Mark Field.’s Post

"Today’s customers expect more from the private brands they purchase – they want affordable, quality products to elevate their overall food experience." Smart move by Walmart. TBH, I'm surprised it took this long to learn the lessons from Target's Good & Gather, Kroger's #SimpleTruth, Whole Foods Market 365, and all of Trader Joe's. The US has long been a laggard in premium private food brands. Private label market share (units) was 21% in 2023 (vs. 35-40% in Europe), and with food prices up by ~35% since 2019, consumers are looking to save wherever possible. Most retailers need more than a "private brand strategy." They need to: (1) Treat their private brands as real brands. (A good rule-of-thumb is if you can sell them to another retailer.) (2) Re-work their business operating model (especially the E2E product and merchandising processes) to support both owned and third-party products. And to do this, many will have to take back store merchandising, much of which has been ceded to category captains. https://lnkd.in/esXFFWMh

➡ Walmart, Kroger, Albertsons, Target and other major grocers saw increased sales of private-label brands during record inflation as more consumers became budget-conscious, and there are now more retailers with private brands across more categories in stores than ever before in the U.S. ➡ They took coveted shelf space away from national brand giants like Procter & Gamble, Kraft Heinz, and Coca-Cola, as well as smaller food and beverage companies jockeying for retail real estate. ➡ Walmart, which already dominates the private brand grocery business with its Great Value marque on more than 1,000 food and beverage products, says the gains continue to increase. https://lnkd.in/gEuD6q_z

Private brands, also known as store brands, have long been the go-to for budget-conscious shoppers, but now they are making waves for reasons beyond just price. With inflation cooling, these brands are gaining ground, instead of retreating. Private labels offer retailers better margins; they cut out the intermediaries, reducing costs and improving profitability. Major grocers like Walmart, Target, and Kroger are expanding their private label offerings, capturing more market share and driving impressive sales growth. What’s behind this shift? It's not just about saving money anymore. Quality, taste, and innovation are making private brands strong competitors to national brands. Younger generations, especially Gen Z, are embracing these brands, valuing experience and quality over brand loyalty. Retailers are investing in these lines to increase margins and differentiate themselves, and the numbers prove it: in 2023, U.S. private label food and beverage sales hit $152 billion, up 6.7% from last year. Are you seeing private brands on your grocery list more often?

🛒 ALDI Food Markets: A Success Story in Branding and Marketing 🌟 Explore how we partnered with Aldi to enhance their brand image and drive engagement. Discover the strategies that made ALDI a household name! #ALDI #BrandSuccess #MarketingStrategy #foodmarket Click Here: https://hubs.ly/Q02mzNDn0

Private-label brands are surging ahead in European #retail! Read the full scoop on our latest European data via ESM - European Supermarket Magazine today: https://lnkd.in/dtY7_7_7 💡 Key Takeaways: 🛒Private label continues to be a game-changer in the European grocery marketplace 🏡 They look set to continue to be a key feature of grocery volume growth in 2024, particularly as the effects of the cost-of-living crisis continue to linger. 🍽️ In the MAT period to February 2024, private labels increased their promoted volume share across all channels – up 68% in the discounters, 36% in hypermarkets and 25% in supermarkets – utilising a time-honoured strategy often employed by brands to drive volume sales. Contact us to find out more – including country breakdowns and more. #RetailTrends #PrivateLabelPower #EuropeanRetail

I usually love being spoilt for choice - don't we all? But is being spoilt for choice actually a bad thing when it comes to brands? When there are lots of established players in the same space and very high brand recognition, you can't exactly rely on Brand Awareness to accurately monitor the competitive landscape. Mental Availability gives you a greater level of detail so you can understand the strengths and weaknesses of your brand positioning. Let's take supermarkets as an example: On the face of it, all supermarkets are the same because they all have above 80% brand recall. But if you look beyond the surface, each supermarket's brand positioning has strengths and weaknesses... #MarksandSpencer's positioning is a mixed bag They perform well on "top quality", "premium" and "sustainability" but perform badly for "buying non-food items", "affordability" and the shop you'd visit "for the big weekly shop" 🛒 #Aldi pips #Lidl as the supermarket consumers associate with "where I can go to get the cheapest price". Overall Aldi and Lidl have very similar positioning in the mind of the consumer but Aldi out-performs on most Category Entry Points. 💡 Key takeaway: With this in mind, retailers can better co-ordinate their customer communications, utilise strong points in their positioning or build on weak points to adapt their brand positioning against competitors. This is just a taster of how each supermarket has different strengths and weaknesses they can build around, but you can see how this level of detail is useful no matter what category you operate in. If you'd like to learn more about Mental Availability and how you can monitor your brand in a more nuanced way - follow the link below! https://lnkd.in/egvUjSNK

