Private label goes from strength to strength

The share of private label products on supermarket shelves around the world continues to grow, as visitors to last month's World of Private Label exhibition discovered.

The show, organised by the Private Label Manufacturers' Association (PLMA​), attracted around 5,000 visitors as well as exhibitors representing manufacturers from more than 60 countries.

The growing appeal of private label was documented in the market share gains reported at the show by Jean-Jacques Vandenheede, vice president of global marketing at AC Nielsen.

He said that private label products, both food and non-food, increased their market share in most of the seven countries surveyed, and now accounted for at least one of every four products sold in Belgium, France, Germany, Spain and the UK.

The biggest increases were made last year by retailers and wholesalers in Spain and Germany, Vandenheede said. In Spain, volume share climbed nearly 3 points to more than 27 per cent, a record high, while overall volume share in Germany advanced more than 2 points to 33 per cent.

Also speaking at the show was Arjan van Weele, Professor of Purchasing and Supply Chain Management at Nyenrode University in the Netherlands, who discussed how strategic changes in supply chain operation are transforming the buyer/seller relationships throughout the industry.

The Private Label Manufacturers' Association is the only international organisation dedicated to private label. It represents about 3,000 manufacturers and suppliers worldwide, ranging from companies that specialise in private label to those that produce private label in addition to their own manufacturer brands.