Lawyer here, I work specifically in employment law. One of my clients runs a factory that produces crackers and other snacks for a major brand and also the "generics." He said the only main difference between the stuff they produce for the name brand and the generic is the quality control and the tolerances. He said that's primarily why if you get Cheez-It crackers they are always "perfect" however when you get the generic you'll occasionally see a few that are a little well done or darker. Basically sometimes the generics are the ones that just didn't just pass the more stringent quality control measures but are still perfectly fine.