January 26, 2026
dcwcreations/Depositphotos.com
What Does the Future Look Like for Private Label?
According to a recent press released issued by the Private Label Manufacturers Association (PLMA), U.S. private label product sales topped $282.8 billion in 2025. That figure represents a significant 3.3% year-over-year increase versus 2024’s statistic, while also nearly tripling the gains made by national brand competitors (exhibiting much more modest growth of 1.2%).
“Store brands are outperforming national brands across the U.S., growing faster, expanding share, and delivering record-setting sales results,” PLMA President Peggy Davis said of the results.
And it wasn’t just sales that saw improvement, with private label unit volume improving by a slight 0.6% (or 434.3 million units) to a total of 68.7 billion units across the United States. This data draws further contrast when compared to national brand unit volumes, which declined by the same percentage (down 0.6%).
Other data, provided by Circana Unify+, drawn from the PLMA report:
- Concerning category unit sale gains: Pet care products led the charge, improving by 5.4% YoY; then liquor, up 4.4%; and then beverages, ticking upward by 2.3%. Frozen foods improved by 0.9%; refrigerated foods by a bit less, at 0.7%; and general food by only 0.2%.
- In terms of dollar sales, a total of seven different categories last year beat 2024’s results: Refrigerated improved by 6.1% in terms of private label revenue, followed by beverages at 4.8%; In third place was pet care (up 3.7%), then beauty at 2.8%; with frozen (2.4%), general food (1.6%) and general merchandise (up 0.9%) bringing up the rear.
Private label sales have been on a bit of a tear over the last few years, increasing in dollar sales by $64.8 billion — or just over 30% — over the past five years. Unit sales displayed less improvement (though still notable growth), improving by 2.7 billion units, or 4%, over the same time frame.
“Private label growth reflects a shift in consumer priorities, as retailer-owned brands increasingly compete—and win—on value, quality, health, and sustainability, not just price,” said Davies.
BrainTrust
Cathy Hotka
Principal, Cathy Hotka & Associates
Perry Kramer
Managing Partner, Retail Consulting Partners
Bob Amster
Principal, Retail Technology Group
Recent Discussions
Discussion Questions
What does the future look like for U.S. private label products? Are we nearing a peak of consumer interest, or will growth persist even when the economy improves?
Which standout private label products are you seeing driving the most consumer interest? Which familiar favorites may need a refresh?
Poll
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Private label is growing faster than mainstream retail and has been doing so for some time. That outperformance is set to continue for the foreseeable future, which will increase penetration. Part of the reason is that consumers can save money by switching. But it’s not just that: retailers are innovating more with private label and making better and more premium products. That’s also capturing attention and spend. Private label is no longer just about being the ‘cheaper’ alternative.
Private label will attract increasing share of sales as long as quality remains high and price pressures are significant.
I don’t think we’re at a peak in consumer interest for U.S. private label — even in an improving economy. What we’ve seen over the past several years is that private brands no longer function solely as “cheap alternatives”; they’ve become strategic value drivers that fulfill specific shopper needs around quality, trust, and differentiated value. In many categories, private label has moved beyond basic price competition to real category share creation, driven by better formulations, upgraded packaging, clearer value propositions, and placement strategies that elevate these products alongside national brands. As a result, private-brand momentum should continue even as economic conditions improve — because consumers have now come to expect strong private brand offerings as part of a comprehensive shopping experience, not just during downturns.
The products driving the most interest tend to be those that solve concrete consumer missions where the value equation is easiest to articulate: premium-style grocery essentials, better-for-you food and beverage items, household consumables with performance parity to national brands, and private label apparel basics that combine style with price confidence. In grocery, this has been evident in deli, dairy, and center-store staples, where private brand quality now rivals — and sometimes exceeds — that of national counterparts. In general merchandise, private label has also made inroads in the activewear and home categories, where design, fit, and curated assortments matter. These are the segments where shoppers feel they’re getting a good product without a premium price tag, and that emotional confidence underpins loyalty.
