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Top 2012 Trends: Purity, Authenticity and Sustainability

It’s that time of the year for top 10 lists and a new report identifying the top trends in the food and beverage industry says that consumers will continue to look for products that offer value beyond low prices.Purity, authenticity and sustainability all rank high among shopper’s prefer Read More...

Made-in-the-USA Label Matters to Consumers

As consumers shop in this tough economy, the “Made in the USA” label matters very much, according to research conducted by Perception Research Services International (PRS).In fact, 80 percent of shoppers said they’ve seen the “Made in the USA” label while shopping and n Read More...

Walgreens' Private Labels Boosts Margins

Walgreens’ private label business is getting a boost from consumers due to continued economic pressures, according to Gregory Wasson, CEO and president.Gregory Wasson“Persistent high unemployment, a weak housing market, high fuel prices and inflation all put pressure on consumers,” Read More...

CPG Practices Drive Kroger's Approach to Store Brands

A Store Brands Decisions ExclusiveThe Kroger Company was very busy in 2010 developing a myriad of new store brands, supporting them with impressive in-store merchandising and marketing programs, which resulted in the company being named Store Brands Retail Innovator of the Year by Store Brands Decis Read More...

PLMA Live! with Phil Lempert

National brands are fighting hard to win back market share gains made by private label. Veteran industry analyst Phil Lempert, known as the SupermarketGuru, foresees big changes coming in the battle of the brands and the retail landscape. VIEW VIDEO. Read More...

Family Dollar to Focus on Store Brands Growth in 2011

To help it accelerate private label execution and growth Family Dollar has hired a sales and marketing company with store brands expertise, the CEO said during a recent earnings call.Acknowledging that store brands are now an important strategic pillar, Chairman and CEO Howard Levine said the compan Read More...

Nielsen: Canadian Private Label Customers are Extremely Valuable

While private label products can be found in the pantry of every Canadian home, the profile of the heaviest private label shoppers reveals they are very valuable customers across all categories, according to data form The Nielsen co.Canada’s heaviest private label buyers are typically under 45 Read More...

A&P Turnaround Plan Includes Some Private Label Expansion

Since the end of last quarter, The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company Inc. (A&P) appointed an entirely new senior management team and focused on strengthening its operating and financial foundation.Enhancing the customer experience and value proposition are two other key elements of the pl Read More...

August Private Label Dollar Sales Up, CPG Down (Correction)

Editor's Note: On Tuesday Sept. 14, Store Brands Decisions published an article about August private label and CPG dollar and unit figures that was incorrect. The article below is the corrected version. Store Brands Decisions regrets the error.Private label dollar sales were up 2.5 percent on a unit Read More...

TreeHouse Foods' Sales Rise With Consumers' Growing Desire for Value

Private label manufacturer TreeHouse Foods believes its future success hinges on the consumer’s continued desire for value through the right combination of price and quality."Private label is here to stay" said CFO Dennis Riordan during a recent presentation to investors at a conference in Bos Read More...

Fresh & Easy Expands Private Label Line for Kids

El Segundo, Calif.-based Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market has an eye toward expanding it Goodness store brand line targeted to children.Based on positive customer feedback, the 168-store grocer is reviewing which of its current store brands can be adapted to kid-friendly sizes and packaging, acc Read More...

Deloitte Research: Store Brands Are Here to Stay

In Deloitte's new study, "The Battle for Brands in a World of Private Labels," when asked how market share of store brands will change by 2012 in the United States, 77 percent of CPG executives and 90 percent of retail executives surveyed indicated it will increase or increase significantly.While th Read More...

PLMA Live!: How Wall Street Sees the Big Brands

Wall Street is watching closely as private label continues to gain market share and national CPG brands counterattack. Andrew Sawyer, vice president of Goldman Sachs, gives a Wall Street perspective on CPG trade promotions and advertising, pricing gaps and how things might shake out in the future. V Read More...

Carrefour's Switches Strategy to Focus on Private Label

Carrefour’s CEO plans to transform the company from a big-box retailer selling other companies’ brands into a leading consumer label of its own, according to a Wall Street Journal report.Lars Olofsson said he wants Carrefour’s private label brands to be the least expensive anywhere Read More...

Research: Household Products Brands Under Attack as Consumers Still Fixate on Price

Household-products companies, especially those from small and medium-sized manufacturers, may face an inhospitable future as about 70 percent of consumers say they now shop for home cleaning products, kitchenware and paper products based on price alone.And the future doesn’t look much brighter Read More...

Asda Relaunches Mid-Tier Private Label Line

Walmart’s Asda supermarket chain in the U.K. is investing upwards of $155 million to improve the quality and perception of its mid-tier private label line, which includes 3,500 products. Asda CEO Andy Clarke told MarketingWeek U.K.: “We will drive as hard on quality as price.”Appro Read More...

