Private labels – a growth market

In a recent press release, the PLMA International Council reported that general growth in the market share of store brands was to be observed in 17 European countries. This is revealed by updated data from Nielsen IQ, which was commissioned by the PLMA. According to this, the value share increased by comparison with the previous year across all product groups by 1.7 per cent to 38.1 per cent in total. In 16 out of 17 countries, there was a rise in retailer’s brands, with a slight decline only being registered in Switzerland. Considered from a global perspective, European countries continue to be among the biggest markets for private labels. In eleven countries, private labels maintained a market share of over 30 per cent and in six countries their share was more than 40 per cent.

The countries with the biggest growth in private label share were Portugal (+4.4 per cent), Germany (+2.9 per cent), the Czech Republic (+2.8 per cent) and Spain (+2.2 per cent). Although Switzerland is the only country to record a modest decline in private label share, it is still the country with the highest share of the 17 countries covered, with a share of 51.8 per cent. This also makes it the only country with a market share in excess of 50 per cent.

The biggest markets in Europe – Germany, the UK and France – have a joint market share of 39.6 per cent so far in 2023. This equates to an increase of 1.9 per cent compared with last year. The areas to experience the biggest growth in share in the largest markets were non-perishable foods, pet food and frozen foods. All categories recorded a growth rate of more than two percentage points. Spain and Portugal experienced a growth rate of 2.5 per cent. In Belgium (38.9 per cent) and in the Netherlands (44.9 per cent), the joint private label share increased by 1.5 per cent. The biggest growth in the two countries was for non-perishable foods, paper products and home care.

In the Scandinavian countries of Denmark (35.1 per cent), Sweden (27.9 per cent) and Norway (21.9 per cent) also, private label share increased overall by +1.7 per cent. In eastern Europe, in the Czech Republic (23.2 per cent), Hungary (29.1 per cent) and Poland (32.7 per cent), the private label share is showing sustained and steady development, with the highest growth rates recorded for perishable foods and pet food.

In the cat food segment…