That said, some familiar private-label favorites could benefit from a refresh — especially when legacy packaging, outdated positioning, or inconsistent quality tarnish their value perception. Categories like canned goods, basic condiments, and commoditized consumables still offer opportunities for innovation, whether through updated branding, cleaner ingredient lists, or better storytelling that connects with how shoppers think about health and sustainability today. In my view, the future of private label will be defined not by price alone but by how effectively retailers invest in brand equity, differentiated value, and relevance that resonates with both existing loyalists and new adopters. The brands that win treat private label as a strategic growth engine, not just a margin lever.
As national brands lean into complex volumetric discounting and higher unit prices to protect their margins, private labels are winning by offering ‘premium quality without the bulk’ at a transparent price. By finally closing the quality gap in high-trust categories, store brands have moved from being a ‘recession pivot’ to the most honest value proposition for a consumer tired of being forced to over-buy just to pay a fair amount.
Consumer awareness of which brands even are private brands has been dwindling for years. Now, consumers are giving a collective shrug when they do know. Amazon has helped this along with its marketplace stuffed to the brim with capitalized-consonant no-name brands across multiple categories.
Private brands aren’t going anywhere. They’ve been a lifeline as retailers navigated through multiple disruptions – from COVID-era supply chain snags to inflation, tariffs, and consumers’ expectations for extreme value. I don’t know that we have hit a peak in consumer interest so much as a retailer-driven saturation.
I give props to Walmart’s Bettergoods as a high-quality, differentiated brand that’s successfully wooing younger generations of grocery shoppers. Not an easy task, but Walmart nailed it.
Private Label will continue to gain share of basket from traditional CPG and consumer brands for at least the next several years. However, on an individual retailer level, this is contingent on the retailers’ not getting greedy and starting to sacrifice quality as well as expanding a recognizable PL name into areas that they have no knowledge in. The PL name is an asset to be cared for. Additionally, your article focuses on grocery and it is important to note that the same trends are occurring in clothing basics and everyday fashion. If you can win the consumer over with quality during budget crunching times in general they are going to stay loyal to what they like, and spend in other areas when discretionary spending gains a little.
What Does the Future Look Like for Private Label?
Bright
This is what we like: accurate and straight to the point and not generated by AI (I think)…
Thank you. I had a long spiel at the ready ranking the luminosity from
blinding (commodities like beans, rice, etc.) to feebly aglow (customized products like sauces) but. hey, it’s Monday!
Private label isn’t just winning on price anymore. Shoppers are increasingly choosing store brands because the quality gap has narrowed and, in some cases, disappeared. With that shift in how value and quality are perceived, private label growth looks promising.
If you don’t own a brand (that consumers want) then best of luck gaining your differentiation on price, place or service.
This is a good topic to approach from a consumer’s perspective (I am not an analyst, so it’s the only perspective I have). Private label has evolved from the ‘cheap option’ to a value option. It was not like that in the early days of grocery. As long as retailers offer good quality equivalents in their private label offering at a slightly lesser price, the consumer will perceive the value and engage. If you have any questions, see Costco.
This has been a trend for many years, especially during the COVID era. Retailers have stepped up their game emphasizing the equal to or better than the national brand equivalent.
Given the drastic difference between unit growth and revenue growth of private label products, this is mostly a story about inflation coupled with consumers’ desire to optimize spending in the current economic environment.
However, the growth of private label products will continue. In addition to the price advantage, many private label products carry strong and differentiated brands with a loyal fan base. My personal favorites include Costco’s Kirkland brand, Trader Joe’s and some of Aldi’s private label brands.
What’s unique about these brands is their differentiated product design and quality. They’re not “me too” versions of the national brands. Many of them have distinct features, flavors or facets that are not available elsewhere. That, is what makes them compelling.
Successful private label products can be the hero to drive consumer traffic to the stores and elevate the overall company brand to enhance loyalty.
On an overall basis, private label and store brands will continue to grow year after year because of value, but also because private label continues to evolve into real brands, exclusively sold in any given retail chain.
Consumer packaged goods at Trader Joes and Aldi, even if for very different reasons, are not perceived as private label. Instead, they are alternative brands, and in the case of Trader Joe’s the appeal is innovation, quality, and value, more so than price.
Most Walmart customers refer to private label as “Great Value” which of course is the brand name. Kirkland brand is similar for Costco. “365” is still perceived as private label but consumers don’t perceive inferiority because its Whole Foods.