Research: The New Path to Purchase

Consumers’ penchant for cross-channel shopping and deal hunting is nothing new, but these days shoppers are consolidating the number of channels in which they shop, according to SymphonyIRI Group's September Times & Trends Report.After escalating at the peak of the recession, trip behavior Read More...

Fresh & Easy Removes High Fructose Corn Syrup From Private Label Brands

Responding to customer concern and requests, Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market is removing high fructose corn syrup from all of its store brands, including its Goodness line targeted to children.“It wasn’t in very many [products], but now it’s not in any,” Susie Garcia, a Read More...

Walmart Shifts Private Label Strategy

Since Walmart’s leadership team shake-up mid-summer, many industry players questioned the future of the company’s Great Value brand, which went unmentioned in the restructuring after more than a year of hype around the private label relaunch.Bill SimonBut at a recent Goldman Sachs confer Read More...

Hispanic Shoppers More Likely to Switch to Private Label Brands

Hispanic shoppers are also more likely than the general public to switch brands, which is driven by high acceptance of private label brands among household family members, according to a study underway by The Integer Group and M/A/R/C Research.More Hispanic shoppers perceive less difference in produ Read More...

TreeHouse Foods Acquires S.T. Specialty Foods

TreeHouse Foods Inc. signed a definitive agreement to acquire S.T. Specialty Foods for $180 million in cash.The Brooklyn Park, Minn.-based maker of private label macaroni and cheese, skillet dinners and other side dishes and salads, is a portfolio company of Windjammer Capital Investors that sells p Read More...

Ralcorp Promotes Greg Dragan

Greg Dragan has been promoted to vice president and general manager of Ralston Foods, a division of Ralcorp Holdings Inc.Greg DraganDragan recently served as vice president of sales, marketing and logistics for Ralston. Since the start of his career in sales more than 30 years ago, he has held posit Read More...

Campbell Soup Tempers Outlook Due to Private Label Competition

Camden, N.J., -based Campbell Soup Co. said it expects earnings to slow over the next 12 months due to lower priced private label soup competition and companies that make other simple meals such as frozen food entrees.Although the company has implemented new promotional spending and introduced new p Read More...

Rite Aid Tests Co-Branded Stores with Private Label Retailer Save-A-Lot

Rite Aid signed a licensing agreement with Save-A-Lot to co-brand 10 existing drug stores in the Greenville, S.C. market to include the discounter's limited assortment grocery and private label lines.Camp Hill, Pa.-based Rite Aid will continue to own and operate the locations, and offer health and b Read More...

Consumer Reports: Private Label Rivals National Brands

Store brand products can compete with national brands and save shoppers more than a thousand dollars a year on groceries, according to a new study from Consumer Reports.In 21 head-to-head taste match-ups store brand came out on top in three instances and tied 11 times versus national brands that cam Read More...

E-Mart's Private Label Rebranding Lifts Sales

With an eye toward improving the impact and value perception of its products, E-Mart, South Korea’s largest retailers recently rebranded and redesigned its private label products.E-Mart partnered with Anthem Worldwide for the redesign and re-launch of more than 5,000 SKUs, which centered on in Read More...

Nielsen: Private Label Has Global Staying Power

Despite the forecasted improvement in the economy in the long term and consumers’ anticipated spending increases to come, private label is expected to remain steady and perhaps even grow globally, according to The Nielsen Co.A 2010 global online survey conducted by Nielsen revealed that 60 per Read More...

Ahold's Private Label and Price Focus Continue to Boost Performance

Dutch retailer Ahold NV is performing admirably in Europe and in the United States, beating out most U.S. rivals who have been struggling through the recession.Despite soft market conditions, the Amsterdam-based company posted a 3.1 percent increase in net profit in the second quarter. In the U.S. a Read More...

Tesco Plans to Publish Three Paid Private Label Magazines

Expanding beyond its free magazine titles currently available in-store and online, Tesco plans to publish three paid consumer titles focusing on topics such as food, entertainment and a home/living.The titles -- Food, Home and Your TV Week -- will be available in all Tesco stores shortly, according Read More...

PLMA Live: What's the Bottom Line on Sustainability?

Simon Barnes, a senior analyst and consultant at U.K.’s IGD specializing in sustainability, looks at what’s ahead. Will sustainability programs hurt private label? What’s the impact of Walmart’s scorecard? How are the big brands reacting? VIEW VIDEO Read More...

Loblaw Expands Peanut-Free Private Label

With a particular focus on children with peanut allergies, Loblaw has expanded its line of store brand peanut-free products –– including cookies, crackers, granola bars and other sweet and savory snacks –– under the President’s Choice and No Name brands.The 1,000-store Read More...

Whole Foods Launches Private Label Organic Non-Dairy Beverages

Whole Foods Market launched the company’s first almond milk and light soy milk under its 365 Organic Everyday Value brand.Available in Original and Vanilla flavors, The Whole Foods almond milk is the industry’s first-ever private label refrigerated organic almond milk."When choosing our Read More...

