Dive Brief:
- Private label sales achieved a new high last year, hitting $271 billion, according to Circana data cited by the Private Label Manufacturers Association.
- Sales increased 3.9% compared to 2023.
- Private label sales growth outpaced that of national brands, which grew 1% year over year, according to the report.
Dive Insight:
PLMA said all 10 food and nonedible departments that Circana tracks recorded year-over-year private brand dollar growth.
Refrigerated items, general food and beverages saw some of the highest growth, the report noted. Refrigerated increased 7.5% while the latter two categories both saw growth of approximately 4%, according to Circana’s data.
Major retailers are fueling sales growth with new store brand launches. Last year, Walmart introduced a grocery private label line called bettergoods, Amazon debuted a discount brand called Amazon Saver and Kroger launched a produce brand, Field & Vine.
The sales growth in 2024 continues the trend of rising private brand sales in recent years. In 2023, private label sales achieved $236 billion, a nearly 5% increase from the prior year.
Over the past four years, annual private brand dollar sales rose nearly a quarter, the report noted.
Since 2021, store brand unit sales have risen by more than 2%, while national brands have fallen by nearly 7%. The sales growth in 2024 is a testament to the value store brands offer customers, the report noted.
“The quality, value and innovation that store brands provide can’t be beat,” PLMA President Peggy Davies said in a statement.