The public isn’t brilliant but consumers have become increasingly aware that private label most often doesn’t imply lower quality.
Since last year, January is officially Store Brands Month as more consumers and retailers embrace private labels as brands in their own right. Private label growth outpaces national brands due to their enticing bundle of value for money, quality and product innovation.
Store brand sales will continue to rise as consumers seek value-tier staples as well as premium-tier delicacies that accommodate their budgets. Brand loyalty is eroding and savvy retailers are investing in affordable, exclusive own brands that tempt shoppers to switch.
As national brands lean into volumetric discounting and price hikes to protect their margins, private labels are winning by offering ‘quality without the bulk’—delivering premium standards at a transparent, single-unit price. By finally solving the historical quality concern, store brands are no longer just the ‘budget’ choice; they are the most honest value proposition for a consumer who is tired of being forced to buy more just to pay a fair amount.
At the risk of splitting hairs, I always need to make the distinction between private label and proprietary brands. Both have a very bright future. I view private label as putting the store name or brand on straightforward, known products. I buy a lot of private label center aisle product at my local Stop & Shop. Kidney beans, pasta, spices, sourdough bagels to name a few. But it was always based on experimenting and testing. And if the brand didn’t have a really good reason for the extra $$$, then private label it is.
Proprietary brands are a different level of difficulty entirely. Target’s several owned brands very much added to their market share growth with the level of differentiation and distinction their owned brands provided. Owned brands are loyalty builders. Private labels on more commodity products are more of a price proposition.
Whether is private label or a proprietary brand, kidney beans of kids apparel, both levels of owned brands offer retailers huge opportunites of differentiation and distinction, both in product and in pricing. And ultimately, how they manage their loyalty equation and customer retention.
Private label growth is about more than just economic cycles. It’s the collapse of brand premiums when quality achieves parity. National brands defend margins through volume deals and bulk purchases, while private labels counter with transparent pricing on equivalent quality. Information transparency is eroding unjustified premiums. This previews commerce where rational evaluation replaces brand myth. When verification becomes effortless, whether through informed consumers or eventually through agent-mediated purchasing, paying extra for equivalent products becomes indefensible.
Consider the growth of retailers that only sell their own brands. They are growing by offering value and quality. That has been the trend for decades. As shoppers continue to understand that PL can offer equal quality at lower prices, brands will continue to lose share.
Private label is a grocers ultimate upside to create a competitive advantage, to differentiate around the product taste and experience. Forget boxing in private label as the cheap stuff – it’s way more powerful to lead with quality, interesting flavors, new tastes and in packaging to support the company brand.
Yes and when national brands face more competition from private labels, they may allocate more of their marketing budgets to retail media ads to stay top-of-mind. Retailers cash in from B2C and B2B revenue streams.
The future for private-label products looks strong. Store brands are growing faster than national brands, with sales rising and consumers increasingly choosing them for value and quality—not just low prices. Retailers have improved product quality, expanded offerings, and used private labels to differentiate themselves, helping these products gain share even as the broader economy changes. If retailers keep innovating and maintaining quality, private labels will continue to grow. However, they must balance expansion with consistency, or risk eroding trust. Overall, private brands are becoming strategic assets, not just budget options
For retailers, private labels offer higher margins and closer customer relationships when done well. But growth won’t be automatic — success depends on investing in brand equity, differentiation, and relevance that resonates beyond price alone.
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Private label is growing faster than mainstream retail and has been doing so for some time. That outperformance is set to continue for the foreseeable future, which will increase penetration. Part of the reason is that consumers can save money by switching. But it’s not just that: retailers are innovating more with private label and making better and more premium products. That’s also capturing attention and spend. Private label is no longer just about being the ‘cheaper’ alternative.
Private label will attract increasing share of sales as long as quality remains high and price pressures are significant.
I don’t think we’re at a peak in consumer interest for U.S. private label — even in an improving economy. What we’ve seen over the past several years is that private brands no longer function solely as “cheap alternatives”; they’ve become strategic value drivers that fulfill specific shopper needs around quality, trust, and differentiated value. In many categories, private label has moved beyond basic price competition to real category share creation, driven by better formulations, upgraded packaging, clearer value propositions, and placement strategies that elevate these products alongside national brands. As a result, private-brand momentum should continue even as economic conditions improve — because consumers have now come to expect strong private brand offerings as part of a comprehensive shopping experience, not just during downturns.