Those of us in the industry know that private labels are booming right now for products across categories. So, for organizations looking to add more store brand lines, isn’t it good to know that our South Atlantic, Versatile and ProStar co-packing teams are experienced in helping customers in the private label realm?    For a recent look at how retail giant Walmart is adding another store brand to its retail mix, check out the story below.  https://lnkd.in/eH2bNPMM #copacking #contractpackaging #manufacturing #supplychainmanagement #packagingsolutions #foodandbeverageindustry #supplychain #petfoodindustry #foodsafety #SQF #foodandbeverage #foodandbeveragemanufacturing #packagingsolutions #packaging #innovation #strategicpartner #compliance #agility #kitting #fulfillment #privatelabel #cpgs #storebrands

Costco’s Kirkland Signature. Amazon Basics. Walmart’s Bettergoods. As consumers tighten their budgets, private-label CPG brands like this are earning a loyal following with a game-changing strategy. More: https://lnkd.in/dbNVHaup Historically, during periods of inflation, private-label brands blow up… only to lose out to branded equivalents once budgets are less tight.  Now, however, by prioritizing innovation and trend-forwardness, times are changing. #cpg #grocerystores #consumerbehavior #inflation #privatelabel #retail #retailstrategy

Walmart, Kroger, Albertsons, Target and other major grocers saw increased sales of private-label brands during record inflation as more consumers became budget-conscious, and there are now more retailers with private brands across more categories in stores than ever before in the U.S.. They took coveted shelf space away from national brand giants like Procter & Gamble, Kraft Heinz, and The Coca-Cola Company, as well as smaller food and beverage companies jockeying for retail real estate. Walmart, which already dominates the private brand grocery business with its Great Value marque on more than 1,000 food and beverage products, says the gains continue to increase. Conversations On Retail #retail #cpg #privatelabel

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐟, 𝐛𝐲 𝟐𝟎𝟑𝟎, 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝟓𝟎% 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐏𝐆 𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐞𝐥 𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 (𝐏𝐋𝐁𝐬)? 1. After two years of inflation, the competition battle has shifted from competitor brands to PLBs. Brands have increased prices to maintain margins in a high-inflation environment, pushing consumers to trade down to PLBs, which have seen an 11.8% value increase (NIQ) in supermarkets and hypermarkets in the L12M. 2. Over the past 30 years, PLBs share has increased during economic disruptions. The challenge is that once consumers switch, they rarely return to branded products, as highlighted at the latest The Consumer Goods Forum Global Summit, meaning that CPG brands would lose consumers forever. 3. Retailers favour this shift since PLBs are typically more profitable and can drive customer loyalty. In developed markets like the UK, PLBs often launch innovative products or offer elevated quality and features versus brands, promoting a “more for the same price” value story. 4. CPG brands are addressing complexity at the recipe, formulation, and packaging levels for core SKUs, based on consumers’ perceived value and willingness to pay, to find levers to lower their prices however this might prove to be really difficult without eroding profitability. 5. The growth of PLBs particularly threatens mainstream brands that lack innovation in product and storytelling. The shift should be a wake-up call for these brands that haven’t prioritised building loyalty and community, unlike emerging startups in the CPG space which justify their premium prices through innovation and meeting specific consumer needs. It will be interesting to see how things evolve and if supermarkets will build on the success of Trader Joe's model in the US, focusing on the in-store experience and limited private label SKUs at very low prices. This scenario doesn’t seem unimaginable in the long-term, especially if Aldi UK and Lidl GB which generate 85% of their sales from PLBs continue in their growth trajectory. #PrivateLabel #RetailTrends #ConsumerGoods #MarketShift #RetailInnovation #CPG #CustomerLoyalty