A&P Launches Two Private Label Value Lines at Pathmark

A&P introduced a line of value-tiered private label products under the Food Basics and Home Basics labels at all of its Pathmark stores.The new lower priced items are part of a Pathmark’s repositioning, according to A&P executives. “This economy has definitely affected our custom Read More...

Kraft CEO Says Private Label Has Peaked

Private label market share has peaked and is actually declining in some categories, Irene Rosenfeld CEO of Kraft Foods recently told analysts.“Without a doubt private label share has stabilized,” she told analysts in an Aug. 6 quarterly earnings call. “That's been true over the las Read More...

Kroger Expands Private Label Beauty and Personal Care Line

Making an aggressive push into the beauty and personal care categories, Cincinnati-based Kroger Co. has more than doubled the SKUs in its Mirra store brand line this summer, with more new products coming this fall.Without much fanfare or promotion, Kroger has realized double-digit sales increases on Read More...

Target's Comeback Plan on Track

Target’s turnaround plan to lure customers back to its stores who switch to lower price discounters during the recession, is working with the help of its high quality store brand lines. The company’s overall turnaround plan is playing well on Wall Street and among consumers, yielded a 2 Read More...

Private Label Kicks Up Whole Foods' Profit

Upscale grocer Whole Foods rebounded from poor results during the recession by lower prices and expanding its private label offerings, which contributed to an 88 percent rise in third quarter earnings. The company posted its first same-store sales increase in February in 18 months. Whole Foods&rsqu Read More...

Deloitte to CPGs: Fight Aggressively to Regain Share Lost to Private Label

Store brands have steadily gained share in three out of four categories over the past three years, and consumer packaged goods companies that want to regain lost ground must fight aggressively to win back customers, according to studies by Deloitte LLP. Pat Conroy “National Read More...

Traditional Grocery Stores Lose Private Label Share to Specialty Retailers

Specialty food retailers, such as Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods, enjoyed greater growth in store brand sales between 2005 and 2009 than traditional supermarkets, according to “Private Label Food and Beverage in the U.S,” a market research report published by Packaged Facts. Growth Read More...

Study: Regional Grocers Can Compete With Walmart

Regional grocers such as Tewksbury, Mass.-based Market Basket, can compete with the likes of Walmart by focusing on store brands, value and neighborhood appeal, according to a new study by Kantar Retail. Cambridge, Mass.-based Kantar Retail compared a Walmart Supercenter to a 76,000 square-foot Mar Read More...

Procter & Gamble Responds with Exclusive Brands

To boost lost market share, Procter & Gamble is looking at expanding exclusive brands and flavors made specifically for and sold exclusively at select retailer partner stores. According to a report in Cincinnati Business Courier, the company recently launched a customized line of Pringles flavo Read More...

Retailers: Focus on Packaging and In-Store Marketing to Drive Shopper Growth

A Store Brands Decisions’ Exclusive Report: Consumer Insights on Store Brand Shopping, Part 2 Editor’s Note: This is second part of a two-part interview with Thom Blischok of Symphony IRI. Part 1 titled “Store Brands Purchase Decision Are Made at the Shelf, Not in the Home,&rdqu Read More...

P&G Concludes Tide Basic Testing, But Future Plans Unclear

After testing the product in limited markets for nearly a year, Procter & Gamble said it is reviewing results to determine next steps for Tide Basic, a lower-cost version of Tide laundry detergent for budget-conscious shoppers. Priced 20 percent less than regular Tide, Tide Basic is one way P&a Read More...

CEO Panel: Increased Competition Forces Smarter Practices

While retailers and suppliers agree that aggressive competition from national brands is slowing the rate of store brand growth, it is forcing the industry to work smarter and more creatively to identify and implement product, packaging and supply chain innovations and efficiencies. F Read More...

Store Brand Growth Tougher in a More Competitive Environment

Jack Kelley of AIPC (left) and Curt Hollmann of Giant Eagle. Consumer confidence and spending remains soft and recession-weary shoppers are deeply entrenched in frugal shopping habits, which is driving national brands to more deeply discount and promote their brands to win bac Read More...

Low Retailer Confidence Undermines Store Brand Growth

Jan-Benedict Steenkamp The U.S. store brands market is rife with opportunity, but retailers are under marketing their brands, discounting too deeply and prematurely launching premium tier offerings. “U.S. retailers are not being sufficiently bold. They do not really believe Read More...

Walmart's Asda Targets Global Store Brands Launch

Asda is seeking to develop international store brands to be sold in Walmart stores around the world. The U.K. grocer is looking to develop five or six international store brands that would be sold globally through Walmart owned chains, global chief marketing officer Rick Bendel told Marketing Week. Read More...