The products driving the most interest tend to be those that solve concrete consumer missions where the value equation is easiest to articulate: premium-style grocery essentials, better-for-you food and beverage items, household consumables with performance parity to national brands, and private label apparel basics that combine style with price confidence. In grocery, this has been evident in deli, dairy, and center-store staples, where private brand quality now rivals — and sometimes exceeds — that of national counterparts. In general merchandise, private label has also made inroads in the activewear and home categories, where design, fit, and curated assortments matter. These are the segments where shoppers feel they’re getting a good product without a premium price tag, and that emotional confidence underpins loyalty.
That said, some familiar private-label favorites could benefit from a refresh — especially when legacy packaging, outdated positioning, or inconsistent quality tarnish their value perception. Categories like canned goods, basic condiments, and commoditized consumables still offer opportunities for innovation, whether through updated branding, cleaner ingredient lists, or better storytelling that connects with how shoppers think about health and sustainability today. In my view, the future of private label will be defined not by price alone but by how effectively retailers invest in brand equity, differentiated value, and relevance that resonates with both existing loyalists and new adopters. The brands that win treat private label as a strategic growth engine, not just a margin lever.
As national brands lean into complex volumetric discounting and higher unit prices to protect their margins, private labels are winning by offering ‘premium quality without the bulk’ at a transparent price. By finally closing the quality gap in high-trust categories, store brands have moved from being a ‘recession pivot’ to the most honest value proposition for a consumer tired of being forced to over-buy just to pay a fair amount.
Consumer awareness of which brands even are private brands has been dwindling for years. Now, consumers are giving a collective shrug when they do know. Amazon has helped this along with its marketplace stuffed to the brim with capitalized-consonant no-name brands across multiple categories.
Private brands aren’t going anywhere. They’ve been a lifeline as retailers navigated through multiple disruptions – from COVID-era supply chain snags to inflation, tariffs, and consumers’ expectations for extreme value. I don’t know that we have hit a peak in consumer interest so much as a retailer-driven saturation.
I give props to Walmart’s Bettergoods as a high-quality, differentiated brand that’s successfully wooing younger generations of grocery shoppers. Not an easy task, but Walmart nailed it.
Private Label will continue to gain share of basket from traditional CPG and consumer brands for at least the next several years. However, on an individual retailer level, this is contingent on the retailers’ not getting greedy and starting to sacrifice quality as well as expanding a recognizable PL name into areas that they have no knowledge in. The PL name is an asset to be cared for. Additionally, your article focuses on grocery and it is important to note that the same trends are occurring in clothing basics and everyday fashion. If you can win the consumer over with quality during budget crunching times in general they are going to stay loyal to what they like, and spend in other areas when discretionary spending gains a little.
Bright
This is what we like: accurate and straight to the point and not generated by AI (I think)…
Thank you. I had a long spiel at the ready ranking the luminosity from
blinding (commodities like beans, rice, etc.) to feebly aglow (customized products like sauces) but. hey, it’s Monday!
Private label isn’t just winning on price anymore. Shoppers are increasingly choosing store brands because the quality gap has narrowed and, in some cases, disappeared. With that shift in how value and quality are perceived, private label growth looks promising.
If you don’t own a brand (that consumers want) then best of luck gaining your differentiation on price, place or service.
This is a good topic to approach from a consumer’s perspective (I am not an analyst, so it’s the only perspective I have). Private label has evolved from the ‘cheap option’ to a value option. It was not like that in the early days of grocery. As long as retailers offer good quality equivalents in their private label offering at a slightly lesser price, the consumer will perceive the value and engage. If you have any questions, see Costco.
This has been a trend for many years, especially during the COVID era. Retailers have stepped up their game emphasizing the equal to or better than the national brand equivalent.
Given the drastic difference between unit growth and revenue growth of private label products, this is mostly a story about inflation coupled with consumers’ desire to optimize spending in the current economic environment.
However, the growth of private label products will continue. In addition to the price advantage, many private label products carry strong and differentiated brands with a loyal fan base. My personal favorites include Costco’s Kirkland brand, Trader Joe’s and some of Aldi’s private label brands.
