We might buy generic trash bags or off-brand cereal or even fake handbags, but we will always stay true to the original brand of certain items. Not everything is worth the saving of a few shillings - especially if it makes us really happy. Right?

Here are a few items that must be the real deal or no deal for the OnMilwaukee editors.

Jimmy Carlton
Sports writer
Product: Old Spice

I'm no brand slave – except when it comes to my love of Aldi – but I always find myself buying Old Spice deodorant (and usually Pure Sport, or one of the other original varieties). Perhaps its Old Spice's timelessness, or its funny, creative, surrealist ad campaigns, but I don't know the last time I had deodorant that wasn't Old Spice. After all, as they say, if my grandfather hadn't used it, I wouldn't exist.

Lori Fredrich
Senior writer
Product: Hellmann’s Mayonnaise

I'm the sort of eater who's always trying something new, so brand loyalty in my world is often a moving target. After all, if I try a new brand of [insert product here] and it turns out to be even more delicious  than my mainstay, I'm pretty likely to convert. But my long-time exception has always been mayonnaise.

I was raised in a Hellmann's family, and – as these thing tend to go – I carried that loyalty into adulthood. I ate the brand without question for years, until it occurred to me: maybe there really WAS something better out there. So, a few years ago I went on a spree and I tried all sorts of different types of mayo. I was looking for something that tasted just as good (or better), but that maybe had a slightly cleaner ingredient list (soybean oil is usually on my "things to avoid" list). But every single brand failed my taste test (except Kewpie Mayo, which I love for certain applications). Some were just dull in flavor. Others were too sweet or too vinegary. Still others were just disgusting. And, in the end, I went back to Hellmann's.

More recently yet, I decided to spend a couple of weeks perfecting my own recipe for homemade mayo. After all, homemade is better. Right? Eh ... in the end I decided the time spent making my own mayo could really be spent doing something more enjoyable. Like making egg salad, elote or grilled cheese sandwiches (in a pinch, it's the best substitute for butter out there) with Hellmann's.

Molly Snyder
Senior writer / editorial manager
Product: Bedhead "After Party"

The name is bold, but the shape is even …. We’ll just say bolder. I’m not usually one to splurge on beauty products of any kind, but this hair creme is a must for me. I have naturally wavy hair that needs a good daily de-frizzing and this guy (yes this product is definitely a dude) does the trick. Best of all, a tiny bead of this product goes a long way, which helps justify the price.

Bobby Tanzilo
Senior writer
Product: Lavazza Qualita' Rossa coffee

I know I should buy my coffee for home brewing locally, but I love the memories and feeling that Lavazza Qualita' Rossa – made in Turin, Italy and the coffee of choice of my family in Piedmont – conjures when I smell it brewing and when I can tell it's ready by the tell-tale gurgling of my Bialetti Moka pot. Filling the pot also now feels like ritual to me, so you could add that I'm brand-loyal to Bialetti, too. Because Luigi Lavazza, the company's founder was from Murisengo, just a couple miles away from my family's town, I feel like I am supporting a local brand in a certain, personal sense. Anyway, I drink plenty of coffee in area cafes like Valentine, Colectivo and Stone Creek. There's plenty of java love to go around.

Jeff Sherman
President
KIND bars/bars in general

I'm pretty brand loyal, but with many of my brand favorites there simply aren't good alternatives.  But, when it comes to bars - granola, energy, power - there are almost too many options out there.  I've tried to go walk the lower cost, store-brand road but never been satisfied.  Wrong crunch, bad fruit after taste or just horrible design and packaging. So, I gotta answer this question with KIND or really any brand name bar that I buy.  KIND, Cliff, Health Warrior, Annie's and others are on my list too.  So, for me, it's no store brand bars.

Andy Tarnoff
Publisher
Kraft Macaroni and Cheese

Go ahead and laugh at my very low-brow selection, but even though I don’t eat it very often, nothing compares to brand-name Kraft Macaroni and Cheese. While I’m cool with fancier macs and cheeses, I can’t handle the ones that try to copy the radioactive cheese sauce that I’ve been eating since birth. For example, I’ve tried Annie’s gluten-free organic mac and cheese, and I find it kind of tastes like poison. I’m all for generic brands, most of the time, but I want my Kraft Mac and Cheese just like I had it in kindergarten.