Private Label Market Insights

In 2026, some of the sharpest FMCG operators in America will be leading private-label lines you don’t even notice on shelf. And that’s exactly the point. Private label has quietly entered its 2.0 phase. Shopify and ParallelDots both flag accelerating momentum, not just in volume, but in capability. These are no longer cheap substitutes. They’re data-led, margin-smart, fast to iterate, and increasingly brand-savvy. WARC’s 2026 outlook reinforces what retailers already know: consumer spending is polarising. Value and premium are growing at the same time, and private label sits right in the middle, close to the consumer, close to the data, and close to the margin. What’s interesting to me is the talent flow behind this shift. I’m seeing senior commercial, supply chain, and general management leaders leave big FMCG companies to take roles inside retailer-owned brands and high-growth challengers. Not because they couldn’t progress where they were, but because these environments offer something legacy organisations struggle to replicate: speed, ownership, and real decision power. This creates a quiet risk for established FMCG players. When some of your most operationally sharp leaders exit for private label or challengers, succession plans start to thin in ways org charts don’t immediately reveal. Private label growth isn’t just a competitive dynamic. It’s a leadership one. If you’re sitting in a legacy FMCG business, the real question is this: Are you creating roles that keep your best operators stretched and invested, or are retailers doing that job for you? I’d love to hear what others are seeing. Are private label and challenger brands already reshaping your leadership bench, or is this still flying under the radar? #privatelabel #fmcg #cpg

10,000 SKUs. 100+ categories. 18 months. Walmart just launched the most extensive private label overhaul in its history. And if you're a CPG brand, this is the most important competitive move of 2026. Here's what makes this different from every previous Great Value refresh: 1. They're not targeting budget shoppers anymore. Walmart is explicitly going after households earning $100K+. The new packaging is designed to shed the "knockoff" perception entirely. 2. They used generative AI to redesign the packaging. New standardized nutritional call-out boxes are optimized for both human shoppers and AI-assisted discovery (gig workers, agentic shopping bots, search algorithms). 3. The numbers behind this move are staggering. Private label hit $282.8B in US sales last year, growing 3x faster than national brands. National brand unit sales actually declined 0.6%. And Amazon's grocery private label has been the fastest-growing store brand by unit volume since its October launch. This is the part CPG brands need to internalize: Walmart sees every transaction across 4,700 stores and the largest grocery ecommerce platform in the US. They know exactly which price points, pack sizes, and attributes convert for each income bracket. They're not guessing which SKUs to redesign. They're using first-party data to reverse-engineer your most vulnerable categories. For CPG brands, this creates a two-front war you can't ignore. Your biggest customer is simultaneously your most dangerous private label competitor. And they're optimizing faster than most brand teams can run a single A/B test on a product page. The brands that survive this aren't the ones with the lowest price. They're the ones that can prove value beyond price: content depth that private label can't replicate, innovation velocity that stays two steps ahead, and digital shelf execution that makes the brand irreplaceable to the shopper. When your biggest customer becomes your biggest competitor, the only moat is speed. How is your brand responding to the private label surge? #CPG #PrivateLabel #Walmart #Ecommerce #DigitalShelf

