Anna Power, North America office, Bord Bia – The Irish Food Board
US private label grocery continues to grow (see previous Food Alert). A key trend identified at recent US PLMA (Private Label Manufacturers’ Association) tradeshow was the focus on PL healthy food.
Affordable healthy eating has been a major trend in the US, as manufacturers and retailers stepped up to address consumer concerns with the expense of ‘better for you’ options. Retailers like Whole Foods (‘Everyday 365’ range) and Trader Joe’s have built strong, trusted PL brands around a position of affordable healthy eating.
Interestingly, Packaged Facts notes that recently several leading retailers have evolved their natural/organic offer to a more modern wellness position, shifting focus from value attributes to lifestyle enhancement – evidence that US consumers are viewing retailer own-brands as an increasingly attractive option in their own right. Examples include:
• Kroger’s significant investment into its Simple Truth brand has been extremely successful – 2014 sales are expected to reach $1 bn.
• Target Simply Balanced range
• Aldi US brand Simply Nature
• Supervalu Wild Harvest organic range
• Associated Wholesale Grocers Clearly Organic offer
Spanning a wide range of food and beverage categories, these brands appeal to consumer lifestyle choices with premium products that are natural, organic, and ‘free from’ gluten / antibiotics / artificial ingredients. The takeaway from this is that US consumers are now more willing than ever to pay premium prices for PL groceries. The PL grocery sector has a forecast of +4% CAGR to reach $122bn by 2018, creating exciting opportunities for suppliers of premium and healthy products.
For more information contact anna.power@bordbia.ie.