Arlington, VA – FMI – The Food Industry Association, releases the second installment of the 2023 Power of Private Brands series which surveyed grocery shoppers about their private brand shopping habits. Shoppers overwhelmingly report that they are not only buying private brands more often, but that they are drawn to private brands by factors that go beyond the affordable price and overall value typically associated with store brands.
“Although inflationary pressures may have been the catalyst that prompted consumers to try more private brand products over the last few years, shoppers have clearly come to appreciate the quality and value that store brands offer,” said FMI Vice President of Industry Relations Doug Baker. “The overwhelming majority of shoppers tell us they plan to continue purchasing private brands in the future, even as grocery prices normalize.”
“Shoppers are motivated to purchase store brands because they like the quality and the taste of the products, not just because of the affordability and value that private brands provide,” adds Baker. “This growing trust and loyalty consumers have developed for private brands highlights how these products have really evolved to become an extension of a retailers’ brand and value proposition, which is reflected in the way that private brands are also playing a bigger role in how consumers decide where to shop for food.”
Grocery Shoppers Are Buying More Private Brands
This year’s analysis reveals an acceleration in private brand buying habits. Ninety-six percent of grocery shoppers tell FMI that they purchase store brands at least occasionally, with 46% purchasing private brands most or all of the time, and about 60% of shoppers say they are buying private brands much more or somewhat more in the past year, compared to just 26% for national brands.
Overall, 90% of shoppers say they are likely to continue purchasing private brands even if inflation or the price of groceries decrease, indicating the growing loyalty shoppers have for store brands.
Price, Value, Quality, And Taste All Attract Shoppers to Private Brands
Price (68%) and good value (67%) continue to be the top reasons cited by shoppers for buying more private brand items.
However, 65% of shoppers mentioned a reason other than price and value that motivate their private brand purchases. Of those, shoppers cited quality (30%), taste (26%), and meeting meal solutions needs (16%) as some of the factors driving their store brand purchasing decisions.
Of the shoppers who said that quality was a reason they bought more private brands, more than half said that the quality of the store brand was comparable to that of a manufacturer brand.
Grocery Shoppers Trust Private Brands
Grocery shoppers told FMI that private brands are just as good as name brands in a number of key areas.
When asked which kind of brand is better, 59% of shoppers said that private and name brands were the same at providing detailed product information; 57% said that they felt private brands were just as healthy as their manufacturer-brand equivalent; and 63% said that the private brand was just as good for the planet as the national brand.
Crucially, more than half (52%) said that the private brands were products they trusted as much as the manufacturer brand product.
Power of Private Brands 2023: What’s Ahead for Shoppers and Private Brands is based on an exclusive, nationally representative survey of 1,039 U.S. grocery shoppers aged 18 or older. Find more at www.FMI.org/PrivateBrands.
As the food industry association, FMI works with and on behalf of the entire industry to advance a safer, healthier and more efficient consumer food supply chain. FMI brings together a wide range of members across the value chain — from retailers that sell to consumers, to producers that supply food and other products, as well as the wide variety of companies providing critical services — to amplify the collective work of the industry. www.FMI.org
