One thing that won't disappear with the recession is the fierce competition of Private Label Brands

Recently I read the article "Competing Against Store Brands: Pat Conroy, Deloitte LLP" by Albert Guffanti, and it got me thinking; Private Label brands are not going away even when the economy changes. Both as a marketer who works with food companies and as a mom who has to keep a household budget, the trend for thrift isn’t going anywhere.

Guffanti points out that there are three key factors influencing the strong impact of private label brands. These three reasons are “increased focus on and investment in store brands by retailers, improved consumer perception of store brand quality and the recession-induced trial of less expensive options.” His reasoning mirrors my own opinions about why national brands are facing such tough competition. For instance, private label cans used to be what you’d bury in the bottom of your recycling bin, but now saving is in vogue.

As the U.S. market share for store brands is expected to increase through 2012, it will be curious to see what food companies do to respond to this and how they create a solid differentiation strategy to compete.
 

Michelene Maguire

As the VP, Marketing, IndustryBuilt Software, Michelene leads a great team of marketing specialists and business development representatives who help find the right type of companies to partner with. She has more than 15 years of experience working with software companies with very specialized offerings. When she’s not thinking about marketing, she is chasing after her preschooler and working on her MBA. She can be reached at michelene.maguire@industrybuilt.com.