Save-A-Lot and Aldi Target Urban Markets

As other large grocery chains de-emphasize urban markets, opportunistic discounters such as Supervalu’s Save-A-Lot and Aldi plan to expand there to fill the void. In January, Supervalu revealed it planned to double its Save-A-Lot store count over the next five year, and recently added that ab Read More...

What Went Wrong With Walmart's Great Value Strategy?

What’s behind Walmart’s first drop in customer traffic and revenue in its history? According to author and journalist Darlene Quinn, it’s because the world’s largest retailer got greedy and took its eye off the customer. “Wal-Mart's hiccup occurred when the retailer, i Read More...

Store Brands and Value Drive Whole Foods Recovery

After a long stretch of declining sales, Whole Foods has turned business around, more than doubling its recent quarterly profits, by focusing on stores brands and value pricing and promotions. "It is a turnaround," Keith Jelinek, director in Alix Partners' global retail practice told MarketWatch. " Read More...

Safeway and Supervalu Outline Store Brand Vision and Strategies

As Safeway and Supervalu independently structure their in-house organizations to completely manage their store brands in-house, both grocers recently outlined to suppliers their strategic plans and programs. With an eye toward operating shoulder to shoulder with the nation’s largest and best Read More...

P&G and Other CPGs Cut Prices to Combat Store Brands

Robert McDonald Procter & Gamble Co. is leading a price-cutting market share charge to win back customers who migrated to lower cost rivals and store brands during the recession. Simultaneously, the company is accelerating new product introductions and boosting advertising sp Read More...

Store Brands' Dollar Sales Rise, Unit Volume Declines

Store brand dollar sales rose for the third consecutive month of the year, but unit volume declined slightly, according to Nielsen data reported by Media Buyer Planner. During the four-week period ended March 20, 2010, store brand dollar sales rose 2.1 percent on an annual basis, while unit sales d Read More...

Perrigo Wins Unfair Competition Case Against Rexall

Generic drug maker Perrigo Co. won an unfair competition lawsuit brought by Rexall Sundown Inc., in New York federal court. Rexall Sundown, maker of Osteo Bi-Flex, a joint flexibility supplement that contains glucosamine and chondroitin filed suit in the U.S. Eastern District Court of New York, cha Read More...

Consumers See Little Quality Difference Between Store Brands and National Brands

New research finds that 80 percent of global consumers feel store brands are the same as, or better than, national brands at providing a variety of benefits, according to research conducted by Ipsos Marketing, Consumer Goods, based in New York, N.Y. While store brands have built their foundation on Read More...

Aldi and Other Discounters Descend on Tampa

The Tampa Bay area is getting a lot of attention from discounters such as Aldi, Save-A-Lot and Family Dollar. Four big grocery chains currently dominate the market –– Publix, Walmart, Sweetbay and Winn-Dixie –– but frugal shoppers are making it easy for a large number of dis Read More...

Valero Introduces Store Brand Sports Drink

San Antonio-based Valero Energy Corp. just rolled out its store brand U Force Sport drink to its network of 1,480 convenience stores this week, the second product in the line following U Force Energy introduced last November. U Force Sport is sold in 32-ounce and a 20-ounce bottles and is available Read More...

GfK: Slow Economic Recovery Underscores Continued Store Brand Growth

As consumers continue to struggle economically the appeal of store brands is stronger than ever and may even be intensifying, according to a study conducted by GfK Custom Research North America for the Private Label Manufacturers Association (PLMA). American consumers are at odds with recent report Read More...

Store Brands Tally Historic Market Share Gains

Sales of store brands topped $86.4, up $3.1 billion, across the major U.S. retail channels in 2009, according to The Nielsen Company. With 2009 gains, store brands now represent 21.8 percent of total dollar volume while comprising only 10 percent of total items in stores. This contrasts dramaticall Read More...

CEO Interview: Daymon's Alex Miller

A Store Brands Decisions' Exclusive Two months ago, Alex Miller was appointed the first new CEO of Daymon Worldwide since the company was founded 40 years ago by Milt Sender and Peter Schwartz. Alex Miller Miller’s first 45 days as CEO were relatively quiet with business p Read More...

TreeHouse Plans Another Store Brand Acquisition

TreeHouse Foods CEO Sam Reed said he expects store branded food sales to continue to grow and hopes to make another store brand manufacturer acquisition by the middle of next year, according to a Dow Jones Newswire report. Reed explained that Treehouse –– whose business is focused on st Read More...

Nielsen: Look to Europe for the Future of U.S. Store Brands

Lisa Rider To understand the future potential of U.S. store brands, retailers and suppliers should “look no further than Europe,” according to an article written by Lisa Rider, vice president, product leadership for Nielsen. In Europe, store brands enjoy a 40 percent Read More...

