Reviews: Kroger Co. Family of Brands

The Kroger company is not only made up of a family of stores like Fred Meyer, QFC, Ralphs, Food 4 Less, and Foods Co. to name a few but they also carry a large family of brands like Kroger, Private Selection, Simple Truth, and PSST to name a few.

So let's meet the whole family or at least some of them.  From the Fresh Produce, Meat and Seafood Sections to the Frozen Foods Aisle and everywhere in-between, you’ll find hundreds of delicious options in every Kroger Co. store:

Kroger Brand
The classic Kroger Brand has you covered with the products you love most in every section of your local store.

Private Selection
Each Private Selection item has been carefully crafted to delight your senses — from the artisanal breads and cheeses to prime meat cuts and decadent desserts.

Simple Truth & Simple Truth Organic
Every Simple Truth product is free from 101+ artificial preservatives and ingredients — taking the worry out of what’s in your food.

HemisFares
Kroger’s culinary explorers traveled the globe to bring you an extraordinary collection of authentic, regional food specialties.

Everyday Low Price Brands
On a tight budget? Look for P$$T…, Check This Out... and Heritage Farm items throughout your local store to discover great prices on everyday essentials.




I was really excited to be invited to another BzzCampaign for Kroger.  So once I received the invitation I quickly signed up.  Once the package arrived I quickly opened it up to see all of the goodies.  Inside the package were the following products (pictured above):
- Kroger Brand Tomatillo Lime Flavored Tortillas, Taco Size, 8 Flour Tortillas (12.2 oz)
- Private Selection Coffee, Breakfast Blend Mild Ground Coffee (12 oz)
- Simple Truth Organic Banana Chips (5.5 oz)
- P$$T… Brownie Mix (10.25 oz)
- Free Private Selection Bacon
- Free HemisFares Orrechiette
- Free Kroger Brand Mexican Sauces
- (3) $5 off $10 Kroger Family of Brands Products, $0.75 off Kroger Brand Flavored Tortillas or Flavored Taco Shells, $1.50 off Private Selection Whole Bean or Ground Coffee, $0.75 off Simple Truth Banana Chips, $0.25 off P$$T Brownie Mix, $1 off Private Selection Bacon, $1 ff HemisFares Dry Pasta, and $0.75 off Kroger Brand Mexican Sauces



The first product I got to try was the Simple Truth Organic Banana Chips.  I loved their very simple ingredients list (organic bananas, organic coconut oil, and organic evaporated cane juice).  What I didn't like is that these are not low in calories (210 calories) or fat (13g fat and 12g saturated fat) for just one serving.  By the way, my picture to the left is two servings.  I found these to be very crunchy which I wasn't too fond of.  They had a very mild banana taste and I would of preferred a stronger one.  They also felt a little too oily.  However, they did taste good and I did like them.  Plus you can reseal the package to enjoy the banana chips for another day.


I had previously tried the Private Selection Center Cut Bacon last year in November and my feelings for them have not changed.  I baked them again which I will continue to do each time I make bacon.  This bacon comes out crispy on the edges whiling staying soft in the center (at least for how long I baked it).  It also tasted really good and smelled even better.  The picture to the left is what the bacon looked like after I baked it.  I will admit I didn't pat the bacon with a paper towel as much this time so they ended up being a little too greasy but other than that they came out very yummy.


I went to the store to try and redeem the free product coupon for the Kroger Brand Mexican Sauces but for some reason my store didn't carry it.  I even asked one of the store managers to help me locate it in the store and he couldn't find it either.  So instead he was very kind and let me redeem my coupon for another product he thought was of similar value and selected the Frontera Classic Fajita Skillet Sauce with Chipolte + Lime.  At first I thought this was a Kroger brand but it does not look to be so I wasn't able to try out the Kroger Brand Mexican Sauces.  As for the Kroger Brand Tomatillo Lime Flavored Tortillas that I used with my fajitas they were good.  They were nice and soft and had an interesting flavor to them since they were lime flavored.  The picture above are the very simple chicken fajitas with stewed tomatoes using the Frontera Classic Fajita Skillet Sauce with Chipolte + Lime and Kroger Brand Tomatillo Lime Flavored Tortillas.  The meal turned out really good and my husband loved them.  By the way, if you don't use up all of the tortillas you can reseal the package!


Later that night I made P$$T Brownie Mix.  When I opened the package that everything came in all of the products were covered in a light brown dust.  I wasn't sure what it was until I noticed that the brownie mix had a small tear on the back of the package.  I took tape and sealed up the tear and then wiped off the dust from the products.  Even though the package was damaged I still wanted to make these brownies since I haven't had brownies in a rather long time.  The brownies were very easy to make and I like to grease the pan a lot, especially on the sides because it makes the edges of the brownies a little more crisp which my husband loves.  The picture above is the 8 x 8 inch pan of the P$$T Brownie Mix after it has been baked.  Now these are not thick brownies, in fact they are as thin as the brownie pictured on their package.  These brownies came out really good.  They were nice and soft and the flavor of the chocolate was yummy.  I really enjoyed trying out these brownies.


I almost forgot about the HemisFares Orrechiette Little Ear Shaped Pasta.  So I quickly decided to make a tuna salad with this pasta.  Even though I used up all of the pasta for our meal, I like how the package is resealable and easy to open.  As I was cooking the pasta I didn't take the time to separate the pasta so they tended to stick to each other and caused the pasta to cook unevenly.  None the less it still turned out well.  The picture to the left is what my tuna salad turned out.  I used HemisFares Orrechiette Little Ear Shaped Pasta, tuna, mayonnaise, hot dog relish, and celery all seasoned to my taste.  The tuna salad turned out good and I really liked the taste of the HemisFares Orrechiette Little Ear Shaped Pasta.


The last product to review was the Private Selection Breakfast Blend Mild Ground Coffee.  However, since I'm not a coffee drinker and I really wanted to gift this to my mom this summer when I see her since she enjoys drinking coffee.  I decided to not to try the coffee or have my husband take it to work with him like I did with the previous Private Selection coffee I tried in December '12.  When I had him try it then he said it was alright and one of his coworkers thought it was good.  So I'm sure it is good coffee to drink.



If you'd like to learn more about Kroger Co. Family of Brands you can visit the Kroger website to discover all that they make and carry.



Disclaimer:  I am a BzzAgent and was given a Kroger Co. Family of Brands BzzKit (Kroger Brand Tomatillo Lime Flavored Tortillas, Private Selection Coffee, Simple Truth Banana Chips, P$$T… Brownie Mix, Free Private Selection Bacon, Free HemisFares Orrechiette, Free Kroger Brand Mexican Sauces, (3) $5 off $10 Kroger Family of Brands Products, $0.75 off Kroger Brand Flavored Tortillas or Flavored Taco Shells, $1.50 off Private Selection Whole Bean or Ground Coffee, $0.75 off Simple Truth Banana Chips, $0.25 off P$$T Brownie Mix, $1 off Private Selection Bacon, $1 ff HemisFares Dry Pasta, and $0.75 off Kroger Brand Mexican Sauces) to help me write this review.  The opinions in this post are mine and not influenced in any way.  My experience with the products may be different than yours.