What’s unique about these brands is their differentiated product design and quality. They’re not “me too” versions of the national brands. Many of them have distinct features, flavors or facets that are not available elsewhere. That, is what makes them compelling.
Successful private label products can be the hero to drive consumer traffic to the stores and elevate the overall company brand to enhance loyalty.
On an overall basis, private label and store brands will continue to grow year after year because of value, but also because private label continues to evolve into real brands, exclusively sold in any given retail chain.
Consumer packaged goods at Trader Joes and Aldi, even if for very different reasons, are not perceived as private label. Instead, they are alternative brands, and in the case of Trader Joe’s the appeal is innovation, quality, and value, more so than price.
Most Walmart customers refer to private label as “Great Value” which of course is the brand name. Kirkland brand is similar for Costco. “365” is still perceived as private label but consumers don’t perceive inferiority because its Whole Foods.
The public isn’t brilliant but consumers have become increasingly aware that private label most often doesn’t imply lower quality.
Since last year, January is officially Store Brands Month as more consumers and retailers embrace private labels as brands in their own right. Private label growth outpaces national brands due to their enticing bundle of value for money, quality and product innovation.
Store brand sales will continue to rise as consumers seek value-tier staples as well as premium-tier delicacies that accommodate their budgets. Brand loyalty is eroding and savvy retailers are investing in affordable, exclusive own brands that tempt shoppers to switch.
As national brands lean into volumetric discounting and price hikes to protect their margins, private labels are winning by offering ‘quality without the bulk’—delivering premium standards at a transparent, single-unit price. By finally solving the historical quality concern, store brands are no longer just the ‘budget’ choice; they are the most honest value proposition for a consumer who is tired of being forced to buy more just to pay a fair amount.
At the risk of splitting hairs, I always need to make the distinction between private label and proprietary brands. Both have a very bright future. I view private label as putting the store name or brand on straightforward, known products. I buy a lot of private label center aisle product at my local Stop & Shop. Kidney beans, pasta, spices, sourdough bagels to name a few. But it was always based on experimenting and testing. And if the brand didn’t have a really good reason for the extra $$$, then private label it is.
Proprietary brands are a different level of difficulty entirely. Target’s several owned brands very much added to their market share growth with the level of differentiation and distinction their owned brands provided. Owned brands are loyalty builders. Private labels on more commodity products are more of a price proposition.
Whether is private label or a proprietary brand, kidney beans of kids apparel, both levels of owned brands offer retailers huge opportunites of differentiation and distinction, both in product and in pricing. And ultimately, how they manage their loyalty equation and customer retention.
Private label growth is about more than just economic cycles. It’s the collapse of brand premiums when quality achieves parity. National brands defend margins through volume deals and bulk purchases, while private labels counter with transparent pricing on equivalent quality. Information transparency is eroding unjustified premiums. This previews commerce where rational evaluation replaces brand myth. When verification becomes effortless, whether through informed consumers or eventually through agent-mediated purchasing, paying extra for equivalent products becomes indefensible.
Consider the growth of retailers that only sell their own brands. They are growing by offering value and quality. That has been the trend for decades. As shoppers continue to understand that PL can offer equal quality at lower prices, brands will continue to lose share.
Private label is a grocers ultimate upside to create a competitive advantage, to differentiate around the product taste and experience. Forget boxing in private label as the cheap stuff – it’s way more powerful to lead with quality, interesting flavors, new tastes and in packaging to support the company brand.
Yes and when national brands face more competition from private labels, they may allocate more of their marketing budgets to retail media ads to stay top-of-mind. Retailers cash in from B2C and B2B revenue streams.
The future for private-label products looks strong. Store brands are growing faster than national brands, with sales rising and consumers increasingly choosing them for value and quality—not just low prices. Retailers have improved product quality, expanded offerings, and used private labels to differentiate themselves, helping these products gain share even as the broader economy changes. If retailers keep innovating and maintaining quality, private labels will continue to grow. However, they must balance expansion with consistency, or risk eroding trust. Overall, private brands are becoming strategic assets, not just budget options
For retailers, private labels offer higher margins and closer customer relationships when done well. But growth won’t be automatic — success depends on investing in brand equity, differentiation, and relevance that resonates beyond price alone.