Early on in the pandemic national brands were having trouble keeping up with demand, so a lot of what was on the shelf was house or private labels. People tried them, and more likely than not liked them and are now sticking with the private label option most prevalent in the stock-up items (bath tissue, paper towels, cleaners, laundry detergent, etc.) I believe this will help to solidify the house brands as viable options and continue to increase their market share within their organization.

Store brands represent an opportunity across all of retail, not just grocers. Sounds like Bed Bath & Beyond is betting big on store brands. Kirkland might be the biggest store brand anywhere, and it transcends product categories. After a while a good store brand becomes a solid brand unto itself. It has a solid brand promise and it consistently delivers on that promise. Genuine quality and authentic value will win every time.

It’s really about availability. If store brands are there for essentials (toilet paper, disinfectants, etc.) they will sell if they are kept in stock. Retailers might also change or remove limits for private label. It appears that another wave of panic buying and out-of-stocks might be approaching, so retailers will get another opportunity to boost private label share.

The pandemic has been very helpful to national brands and has helped push up sales. This is particularly so in categories like household essentials, cleaning products, and some grocery categories like canned goods. There have been gains for private labels too, but these have been hampered by lack of availability and consumers migrating to some well-known brands. However, the picture is very mixed: Target’s Good & Gather own brand continues to grow at a rapid clip – because it is innovative and interesting to the consumer. I expect other retailers to ramp up their private label efforts once trading starts to normalize.

I think those who are going the private label route have tried it – don’t expect to see new households coming into the PL franchise post COVID-19. Those who have found some of the really good private labels (like Kirkland, Publix, etc.) might expand their horizon. But Joel is right – now much of this is distribution-based (it’s all that’s on the shelf) and some of it is economic (it’s the best I can afford).

Not to cast doubt on the Inmar findings, but Trader Joe’s, Aldi and even Lidl have done very well with their brands throughout the pandemic. This is likely because they have more control over their supply chains than other retailers, but also because they only have a physical presence and haven’t had to deal with e-commerce.

It comes down to the quality of the private label brand. Per the write-up, many consumers were forced to choose private label options when national brands weren’t available. If the quality was good, consumers will stay with that brand. With the recent resurgence of cases, the opportunity still exists to push private label in the face of shortages – just be sure the quality is there.

Consumers have been purchasing more traditional packaged goods products during the pandemic, driven by more cooking at home and a desire for security and reassurance provided by the brands they used in their past. Given the economic insecurity present today, it is logical that store brands will also prosper.

The barriers, as this article has described, are logistical — both availability and presence on shopping applications. The key for retailers will be to promote their store brands on their apps. Otherwise consumers may not have the store brands at the top of their minds.

Overall, this winter should be a good season for grocery retailers and for their brands as well.

One of the changes in consumer behaviors during the pandemic has been prioritizing availability of brand loyalty. I believe this will give a boost to store brands, especially if retailers can continue to ensure that they can stock the products their customers want. As Ms. Leathers points out, the benefits for a strong private label program at retail are compelling; brand loyalty, better margins and more control over production. Add price advantages for the consumer during tough economic times and I think this is a great time for retailers to promote their own brands and drive adoption.

I’m just a tad skeptical. If I look at the local Trader Joe’s and Aldi I see lines wrapping around the block as I have throughout the pandemic. Costco’s Kirkland brands – across all categories – seemed to do well also. In other cases I think people wanted national brands, went to store brands as a forced alternative, went back to national brands when they were available, and will switch back to store brands if hoarding begins again in earnest. My Second Rule reads, “Don’t look for patterns in anomalies, look for patterns of anomalies.” So let’s see what post-pandemic shopping looks like. As for e-commerce opportunities, if the author is right and some of the decline in store brands is due to supply, how does increasing demand alleviate that problem?

Whether consumers see the private label choices when looking for products is important so they at least know they exist. So online searches need to facilitate this step. Having private label products available consistently is the next step. Both of these steps are essential for trial. Repeat purchase depends upon the quality of the items when purchased.

It really comes down to shelf availability and product quality. Consumers who already were buying store brands only switched to national brands when the shelves were empty. They may need a nudge to switch back if they’re satisfied with the national brand. This means retailers need to emphasize the marketing for these brands to get those customers back. The same happened in the other direction, from national to store brand during the pandemic as well. Similarly, if the quality was good enough, or perceived as equal or better, then the consumer won’t be switching back. A good example of that might be Target’s Good & Gather brand.

The bottom line is that if retailers want to sell more private label brands they need to ensure shelf availability and product quality — same as before, but it may take more marketing muscle during the pandemic to cause a change in shopper buying patterns.

Let’s not mistake shopper preference for product availability. Certainly shortages in some pandemic-sensitive categories led shoppers to try alternate brands, including some own-label products. This “forced discovery” no doubt led some shoppers to broaden the set of items they deem acceptable. In other words, it may have softened some entrenched brand preferences.

Great opportunity for private label, right? Well yes, until those items too were delayed in replenishment.

It will remain difficult for retailers to pin down preference patterns for months to come, until the supply chain finds new equilibrium. Private label manufacturers face the challenge too — especially where upstream raw materials supplies are inconsistent.

In the present era, some purchase behaviors are simply more pragmatic than emotional. I call this “least-worst” decision making. Not the same as establishing new brand or store-brand loyalty.

Kirkland and Trader Joe’s are masters of the private brand universe. It seems most in-house “branded” grocery products are nothing more than the act of private labeling the products of large national brands. There is a keen distinction between private label products and private brands. Private label products require little thought, simply relabel the product. Whereas a private brand is cohesive, time and energy are invested to develop and implement brand standards focused on the grocer’s end-user preferences.

Grocers should consider Trader Joe’s mission statement on the wall of every TJ’s. This mission statement is evidenced in every TJ’s product. Shoppers can shop with confidence, try a vast number of new products always evolving in TJ’s and Kirkland product selections. Shoppers trust both private brands for quality, price, and wholesomeness.

Post-pandemic shopping will see consumers gradually revert back to their previous in-store behaviors, and that includes favoring superior store brands. Lack of availability has been a temporary issue with private label, but that will be resolved once we get back to normal.