The successful run of private labels in German supermarkets continues and, by all indications, will continue in the coming years: “Many younger consumers no longer distinguish between private label and branded and buy what suits them, tastes good and they like it,” says the consumer expert Robert Kekskes.

The inflationary explanations of recent years have changed consumer behavior. Inflation is gradually decreasing and the consumer climate is slowly improving, giving particular weight to the private sector labels so popular Recent research by the Institute of Retailing (IFH) shows that private labels are reasonably priced and of good quality. A majority of consumers at 74% consider private labels to be as good as brands, with 72% stating that private labels are better value for money.

Private labels often give the feeling of being special

Data from the Consumer Panel of consumer research company GfK, which is owned by Yougov, show that brand name labels have seen turnover increases of just 4% in recent years, while sales volumes have declined by 5%. In contrast, turnover from private label sales increased by 14%, with a relatively small increase in sales volume.

Will branded labels become redundant in the future? Institute for Trade Research (IFH) expert Boris Hede does not consider that the era of branded labels has passed and that they have ceased to be attractive: “For their products, the variety of products on the shelf is still decisive.” The head of the supermarket chain, Lionel Shook, explains: “They are not willing to pay double the price just for a brand. They expect a branded product to taste better, be healthier or offer something new.”

In recent years, supermarkets and discounters have significantly expanded their range of private labels. Information has the ability to choose between standard and higher quality products. In the so-called premium category, demand has increased significantly, because as expert Boris Hede explains, many have also realized that private labels give them the desire that it is something special.

Discounters gained more market share

The Rewe and Edeka chains now offer far more private label products than discount supermarkets. At the same time, however, the conventional supers

market they are looking to have a lot of branded products on their shelves ‘to stand out from the discount chains,'” the head of giant Rewe recently said. of food prices. prices so as not to lose customers

but are private labels in discount supermarkets? look for them in chains such as Edeka and Rewe or in discount stores such as Aldi and Lidl:

Stefanos Georgakopoulos