Believe It Or Not. The 80 year assumption that store brand means cheaper is breaking inside the premium tier specifically. In a growing list of categories, private label now sells at parity or PREMIUM to the equivalent tier national brand. The assumption that built private label for 80 years was simple. Store brands cost less, deliver value, capture trade down. Inside the premium tier, that assumption has flipped. Costco Wholesale Kirkland Signature organic peanut butter sells 18% above The J.M. Smucker Co. Jif on a per ounce basis. Trader Joe's extra virgin olive oil sells 12% above Bertolli - dal 1865 and Filippo Berio USA Ltd. Whole Foods Market 365 oat milk sells 9% above Oatly. Walmart Bettergoods, launched in 2024 as Walmart's first premium tier, sells SKUs at parity or premium to Procter & Gamble, Unilever, Kraft Heinz and General Mills equivalents. ALDI USA Specially Selected and Kroger Private Selection follow the same playbook. The economics flipped because perception flipped. Consumers no longer assume store brand means lower quality, for Gen Z and Millennials, Costco Wholesale Kirkland is a trust mark. Trader Joe's has cult status. Whole Foods Market 365 carries the parent halo. The retailer brand has become more credible than the manufacturer brand in select categories. The national brand response has been muted. Procter & Gamble, Unilever, PepsiCo, The Coca-Cola Company, Mondelēz International, Mars, The Hershey Company, Kellanova, The Campbell's Company, Conagra Brands, Colgate-Palmolive, Reckitt, Kimberly-Clark, Henkel and Danone have chosen margin protection over price competitive response. They are ceding the premium private label tier because matching price erodes margin and matching the trust signal requires brand investment they have not made. The Better Peer take: This is not about price. It is the collapse of the brand premium myth, for 50 years, CPG brand equity was the unbreakable moat, the brand carried the price, the brand earned the shelf, the retailer was the landlord but now that equation has broken. Retailers built brand, while shoppers trust the retailer brand. The national brand is now the disposable layer in select categories. The next decade of CPG will be defined by which national brands rebuild the trust retailer brands took. If the retailer's brand is more premium than yours, what exactly are you selling?. #CPG #TheBetterPeer #CPGConsulting #BelieveItOrNot #PrivateLabel #ConsumerGoods

𝗣𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗲𝗹𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹 𝟰𝟰% 𝗼𝗳 𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝘀. 𝗔𝗹𝗰𝗼𝗵𝗼𝗹 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗳𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸. 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝘄𝗮𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆'𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴. → Private labels drive 75% of unit growth → Confectionery brands lost pricing power completely → Alcohol brands down -1.1%, private labels worse at -2.7% Every FMCG CEO is asking: "How do we compete with private labels?" ↳ Wrong question. Ask: Why are private labels winning everywhere except alcohol? ↳ The answer reveals your survival strategy. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝟱 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲'𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗹 𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿: 𝟭. 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗲𝗹𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻'𝘁 𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗽 𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝘆𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 ↳ They're raising prices faster than brands ↳ Still gaining share. Quality perception shifted. 𝟮. 𝗔𝗹𝗰𝗼𝗵𝗼𝗹'𝘀 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴. 𝗕𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗹𝘆. ↳ Beer brands -0.7% vs private label -2.7% ↳ Provenance and heritage still matter here ↳ But RTDs [+8.2%] show where growth lives 𝟯. 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿. 𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹 𝗶𝘀. ↳ 44% share in supermarkets vs 42% overall ↳ Retailers are pushing their brands aggressively ↳ Shelf space allocation = the real battlefield 𝟰. 𝗩𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗺𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗲𝗹 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗽𝗼𝗹𝘆 ↳ 50% of value growth from private labels ↳ 75% of unit growth from private labels ↳ Brands stuck with price increases, no volume 𝟱. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝗨𝟲 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗮𝗹 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗲 ↳ €22.6bn CPG market still growing ↳ But brands are capturing less of that growth 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝟯 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸: First: Accept the barbell reality ↳ Premium for margin, mass for scale ↳ Middle is death Second: Build Demand Spaces ↳ Private labels win on price ↳ You win on moments/ demand spaces Third: Innovation that matters ↳ Not line extensions ↳ Category creation [see RTDs +8.2%] 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗵: Private labels are now an embedded infrastructure. Not temporary pressure. Permanent reality. Alcohol's resilience shows brand power still exists. But only when you deliver what private labels can't: Heritage. Experience. Emotion. 𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝘂𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻 𝗙𝗠𝗖𝗚 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲: Your 2025 strategy needs to answer one question: What can you deliver that a private label never will? If you can't answer that, you're already losing. ___________ 👋 Hi, I am Filiberto. Follow me for sharper FMCG insights. 📖 Like this post? You are going to love my newsletter: https://lnkd.in/dFwbrjwG

