability, and comfort.
Price
Great Value tissues: 88 cents
Kleenex tissues: 97 cents
The nine cent price difference was much smaller than I thought it would be going in. I think most people believe that they are going to save a significant amount of money going with the generic brand, but Kleenex was very competitive in this category.
Box Design
I found the two box designs to be very similar. Both boxes functioned equally as well. Each box had floral patterns, and both featured pleasant designs.
Durability
To the touch the Kleenex brand tissues seemed to be a little bit thicker than the Great Value tissues. I also found that the Kleenex brand tissues seemed to be more durable, and didn’t disintegrate like the Great Value tissues sometimes did. The durability factor could be very important if you a stuck with only a few tissues and you need something that can be used more than once.
Comfort was the category that really set these two brands apart. I noticed irritation to my nose with the very first Great Value tissue that I used. The Kleenex brand tissues were much gentler, and won by a land-slide on the comfort scale.
Conclusion
Going cheap when it comes to tissues just isn’t worth it. I suggest buying Kleenex tissues over Great Value tissues if you are suffering from a cold, or bad allergies. Great Value brand would be sufficient only if you wanted to have a box around the house, but you didn’t need the tissues on a regular basis. Otherwise you will probably go through more tissues in less time with the Great Value Brand, eliminating the benefit of the lower price.