Food Deflation Could Hurt Store Bands More Than CPGs

While consumers have willingly migrated to store brands during the recession and will likely remain store brand fans post-recession, some industry pundits say deflation could hurt retailer store brands more than consumer packaged goods companies. For example, CPG companies have been able to leverag Read More...

Topco Attempts to Buy the Wild Oats Brand

Private-label cooperative Topco Associates is seeking to buy the Wild Oats brand and other related intellectual property, which would significantly accelerate its market penetration in natural and organic store brands. Skokie, Ill.-based Topco, along with Luberski Inc., based in Fullerton, Calif., Read More...

Walmart Replaces Cut SKUs, Recommits to Price Rollbacks

Walmart is accelerating its price rollback program and replacing some of the products it cut during aggressive SKU rationalization because some of the cuts cost the retail giant valuable market baskets and shopping trips. The company is restoring approximately 300 products previously pulled from it Read More...

Part 2 of 2: Kroger and Loblaw Roll Out Retail-Ready Packaging for Store Brands

Exclusive to Store Brands Decisions Editor's Note: This is the second part of a two-part report on retail-ready packaging for store brands. Part 1  last week discussed the roots of the emerging trend as well as manufacturer concerns about the resulting increase in product packaging costs. This Read More...

Kroger and Loblaw Roll Out Retail-Ready Packaging for Store Brands (Part 1 of 2)

Exclusive to Store Brands Decisions Editor's Note: This is a two-part report on retail-ready packaging for store brands, which traditional grocers such as Kroger and Loblaw are embracing to streamline operations. Part 1 discusses the roots of the emerging trend as well as manufacturer concerns abou Read More...

PLMA Announces ‘Salute to Excellence Awards'

The Private Label Manufacturers Association honored 23 food and beverage products and 11 home and health products in its 2009 Salute to Excellence Awards. Wegman's Chocolate More than 350 products across 34 categories were submitted for consideration and evaluated by a panel of Read More...

IRI Data: Store Brands Innovation Pays Off

Store brands now represents just under 18 percent of consumer packaged goods dollar sales and 23 percent of total units at all retail outlets, up nearly a full share point versus a year ago, according to Information Resources Inc’s February Times & Trends report titled “2009 CPG Year Read More...

Safeway Becomes First Grocer and Store Brand Manufacturer to Join The Sustainability Consortium

Safeway Inc. is the first U.S.-based retail grocery chain and manufacturer of private label merchandise to join The Sustainability Consortium, which engages in science-based work to create a more sustainable global supply chain. The Pleasanton, Calif.-based grocer joins other retailers and consumer Read More...

CPGs Hope New Products Will Jump Start Sales

Consumer packaged goods companies are focusing on product innovation and new products, hoping additional variety and price points will lure recession-weary customers to buy again. At the Consumer Analyst Group of New York conference this past week many companies such as Procter & Gamble, ConAgr Read More...

Ace Hardware to Sell Craftsman Tools

Sears’ ubiquitous 80-year-old Craftsman store brand will now be sold through Ace Hardware stores, with 100 outlets coming on line in May and many more to follow in June, according to a company statement. "This is an exciting strategic move that expands access to Craftsman for existing and new Read More...

Supervalu Reorganizes Its Merchandising Group

A Store Brands Decisions’ Exclusive Supervalu is reorganizing its merchandising team, focusing first on store brands and fresh foods, all part of the chain’s recent efforts to better leverage its scale and focus on local marketing initiatives. Steve Jungmann “O Read More...

Safeway Institutes Flat Fee for Packaging Artwork and Redesigns

A Store Brands Decisions' Exclusive Safeway's O Organics store brand While suppliers are accustomed to reimbursing retailers for packaging artwork and redesigns tiered according to the degree of work done, Safeway is navigating into uncharted waters charging a flat $500 fee per S Read More...

Study: Canadians Want Companies to be More Environmentally Accountable

A new survey indicates more Canadians want healthier food and beverage choices and they want companies to be more environmentally accountable, according to a report in The Candian Press The 7th annual study conducted by BrandSpark, which surveyed more than 25,000 Canadian consumers, also found an i Read More...

TreeHouse CEO: U.S. Store Brands Growth to Outpace Grocery Sector

TreeHouse Foods Chairman and CEO Sam Reed predicts that private-label sales and unit volume growth will outpace the overall consumer packaged good sector in grocery, according to a just-food.com report. The maker of store brand soups, jams, spreads, sauces is bullish on store brands, especially in Read More...

Family Dollar to Ramp Up Store Brands

Family Dollar Stores has its sights set on dramatically increasing its store brand sales, especially on consumable products, which now represent about 10 percent of sales. During an investor presentation, CFO Kenneth Smith said the goal is to increase consumable store brand sales to between 15 to 2 Read More...

Shoppers Drug Mart to Sell Store Brand Generic Drugs

Toronto-based Shoppers Drug Mart Corp. is hoping to get the same profit lift from store brand pharmaceuticals as it has been getting for years from other store brand categories. The chain of 1,132 stores across Canada will soon begin selling store brand generic drugs in an attempt to offset slimmer Read More...