Private label now accounts for more than half of all FMCG units sold in four of Europe’s six largest grocery markets. Spain leads at 59%, followed by the Netherlands at 56%. The UK and Germany both stand at 52%, compared with 46% in France and 36% in Italy. That 23-point difference between Spain and Italy shows that private label is not developing evenly across Europe. Retail structure, discounter penetration, retailer strategy and shopper confidence all influence the role it plays within each market. Across the six countries combined, private label has now reached a record 50% unit share, rising by more than three percentage points since 2021. It also accounts for 42% of sales value, worth €324bn. Value remains a major driver of own-label growth, but retailer investment across premium and specialist ranges shows its appeal now extends well beyond budget shoppers alone. Lidl says its own-brand assortment represents approximately 85% of the products it sells. Tesco reported 15% growth for Finest after launching 400 new products during 2024/25. Sainsbury’s also reported 15% growth for Taste the Difference, with more than 600 new products launched during the year. Waitrose own-brand sales increased by 5.9%.  These are different measurements, but together they show how retailers are developing own label across discount, core and premium propositions. For manufacturers, that creates a more demanding environment. Strong brands still carry considerable value, but recognition alone may not be enough when retailer-owned alternatives can compete on quality, price and relevance. Promotion can protect volume temporarily, but it does not answer the more important question: what distinctive role does the branded product play within the category? Manufacturers increasingly need to demonstrate where their products generate incremental sales, attract additional shoppers, create new occasions or strengthen the overall performance of the fixture. That also means becoming more precise about range and space. A brand’s strongest products may deserve greater visibility in some store formats, while weaker or overlapping lines may be harder to defend. The same assortment and space recommendation will not necessarily produce the same result across every retailer, fixture or shopper mission. Scenario planning can help manufacturers model those decisions before the range review, compare alternative assortments and show how their recommendations would work within the available space. The argument for shelf presence can no longer rely mainly on history or brand size. It needs to be supported by a clear category role, credible evidence and a practical plan for how the range will perform in store.

THE FUTURE OF PRIVATE LABEL Private label is not growing…Private label is taking control. That’s the early innings of a decade-long power shift. Office → 41.9% Home → 35.1% Tools → 30.0% Grocery → 26.2% Beauty → 17.7% Electronics → 10.2% 👉 The threshold that matters: 30% share Once private label crosses it → consumer hesitation disappears permanently ⚡ THE FUTURE (TRAJECTORY) 1. PRIVATE LABEL → PRIVATE BRAND → PRIVATE ECOSYSTEM Old model: Retailer sells product New model: Retailer owns: Product Price Data Trust 👉 Endgame: Retailers become vertically integrated brand empires 2. SKU DEATH = PRIVATE LABEL GROWTH Walmart: ~120K SKUs Costco: ~3,500–4,000 SKUs 👉 That constraint is not limitation… it’s strategy Fewer SKUs = forced demand concentration = higher PL penetration 3. AI + DATA = PRIVATE LABEL ACCELERATOR Retailers now know: Price sensitivity by SKU Substitution behavior Elasticity curves EXACTLY where brand weakness exists 🧠 THE COSTCO / KIRKLAND SIGNATURE (KS) CHEAT CODE Let’s talk about the apex predator. 📊 COSTCO / KS BY THE NUMBERS: ~30%+ of Costco sales = Kirkland Signature $80B+ estimated annual KS revenue Costco total revenue: $240B+ Membership renewal rate: ~90% US / Canada Kirkland Signature alone would rank as one of the largest brands in the world. 💡 WHY KS WORKS (NO ONE ELSE EXECUTES THIS CLEAN) Kirkland Signature formula: ~15–20% cheaper (not bargain-bin cheap) Minimalist packaging → signals confidence SKU discipline → no clutter, no confusion Consumers don’t “settle” for KS… they seek it That’s the flip moment. 💄 1. BEAUTY — HIGH MARGIN, LOW LOYALTY (GEN Z CRACKING IT) Private label today: ~17–18% Industry margins: 50–70%+ Ingredient-first decisions Dupes over brands TikTok-driven switching “Clinical aesthetic + clean packaging + 30% cheaper” 🍪 2. SNACKS / GROCERY PREMIUMIZATION Already at 26%+ 👉 Private label isn’t just “cheap food” anymore Aldi + Costco already running offense here 🧼 3. HOUSEHOLD Already near 30% (28.7%) 👉 No identity attachment → pure value math This category goes: 40%+ private label next decade, easy 📺 4. ELECTRONICS (LONG GAME, BUT COMING) Currently: 10.2% But watch the sequence: Accessories (Amazon Basics dominance) Mid-tier goods (monitors, peripherals) Eventually: private label bundles 👉 Retailers won’t beat Apple… but they don’t need to. They’ll win the “good enough at 40% less” layer Trust has elasticity. In 2005 → private label = risk In 2026 → private label = rational By 2030 → private label = default THE FORMULA (From the Lab) If: Quality ≥ 90% of brand Price ≤ 80–85% of brand Packaging = clean / premium Then: Switching probability explodes Loyalty transfers Brand equity collapses upstream Who are the Winners? Costco Wholesale (Kirkland Signature empire) ALDI USA (efficiency + trust machine) Walmart (data + scale hybrid) Amazon (algorithmic product creation) Kirkland Signature is running laps around the industry.

