Store Brands: How High Can They Go?
By George Anderson
According to the Food Institute, 80 percent of private/store label sales are being driven by 20 percent of the categories where these products have a presence.
Consumers are often drawn to store/private label looking for savings but, as Find/SVP Food Industry Consultant Julie Chmielewski told Forbes, they “found that the taste and quality is comparable to name brands.”
Premium quality store brands, those sometimes exceeding national brand standards, are performing especially well. As the Forbes report points out, many consumers no longer see store brands as a “cheap alternative to consumers’ preferred (national brand) choice,” but as products “with powerful identities in their own right.”
Moderator’s Comment: How do retailers find the right balance between store and national brands? Is there a danger
retailers may place too much emphasis on store brands?
Chains such as Trader Joe’s and Aldi have clearly demonstrated the power of a strong store brand. Few retailers, however, have made the same commitment
to branding their business and products and taken on the associated risks as these chains. –
George Anderson – Moderator