These aren\u2019t your dad\u2019s white-labeled generics.<\/p>\n
After posting 5.3% sales growth in 2023, nearly doubling that of national brands, private brands are on a torrid run.<\/p>\n
And with retailers showing an increased appetite to build out their private-brand programs and develop products differentiated from national brand competitors, the segment shows no signs of slowing down.<\/p>\n
With 92% of consumers reporting that they trust private brands as much or more than national brands, private branding<\/strong> <\/strong>is becoming a powerhouse on its own, offering quality and innovation even greater than its value proposition.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a true testament to how far we have come, and it validates our role as a solution-provider at shelf for consumers of all types,\u201d said Michael Taylor, chief operating officer at Advantage Solutions, this week at Western Michigan University\u2019s Food Marketing Conference. \u201cWe\u2019ve come a long way from basic items whose sole job was to be cheaper at shelf.\u201d<\/p>\n Taylor, who oversees Daymon, the leading private brand agency, said that as private brands continue to capture more consumer attention, retailers need to focus on four key strategies to ensure long-term, sustainable growth for their private-brand portfolio.<\/p>\n As much as 98% of national brand product assortment is identical across competitive retailers, so \u201cprivate brands are critical in the race for differentiation and store choice.\u201d<\/p>\n How to achieve differentiation? Innovation. With some 78% of consumers saying they seek out new food and beverage flavors and trends, innovation is \u201cthe key to diversifying any brand portfolio and unlocking brand relevancy,\u201d Taylor said.<\/p>\n That includes exploring new and unique flavor varieties, occasion-ready packaging and leaning into sustainability with eco-conscious packaging and ingredients.<\/p>\n This is all about moving beyond attempts to replicate the national brand equivalent at a lower price.<\/p>\n \u201cToday\u2019s private brands are not defined against what a national brand is doing. They have their own brand definition and value proposition,\u201d Taylor said.<\/p>\n Successful programs elevate the baseline of what\u2019s expected from a private brand by offering products with unique flavor combinations, clean labels without artificial flavors or colors and premium attributes that command higher, premium pricing.<\/p>\n When competing in categories against national brands backed by powerful marketing budgets, private brands need marketing support.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can\u2019t pull off a \u2018launch and leave it\u2019 strategy and expect long-term success or growth,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cAs private brands have evolved into true consumer-centric brands, it\u2019s critical that retailers support them with focused campaigns across channels, including e-commerce, social media and traditional marketing.\u201d<\/p>\n Retailers can\u2019t expect to throw out a new innovation under their private brand without having a basic foundation in place. That includes a strong brand foundation, consistent quality and testing, ownable packaging and design and a competitive pricing strategy.<\/p>\n In other words, if a private brand\u2019s baseline products don\u2019t deliver, branching off with innovation is a fool\u2019s errand.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile it might be boring compared to cool, trending items, I can\u2019t overstate the importance of doing all of this from a strong foundation,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cBefore you do anything, you have to deliver on consumers\u2019 baseline expectations to ensure they have a consistent experience across the store and across the brand portfolio.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" These aren\u2019t your dad\u2019s white-labeled generics. After posting 5.3% sales growth in 2023, nearly doubling that of national brands, private brands are on a torrid run. And with retailers showing an increased appetite to build out their private-brand programs and develop products differentiated from national brand competitors, the segment shows no signs of slowing down. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":2803,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"mrktblog-category":[41],"class_list":["post-2804","mrktblog-posts","type-mrktblog-posts","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","mrktblog-category-advantage-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nInnovate Strategically<\/h2>\n
Play Across Pricing Tiers and Categories<\/h3>\n
Fully Support the Private Brand Program With Omnichannel Marketing<\/h3>\n
Create and Build Off a Strong Foundation<\/h3>\n