Retailers do not just want your product. They want the consumer insight behind your product. And if you cannot own the reason for being, the retailer can often recreate the thing faster, cheaper, and closer to the shelf. That is the part of private label every premium beverage brand should be paying attention to. Years ago, I worked on a beverage innovation project built around a real consumer insight. We had the way in. We had the brand idea. We had the packaging. We had a differentiated liquid that tested well with consumers. A major, compelling retailer wanted it as an exclusive. We said no, because we believed the opportunity was bigger than one retailer. Then that same company created a private-label version for the retailer that was close enough to make the point painfully clear. The retailer did not just want the product. They wanted the insight. That memory came back reading McKinsey’s latest State of Food & Beverage report. Private label is no longer winning on price alone. Consumers increasingly see private-label products as comparable to or better than branded products on quality, value, and range. In the U.S., 34% of respondents say they are buying more private label than they were TWO years ago. But the bigger shift is not just consumer acceptance. It is retailer capability. Retailers are using real-time sales, pricing, promotion, formulation, and trend data to find white space and bring concepts to shelf faster than many branded CPG companies can. That should change how premium brands think about defensibility. Because if your brand’s value proposition is vague, the retailer can often capture the same consumer need with more speed, more shelf control, and a sharper price. A pretty label is not a moat. A founder story is not a moat. “Premium” is not a moat if the consumer cannot explain what they are paying more for. The danger is not that private label is cheaper. The danger is that many branded products are no longer meaningfully easier to choose. And when the reason to choose gets fuzzy, is it any wonder the middle gets eaten?

Store brands just hit a record 50% of units sold across Europe's six biggest grocery markets. In the US it's only half of that (24%). Why such a difference? Three hypotheses: 1. Different grocery model. US supermarkets primarily make money off their suppliers, not by selling products: trade spend, slotting fees, volume rebates, and chargebacks. Back when grocers disclosed that vendor money, it was often several times their entire net profit. Europe regulated many of these fees away, requiring retailers to monetize differently. 2. Concentration. European grocery is more concentrated, with dense national footprints that cultivate strong retail brand recognition and trust. Mercadona holds 28% of the Spanish market and sells roughly 75% own brand. Albert Heijn holds 38% of the Netherlands at over half. H-E-B, the largest grocer in Texas, is a potential US equivalent and runs well above average on private label. 3. Discounters forced it. Aldi and Lidl hold 40% of German food retail, where store brands are half the market. France, by contrast, has much less discount competition, and Leclerc and Carrefour are much more akin to Kroger and Walmart. If this is the driver, the recent growth of US discounters (notably Aldi) means the market may just be a decade or two behind. And let's be clear about what private label is. Many suppliers (including many of our customers) produce both branded and private-label products. The same factory producing two labels at two prices that segment customers based on price sensitivity. The tug-of-war is over who decides what gets made, and who pays for the marketing.

Private label products have historically been viewed as budget-friendly alternatives for families looking to save. But today, they are competing head-to-head with national brands in nearly every category. 📈 By mid-2024, 50% of global shoppers reported buying more private label products than ever before. 📈 Private label now accounts for 19.4% of total FMCG sales worldwide—and continues to grow. This shift isn’t just about inflation, though rising prices have made shoppers more cost-conscious. Retailers have raised the bar on private label quality, making the value proposition stronger than ever. Consumers are getting an excellent product at a better price, and that’s a tough combination to beat. National brands now face a landscape where private label is gaining ground, and price gaps are harder to justify. To stay competitive, they need to rethink how they drive loyalty. Many private labels are winning not just on price, but on exclusive perks—like retailer membership programs that incentivize repeat purchases—or through strategic collaborations that add perceived value beyond affordability. National brands should similarly focus on differentiated offerings, premium innovation, and deeper personalization to retain their customer base before private labels claim it for good.