Loblaw Launches a New Line of Discount Store Brands

Canadian retail chain Loblaw introduced a new tier of low priced store brands that will be only available at its No Frills discount stores. Prices for the new line are higher than the chain’s value line, but cheaper than national brand equivalents and are being promoted with in store signage Read More...

Walmart.com Features Great Value at Grocery Beta Site

EXCLUSIVE TO STORE BRANDS DECISIONS While headlines have focused on Walmart’s battle with Amazon over who will be the “Walmart of the internet,” the retail giant has been quietly developing a robust section of its web site now devoted to groceries. This developing section of Read More...

Supervalu Improves Baby Basics Diapers

Minneapolis-based Supervalu unveiled its new and improved Baby Basics store brand diapers that offer better leak protection, improved fit and a more comfortable extra-soft interior. The new contoured shape and high-stretch side panels allow for greater flexibility as the baby moves; the hypoallerge Read More...

Nutrition Claims on Store Brand Products Rise

As shoppers seek healthier food alternatives, retailers are developing more store brand products that carrying health claims such as genetically modified organism (GMO) free, gluten free and the absence of certain fats, according to an article written by Nielsen’s Tom Pirovano. “Store b Read More...

Fresh & Easy Expands Gluten-Free Program

Tesco’s U.S. Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market is introducing more gluten-free products, adding new shelf labels to call out gluten-free items and is making a gluten-free product list readily available for customers in the stores. In response to customer feedback, the El Segundo, Calif.- Read More...

Mintel: U.S. Food Innovation Declines During the Recession

Lynn Dornblaser The economic slump paid its toll on U.S. food and drink manufacturers in 2009 as companies launched 30 percent fewer new products compared to the prior year, according to a Mintel’s review of its Global New Product Database (GNPD). In clear correlation with Read More...

Study: Post-Recession Shoppers Stay True to Store Brands

More than one-third of shoppers who embraced store brands during the hardest times of the recession will continue purchasing them once the economy recovers, according to a study conducted by BrandSpark's 2010 Best New Products Awards American Grocery Shopper Study. Conducted between Oct. 12 and Dec Read More...

Wal-Mart Melds Merchandising and Operations to Sharpen Customer Focus

Wal-Mart has created a new merchandising execution department, which will focus more strategically on brand strategy and more powerfully align merchandising and operations. The new organization will be led by Andy Barron, senior vice president of store merchandising execution, will design merchandi Read More...

Procter & Gamble Tests Online Store to Counter Retailer Assortment Cuts

The Procter & Gamble "eStore" goes direct to consumers in an attempt to counter declining sales and retailers who are reducing product assortment and brand variety, in many cases to make way for their own store brands, according to a Wall Street Journal report. P&G spokeswoman Tressie Long Read More...

Supervalu Cuts National Brands to Make Way for Store Brands

Supervalu Inc. said it plans to reduce national brand inventory by as much as 25 percent so it can more prominently display its own store brands. The focus will be on reducing redundant package sizes as opposed to eliminating entire product lines, according to a Wall Street Journal report. During a Read More...

Wal-Mart Brings More Store Brands to India

Several suppliers Wal-Mart uses to sources products for its store brands are seeking entry into the India market, indicating the retailer intends to further grow its store brands business in one of the world\\'s fastest growing economies, according to a report on LiveMint.com. Bharti-Walmart in Ind Read More...

Store Brands and International Retailer Growth Expected in India in 2010

Store brands proliferation and growth of international retail brands are expected to be a big focus in the Indian retail sector in 20101, an industry consultant told the Business Standard (India). Numerous retailers such as Future Group, Spencer’s Retail and Aditya Birla are boosting their pr Read More...

Aldi to Open Texas Stores in March

After postponing its Texas debut by nearly six months, Aldi will open its first Texas store in Dallas on March 19, followed by 10 more store openings April 23 and an additional six stores May 14, according to a Planet Retail report. Last fall, Aldi completed construction of its 152,000 square-foot Read More...

Bay Area Store Brands Beat Out CPG

Grocery store brands have been gaining ground over the past 10 years in various panel tastings sponsored by the San Francisco Chronicle. In the end, it comes down to taste, not the label, the newspaper reported. In its Taster's Choice column, which has panelists such as local chefs, cookbook author Read More...

10 Steps to Maximize Store Brand Growth

Because brands are a retailer’s prime differentiator, most who are serious about their private label business want to move their portfolios from labels to brands in order to achieve deeper customer loyalty and sales growth. In fact, retailers who move their business to a more advanced strateg Read More...

Target Plans to Add 100 More Up & Up Products in 2010

arget’s Up & Up brand has increased both penetration and sales this past year, 100 new items will be added to the line in 2010, Kathryn Tesija, executive vice president of marketing, told financial analysts. “The rollout of Up and Up, which represents the rebranding of our core comm Read More...

