Private label continues the march

The Private Label Trade Show was a big event last week here in Chicago.  This year’s show was a major endeavor, with over 2,000 exhibitors representing a mind-boggling assortment of food, beverage, wellness and home goods products.  From high-end chocolates to pork rinds … even organics, one in four products purchased today are store brands – a category growing twice as fast as national brands.

So, what drives the consumer to buy private label?  While the private label industry shed the “cheap bland generic” image long ago, store brands are still a bargain.  Without the heavy spending on advertising and promotion, store brands won big during the last recession.

A 2011 Mintel study found that nearly half of respondents believe that store branded products are of better quality today than they were five years ago.  And over 60% of shoppers believe that there’s no real difference between name brand and private label in the key categories of dairy, canned and shelf-stable products.

What impressed me most about the products on display at the PLMIA show is the move toward higher quality, more innovative products that store brands are seeking.  Many retailers have invested in their own brand reputation that impacts the perception of the items that carry their name … often, products with enhanced health and wellness attributes as differentiators.  Trust your retailer, trust their brand.  Trader Joe’s has made a fortune on that philosophy.

I wasn’t quite sure what to make of the plethora of “sanitary wipes”, particularly the one pictured here.  In chocolate!

Not sure I’d ever buy that, no matter what the label.  What store branded “labels” or products do you buy?

Tags: CBD, Lori Colman, PLMIA, private label, Private label show

Older, Wiser and way more Demanding

As part of the baby-boom generation that grew up rather simply – that is, not thinking too hard about food or even knowing the right questions to ask – I’m thrilled to finally have the 24/7 access to information that defines today’s world.Whole Foods, Meijer, Trader Joe’s and HyVee as sources of information.

Colman Brohan Davis’s recent Food Shopping Survey 2009 turned up some interesting insights about my peers. Relative to the other segments measured (Women 20 – 25 and Men), we are heavier readers and tv watchers, looking to books, magazines and the tube to gather information and form opinions. And we’ve avidly embraced life online, particularly search and mobile. We love exploring blogs, postings and sites that provide insight and data about food. We have fun sharing our opinions.

Here are some highlights of our research:

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Tags: calories and fat, Colman Brohan Davis, consumer, country of origin, diet/health connection, fiber, Food Shopping Survey 2009, food/health connection, gluten-free, grocery retailers, Hyvee, ingredients, Meijer, middle-aged, midle-aged women, natural foods, preservatives, private food label, private label, sonsciousness, Sustainability, Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, Women