Private Labels Gear Up for Future Growth
PRIVATE BRANDS of CPG products are on a roll.
Sales of store brands rose 3.9% in 2024 to a record $271 billion; January was the first Store Brands Month; a few months earlier, the annual trade show sponsored by the Private Label Manufacturers Association (PLMA) broke attendance records.
“Today, retailers understand that they need to think like a brand and act like a retailer. The appropriate investment in private or own-label products has enabled retailers to develop significant points of positive differentiation,” wrote Richard J. George, Ph.D., long-time professor of food marketing at St. Joseph’s University on the website RetailWire.com.
Sales of store brands increased $9 billion to a record $271 billion last year compared to 2023, according to PLMA’s latest Circana Unify+ data. This represents a 3.9% rise in dollar sales in all outlets from Jan. 8 to Dec. 29, 2024, versus the same period in 2023. Private label growth outpaced national brands, which grew 1% in dollar sales.
PLMA President Peggy Davies said, “The quality, value and innovation that store brands provide can’t be beat.”
Over the past four years, annual store brand dollar sales have increased by over $51 billion, a 23.6% gain. In addition, since 2021, store brand unit sales rose 2.3%, while national brands fell 6.8%.
All 10 food and nonedible departments that Circana tracks showed store brand dollar growth over the year before. Refrigerated (+7.5%), General Food (+4.3%) and Beverages (+4%) had some of the highest growth. In unit sales growth, the top departments were Beverages (+3.5%), Pet Care (+3.5%) and Home Care (+3.3%).
The news of the record $271 billion in store brand sales came during the January debut of Store Brands Month, which salutes the availability and quality of store brands across all retail channels. The month-long, direct-to-consumer program is a partnership between retailers and manufacturers to promote the quality, value and excellence of store brands to shoppers.
The goal of Store Brands Month is to increase consumer trial by focusing attention on the positive attributes and practical factors of store brands – including value, digital convenience, ethical considerations, innovation and budget awareness – across all product categories in both brick-and-mortar and online retail formats.
“The time is right to bring greater visibility among consumers to our thriving industry,” Davies said. “By coming together with our partners during a month-long campaign, we have an opportunity to further expand the presence and strength of the largest CPG brand in the store: private brands.”
Retailers have voiced strong support for the initiative, which is planned to be an annual event.
PLMA’s 2024 Private Label Trade Show, the premier event for store brands, closed with a record number of attendees. The sold-out show floor at “The Store Brands Phenomenon 2024 - Empowering the Retail Industry” Private Label Trade Show, was held Nov. 17-19 in Chicago. It featured 1,821 exhibitors from 60 countries. There were 700 first-time exhibitors. In all, some 14,000 retailers, visitors, exhibitors, and others from the store brand and retailing industries attended.