P&G to Launch More Value-Tier Versions of Core Brands

Procter & Gamble Co. isn’t taking increased store brand market penetration lightly. In fact, it is launching a direct attack on store brands by creating more value-tier versions of its mega brands. Several months ago in the U.S., P&G rolled out Tide Basic and apparently is expanding t Read More...

Price Chopper CEO Says Store Brand Growth Will Continue

Niel Golub, president and CEO of Price Chopper supermarkets, said store brands will continue to grow because the consumer has been forever transformed by the recession and the quality of retail store brands. “Recession shopping behaviors will likely be extended and might well be ingrained. Pr Read More...

Will Co-Branded Private Label Catch On?

Phil Lempert "Supermarket Guru" Phil Lempert predicts that major food brands will develop co-branded private-label foods with retailers next year, but two branding pros interviewed by the Marketing Daily said it should never happen. The premise of Lempert’s prediction for 2 Read More...

FMI: Hispanics Are Buying More Store Brands

Hispanic shoppers are buying more store brand products, a trend expected to continue in the future, according to research conducted by the Food Marketing Institute (FMI) Private Brands Group. In fact, 37 percent of Hispanic shoppers are purchasing more store brand products this year and 25 percent Read More...

Retailers and CPG Companies to Focus on Store Brands in 2010

While it’s no surprise that retailers plan to focus on store brands in 2010 to continue sales and profit momentum, it looks like it’s also top of mind among consumer packaged goods companies (CPGs). In a Smart Brief poll, the Grocery Manufacturers Association and the Food Marketing Inst Read More...

Dollar General Sales Get a Boost from Store Brands

Dollar General posted another strong quarter, which CEO Rick Dreiling attributes, in part, to the growing number of store brands offered in the stores. The discounter posted sales increases in nearly every category with overall sales up 12.7 percent and same store sales up 9.2 percent, according to Read More...

Store Brands Gain Share in Significant Categories

Store brands tallied significant gains in several categories this year, including baby food, frozen pizza, salad dressings and mayonnaise, snacks, and candles and incense, according to Nielsen data. Private label baby food was the lead share winner with unit sales growth of 22.3 percent for the 52 Read More...

PLMA Live! Interviews Tod Marks of Consumer Reports

Tod Marks, senior projects editor of Consumer Reports discusses the consumer advocacy group’s recent taste tests and comparison of store brands against their national brand counterparts. In this video interview, Marks documents how consumers selected store brands to be as good or better than Read More...

Metro Cash & Carry Reveals New Private Label Strategy

Metro Cash & Carry hopes to double its international own-brand sales share from the current 10 to around 20 percent by 2012 with its new private label strategy and streamlined portfolio of six exclusive labels. The new strategy includes a tighter assortment, a sharpened customer focus and even Read More...

Sysco Reemphasizes its Own Brands to Recharge the Business

During a recent earnings call with analysts, executives for foodservice distributor Sysco Corp. said the company is refocusing its national sales efforts to expand its own brands. “We've just begun a reemphasis of brand and brand sales, reemphasis in our sales force and in our sales meetings Read More...

Wal-Mart CMO: We Are Going to Be a House of Brands

Stephen Quinn, Wal-Mart CMO, revealed that Wal-Mart will become “a house of brands,” and identified ways in which the discounter intends to solve shoppers’ issues by relentlessly providing value. In this three-minute video taken during the recent ANA Conference in November, Quinn Read More...

Debunking the Hispanic Store Brands Myth

For years, marketers have taken for granted that Hispanic consumers have a strong affinity to national brands and are extremely brand loyal. However, there are fissures in that theory as more Hispanics seek alternative choices such as store brands, according to Hispanic retailer roundtable hosted a Read More...

Costco Kirkland Brand to Explode Over the Next Two Years

At a recent analysts meeting in New York, Costco executives said that they are going to aggressively expand the assortment of the Kirkland Signature store brand. In addition to expanding the offering, executives said they expect their store brand penetration could reach 27 percent in fiscal 2010 en Read More...

Meijer Launches Specialty Store Brand Foods

The new Meijer Gold debuts this month and offers a collection of original recipe items that are either made by a local company within the Meijer operating region or by a family-owned business. The line also features interesting foods endemic to a particular place or country. With diverse delicacies Read More...

A.T. Kearney Forecasts Unprecedented Global Store Brand Growth

Global market share of private label products is forecasted to reach 65 percent by 2025, up from the current 20 percent, according to research conducted by A.T. Kearney, a management consulting company. Until recently, store brand growth was mostly fueled by European retailers, with many posting up Read More...

Creating a Point of Difference With Store Brands

Despite the soft economy, there is a great deal of store brand development occurring in the marketplace, “and the time is now to find ways to make private label growth sustainable through innovation,” said Scott Lucas, executive director of Interbrand, the keynote speaker during Monday&r Read More...

