Walmart’s Great Value brand has been around since 1993, offering budget-friendly alternatives to name-brand products. But lately, shoppers are saying they’re done with it. And honestly, after seeing what people have found in their packages, it’s pretty easy to understand why they’re so upset about it.
Moldy deli meat gets put on sale
A TikTok user named Bex posted a video from a Tennessee Walmart that went super viral. She found Great Value turkey breast marked as a “Manager’s Special” for $5, down from $8.38. Sounds like a deal, right? But when she picked up the package, it had white, black, and blue mold spots all over the side. The video got over 52,900 views in less than three days, and people were totally disgusted by what they saw.
And this isn’t the first time it’s happened. Another shopper, Jazzmyn Alexis, found moldy Great Value Black Forest ham that had expired back in May but was still on the shelf in late July. I mean, how does that even happen? People in the comments blamed Walmart employees for not checking products before putting them out, with some workers saying they’re just told to stock items without inspecting them first.
Great Value cheese doesn’t last
After trying the Great Value cheese, shoppers on Reddit said they found mold in packages that weren’t even close to the expiration date. One person posted about finding mold in their cheese when it wasn’t supposed to expire until November. The response from other shoppers was basically unanimous: never buy Great Value cheese. Not even once.
“Never ever ever buy Great Value cheese. Any of it. Pure garbage,” one commenter wrote. And that’s kind of the general sentiment you see across multiple products in this line. People aren’t just disappointed—they’re actively warning others to stay away from these items completely.
The fake Velveeta situation
Great Value’s version of Velveeta, called Melt’n Dip Easy Melt Cheese, gets tons of complaints. Shoppers say it doesn’t taste right and the texture is totally off compared to the real thing. One person on Reddit said they grew up buying mostly Great Value products, but the fake Velveeta was so bad they’ll pay extra for the name brand every single time now.
But here’s what nobody talks about—sometimes these store brands are made in the same factories as name brands. They just use different recipes or quality standards. So you’re getting a product that looks similar but tastes way different. At least that’s what it seems like with this cheese product.
Ice cream sandwiches with no flavor
The Great Value Vanilla Flavored Ice Cream Sandwiches are another product people say they’ll never buy again. Shoppers complained that they have basically no taste and the ice cream has a weird, off-putting texture. One person said they threw away half a box because both they and their husband hated them so much. Why does the texture feel so strange? Nobody seems to know, but enough people have complained about it that it’s become a common issue.
Pop-Tarts that taste like dust
Great Value’s version of Pop-Tarts gets absolutely roasted by customers. The main complaint is that the crust is flavorless, dry, and dusty. People say once you try a real Pop-Tart after eating the Great Value version, the difference is like night and day. And honestly, when you’re buying something that’s supposed to be a treat, the last thing you want is for it to taste like cardboard.
“Great value Pop Tarts are the most disgusting things you’ll ever have compared to name brand,” one person wrote on Reddit. Another person agreed, saying it’s mostly the crust that ruins the whole experience. The filling might be okay, but if the outside part tastes terrible, it doesn’t really matter what’s inside.
Bandages that won’t stick to anything
Equate is Walmart’s health and beauty brand, and their bandages are apparently useless. Multiple shoppers said the Equate Antibacterial Assorted Bandages don’t stick at all, not even for 30 seconds. One person said they were bleeding from a glass cut and went through seven bandages because the blood kept leaking out. That’s pretty scary when you think about it.
A Walmart employee even commented that the store doesn’t use Equate bandages in their own first aid kits—they stock Band-Aid brand instead. If that doesn’t tell you everything you need to know about the quality, I don’t know what does. When employees won’t even use the products they sell, that’s a huge red flag.
Pizza rolls that smell like burnt rubber
The Great Value Pepperoni Pizza Snack Rolls got some brutal reviews. Shoppers said they smell like burnt rubber or something equally gross. One person simply wrote “Never pizza rolls” when asked about Great Value products to avoid. Another agreed, saying the smell alone was enough to keep them from ever buying them again. And the smell thing is interesting because it suggests something might be off with how they’re made or what ingredients are used.
Aluminum foil with dirt rolled into it
One shopper had a super disturbing experience with Great Value aluminum foil. They said when they touched it, their hand came away grey. Even after pulling out a bunch from the roll, it was still dirty—like actual dirt was rolled into the foil during manufacturing. How hard is it to keep aluminum foil clean? That seems like pretty basic quality control.
Other people complained that the foil is way too thin and rips easily, so you end up using more of it anyway. One reviewer said it doesn’t fold easily either, which makes it basically useless for covering dishes properly. At that point, you’re not saving money if you have to use twice as much foil to get the job done.
Ranch dressing that tastes sweet
The Great Value Classic Ranch Salad Dressing gets complaints for tasting sweet, which is definitely not what you want from ranch. “Great Value ranch is an abomination. It’s sweet??” one confused shopper wrote on Reddit. Another person said it tastes like rancid oil with just a hint of ranch powder mixed in. Not exactly appetizing. The last time I tried it, the texture seemed off too, kind of watery compared to other brands.
Some people can’t afford to be picky about brands, though. One commenter pointed out that when you’re feeding a family on $300 a month, you can’t exactly turn your nose up at store brand products. That’s a fair point. But if the quality is bad enough that people would rather go without, maybe that says something about how these products are made.
Walmart hasn’t really responded to most of these complaints publicly. The quality control issues seem to keep happening, though, which makes people wonder if anything’s actually going to change. For now, lots of shoppers are just avoiding Great Value altogether and sticking with brands they trust.
