Save on supermarket bills: More store brands shake up inflation-plagued shopping

We're all tired of rising grocery bills.

Here's one way to lessen the drain on your wallet: Buy store brands.

Now more than ever, shoppers are leaving traditional brands on the shelf and are reaching for a grocery store's own brand. These items, which include everything from pasta sauces, salty snacks and coffee pods to organic and plant-based products, are likely to offer the same quality and great taste as the name brand, but at a lower price.

Higher prices have further cemented the importance of store brands when Middletown resident Rachael Kanapka goes shopping. "I've always leaned that way," Kanapka said. "I see that prices have been going up with everything, but it's made me even just more likely to buy the private label brands now that grocery prices, in general, have risen."

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And she's not alone.

According to a March report by Circana, a consumer research firm, overall sales of private label brands jumped by 6% in 2023, with food and beverage store brands in particular rising by 6.7%. Market share topped 25.5% of sales in 2023, compared with 24.7% in 2022.

It comes as consumers pay about 30% more for groceries than they did in 2019.

Not the old generics

Shoppers are making adjustments, said researcher Mary Ellen Lynch, principal of center store solutions for Circana. They're cutting back on non-essentials and extras or putting off some purchases for a week or so.

They're also trying store brands. "What they're discovering, especially for some retailers, is that the product is as good or better as the brand they've been buying," Lynch said. "That private brand is now in their acceptable set of products."

They've changed over the years. In the 1980s and '90s, people were introduced to generic versions of products which typically had plain vanilla packaging, said David Bishop, partner and research lead at Brick Meets Clicks, a grocery consulting business based in Barrington, Illinois.

But grocers have become more savvy, making their labels more visually attractive. "When it's sitting next to that national brand, to some consumers, they may not realize they're looking at a private label," Bishop said.

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The quality of products has improved as well. "Now we're in a situation where private label products, when taste tested against national brands, score extremely favorably compared to what they were in the past," Bishop said. "Now we have a one-two combo of a low price point and high quality."

There's also been a rise of grocers like Aldi and Trader Joe's, where 90% of products are private label. "More and more consumers, not just in the lower incomes, are realizing that the tradeoff isn't anymore about quality and price. You can get a high-quality product at a very low price."

Why would supermarkets want to add their own brand next to a name brand they're also trying to sell?

It all comes down to providing a product that's different from their grocery competitors. "The fundamental issue for the retailer is a national brand, by its very nature, is available everywhere," Bishop said. "If it's available everywhere, there's really not an opportunity to create some type of advantage or differentiation by offering it."

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Consumer loyalty, higher profits

Store brands attract consumer loyalty and also have a higher profit margin for the grocer despite the lower price, he said.

Grocers are making their own moves, expanding the number of private label products and growing into different categories.

For instance, in April Walmart announced Bettergoods , its largest private brand food launch in 20 years. The retail giant said its 300 items are across its grocery aisles, including frozen, dairy, snacks, beverages, pasta, soups, coffee and chocolate.

The products cater to dietary lifestyles, such as gluten-free or plant-based foods, or offer "culinary experiences" with "elevated ingredients and food-trend forward offerings." There are specialty salts and seasonings, such as Hot Honey Seasoning and Creamy Corn Jalapeno Chowder, part of a line of jar soups.

"Today’s customers expect more from the private brands they purchase — they want affordable, quality products to elevate their overall food experience," said Scott Morris, senior vice president of private brands, food and consumables at Walmart, in a statement. "The launchof Bettergoods delivers on that customer need in a meaningful way.”

Over the last five years. ShopRite has launched more than 4,000 products under its Bowl & Basket, Wholesome Pantry and Paperbird lines .

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"We know our store brands are important, especially the unique Bowl & Basket items that shoppers can only get at ShopRite," said Pam Ofri, Wakefern Food Corp.'s director of product development and operations for Own Brands, in a statement. "Customers today are less brand loyal and look for brands they can believe in that provide quality and value and other potential attributes such as local and sustainable sourcing."

ShopRite is rolling out new products, such as Bowl & Basket specialty grain bowls in Moroccan, Korean and Indian inspired recipes and new hummus flavors and dips. It also recently added limited edition Bowl & Basket Buffalo Style & Blue Cheese Flavored Wavy Potato Chips and Bowl & Basket Fiery Hot Potato Chips.

Private brands could outlast inflation

Foodtown is in the midst of revamping its private label brand, which now includes Foodtown and Green Way, said Lou Scaduto Jr., president and chief executive officer of Food Circus Super Markets, which owns four Super Foodtown supermarkets in Monmouth County.

"It's always had a place, but it (private brands) definitely has more momentum now, especially in a challenged economy," Scaduto said. Foodtown's brand "does well," he said, adding that Foodtown's brand of paper products does "extremely well."

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"I don't think you will see any slow up of private label brands," Scaduto said. "It will continue to increase even if the economy does right itself and inflation does come down."

Stop & Shop has nine private label brands across various categories, including Nature's Promise, an organic brand, and Taste of Inspirations.

"Having the right everyday local assortments builds trust and connections with our customers. That is why private brands are extremely important to us," Stop & Shop said in a statement. "We provide excellent value in categories such as cheese, plant-based milk, butter and more, where the quality is equal to or better than national brands, all at a better price every day."

The grocer said that the supermarket is always exploring options to expand or add new product lines. For instance, in the past year, Stop & Shop introduced private label taco dinner kits, which have sold well since launch. Private label tuna hit store shelves at the end of 2023.

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David P. Willis, an award-winning business writer, has covered business, retail, real estate and consumer news at the Asbury Park Press for 27 years. He writes APP.com's What's Going There column and can be reached at dwillis@gannettnj.com. Please sign up for his weekly newsletter and join his What's Going There page on Facebook for updates.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Save on supermarket bills: More store brands shake up inflation-plagued shopping