Product and Process Innovation Lead the Charge at PLMA Show Opening

More than 4,500 retail and wholesale buyers and supplier executives are expected at PLMA's 2009 Private Label Trade Show in Rosemont, Ill., which opened Sunday and continues through Wednesday. The show kicked off with a series of workshop presentations focused on store brand innovation and culminat Read More...

CPG Promotions Slow Delhaize Store Brand Growth

Belgian retailer Delhaize, which also operates more than 2,650 grocery stores in six countries, said increased national brand promotional activity is cutting into store brand sales in its U.S. stores, according to a report in just-food.com Deep discounts and couponing from consumer packaged goods c Read More...

Private Label Today is a Lesson in Branding

Store brands have the potential, and freedom, to leapfrog national brands in critical areas such as ingredients, flavors, preparations and even packaging because they lack the “baggage” that many national players carry, according to consumer research company and consultancy, Hartman Grou Read More...

Marketing Expert Views Private Label as Brand Malpractice

The practice of creating private label national brand equivalent products has been dubbed “brand malpractice” by shopper marketing expert Terri Goldstein, CEO and founder of The Goldstein Group, in an article that appeared recently in both Brand Week and Ad Week. In the article titled & Read More...

Winn-Dixie Boosts Store Brand Penetration by 20 Points

or the first quarter of fiscal 2009, Winn-Dixie's private label penetration rate grew to 22.6 percent, a rise of about 20 basis points versus the same period in the prior year.Since the store brand program was introduced, Winn-Dixie has introduced packaging and label redesigns for more than 3,300 pr Read More...

MAPCO Express Recruits A&P Exec for New Store Brands Position

Petroleum marketer and convenience store operator MAPCO Express hired former A&P executive Russ Shrewsberry as its first-ever director of private label, a position that few convenience store companies have. This new position, and other executive management appointments, is part of the 500-store Read More...

Family Dollar Plans Store Brand Expansion

With profits up 13 percent as frugal shoppers continue to search for bargains, Family Dollar said it plans to expand its store brands offerings over the next two to three years, according to a Reuters report. Bucking the overall declining retail sales trend across the country, Family Dollar earned Read More...

Resist the Temptation of Easy Money for Long-Term Store Brand Growth

Thought Leadership: Andres Siefken, Daymon Worldwide Consumer packaged goods companies are cutting back on innovation, reducing prices and throwing money at retailers and consumers with increased promotions and store coupons to compete more forcefully with store brands –– all strong ind Read More...

Store Brands as Innovator, Not Follower

While the fragmented European market is extremely different from the vast expanse of the United States, Mintel's Lynn Dornblaser believes there is a lot to be learned from European pioneers who are taking store brands to new heights. "What's new in how we talk about private label is referring to pr Read More...

Nielsen on the Global Future of Store Brands

A Store Brands Decisions exclusive Brand leadership and the global growth in store brands was one of several topics that Nielsen Chairman & CEO David Calhoun covered during his recent presentation at the CIES World Food Business Summit in New York City. Calhoun opened the discussion by identif Read More...

Nielsen Forecasts Long Growth Pattern in U.S. Store Brands

John J. Lewis Have store brands reached the tipping point? There is no clear cut yes or no answer because the consumer and retail landscape continues to dramatically shift and change, according to John J. Lewis of The Nielsen Co. While the "momentum of private brands is unalterab Read More...

Meijer and Kroger Forecast Double-Digit Store Brand Growth

While the economy has helped drive further gains in store brands, many retailers say their sales have been growing aggressively for the past two to three years because they have been focusing on quality and innovative products, and it doesn't hurt that consumers are getting smarter. In fact, retail Read More...

National Brands Prepare for War With Store Brands

National brands "have been put on notice" and are acknowledging the impact of store brands on their business as their sales volumes decline, while share of store brands are increasing, retired PepsiCo executive Carla Cooper told attendees at a recent conference. "National brand sales are up, but [u Read More...

Building Trading Partner Collaboration with Trust

Store-brand success for retailer and suppliers typically occurs when both trading partners are focused on building the total category and the total business, and each party is committed to a relationship founded on trust, according to panelists at a recent Food Marketing Institute (FMI) conference Read More...

Store Brands Decisions Launches to Serve the Information Needs of the Store Brands Market

In response to the growing store brands movement, Store Brands Decisions debuted today as the first web-based information resource for the store brands industry. Sometimes referred to as private label, store brands, own brands or private brands, retailers are increasingly marketing consumer product Read More...

Store Brands Drive Differentiation and Profit

Gone are the days when one store satisfied all family and household needs. Today, shoppers are less loyal to the stores they shop in and many shop in several different formats to satisfy their varied and fickle needs.     Grocery retailers understand this trend full well.  Read More...