I have been buying the generic versions for a while because they are cheaper and still have the same nutritional value, but guess what? Now those versions are disappearing! My main store Jewel does not have them any more. Target rarely has them in stock and even when they do, they are still expensive. I even had to go to Walmart which had their own version which I don't like as much and it's still like $7.00 there.
They have them online at stores such as Amazon, but the prices are not much cheaper.
I don't know if the price of ingredients is going up or what, but the overall cost is becoming too expensive. Sometimes you can find Ensure coupons. A while back I had some good ones, $3 off a 6 pack, but those coupons are not around anymore.
UPDATE 11-23-11
I just went to Jewel and the store brand is back in stock, the only thing is they changed the packaging type from can to carton. I'm glad to see they didn't do away with it all together.
After trying the new version in the carton, I don't like it. It is hard to drink without it dripping down the side and the taste seems to be not as good. I don't know if they changed the formula or if the carton is changing the taste, but either way I don't like it.
UPDATE: 2-15-13
The prices keep going up. Average price of Ensure Plus is about $10-$10.50. Even the store brands are usually about $8. Sometimes you can find coupons for Ensure in the paper and if you use these when they are on sale, the price is ok, but still not cheap.
UPDATE: 11-25-13
Today I found the most amazing deal on Ensure drinks. At Marianos grocery store, they were selling the 16 pack of regular vanilla for $5! That is not a typo. You read that correctly, $5 for a 16 pack of Ensure! I had to stare at the price tag for about 5 minutes to figure out if this was actually right. I kept looking around for someone who worked there to verify it. Then I saw a big display of them also marked for $5 so it was true! $5 marked down from the normal price of $22! This is probably the best deal I have ever found in a grocery store, especially for Ensure. The only catch is that I noticed the bottles expire in about 5 weeks, but that is plenty of time to drink them. I don't know if they made a mistake and ordered too much or what, but this was some amazing deal!
UPDATE 5-23-16
I recently signed up for the Ensure coupons which helps because they will send you coupons like $3 off a multi-pack. You can get a pretty good deal with this especially if you find them on sale.
UPDATE 5-26-22
With the price of food going up on pretty much everything, it is no surprise that Ensure is getting more expensive too. At this point the only time I consider purchasing it is if I have a $3 off coupon. I even switched over to the regular Ensure since it is cheaper and you can still use the coupon, but even the price on regular Ensure is getting too expensive. I checked all the local stores for the best prices and at this time the cheapest regular Ensure 6 pack is over $9. Even with the coupon it is still expensive. I may have to hold off on purchasing it anymore unless prices drop back down.
UPDATE 3-31-23
I just found another amazing deal at Mariano's store. They had a 16 pack of Ensure Plus marked on clearance for $16.75! Regular price was $33.49. That's 50% off! Not to mention, it did not have any issues such as damage or a close expiration date. I double checked the shelf where they usually have them and they had the exact same 16 packs at regular price. I have not idea why they marked this one down 50% but I'm glad I was able to catch it!
