Sales of private label products increased steadily last year, reaching a record $228.6 billion, according to the Private Label Manufacturers Association’s (PLMA) 2023 Private Label Report. That represents an 11.3% increase over 2021, and it was almost double the 6.1% growth experienced by national brands.
While, like with national brands, some of the dollar sales growth can be attributed to inflation, store brands also outperformed national brands in unit sales. Overall, private label products experienced a 1% decline in unit sales during the year, compared to a 4.1% decrease for national brands.
The biggest sales growth was seen in beverages, deli prepared, and refrigerated products, all of which saw increases of more than 17% over 2021. Within those categories, bottled water, cookies, fresh eggs, butter and butter blends, shortening and oils, pastry and doughnuts, and sugar performed especially well.
PLMA attributes the gains to consumers switching to store brands in the face of inflation, as well as the steps these brands have taken to meet consumer demands for healthier, more sustainable products.
The association believes that these drivers will continue to resonate with shoppers. “By adapting and shopping smarter by choosing store brands, U.S. consumers were able to purchase high quality, great value food and non-food grocery items for their families in the face of inflation, recession fears, supply chain issues and geopolitical unrest. That’s a trend that historically accrues to the long-term benefit of the store brands industry,” said PLMA President Peggy Davies. “We have every reason to believe that this favorable dynamic will continue well into 2023.”
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