The Familiar Brand Behind Costco's Kirkland Foil Wants You To Know Its Name

Kirkland may be the brand name for Costco's aluminum foil, but it's actually not the manufacturer. Chances are, you're very familiar with the real one: Reynolds. If you're a regular buyer of Kirkland foil, you may have spotted the Reynolds logo on the box alongside Kirkland's. While it may seem weird for a well-known manufacturer to distribute under a store brand, it's not an uncommon practice in the food world. For example, you can buy expensive luxury wine under the Kirkland brand, despite the wine being sourced from global distributors like Alexander Van Beek. 

Many store brand items actually share a manufacturer with name brands, meaning it's simply the same product distributed under a different name. Typically, store brands are usually more discreet about it than Kirkland and Reynolds are with aluminum foil. If you ever want to verify the manufacturer of a product, check the label.

It makes sense that Costco would want to partner with Reynolds above all others. Even though some Kirkland products are low-quality, Reynolds Wrap has often been ranked online as the best aluminum foil in terms of durability and ease of use. The brand has also been around in some shape or form since 1946, so it has had the time to become a kitchen mainstay. Having the Reynolds name on the package lends credibility to the Kirkland option and improves consumer trust in Costco.

If they're made by the same brand, then does it matter which one you buy? Surprisingly, it does. Kirkland's foils are larger than Reynolds Wrap, and because of that, they usually have a higher sticker price. However, don't let that fool you. Kirkland actually offers more bang for your buck. Let's do the math.

A box of 100 square feet of heavy-duty Reynolds wrap is less than $10 total. Meanwhile, Kirkland sells 1,000 square feet of foil for almost $57. Both are 12 inches wide. That means that Reynolds sells its wrap for approximately 10 cents per square foot. Kirkland, on the other hand, sells aluminum foil for about 6 cents per square foot. If you want more bang for your buck, then Kirkland is probably the way to go. The quality doesn't vary much between brands, especially if you're buying heavy-duty Reynolds Wrap that you can (almost) always reuse. Either way, your money is going to the same place.