Private Brand's are Assembling the Troops - CPG Style - Sponsored Whitepaper

Private Brands are Assembling the Troops – CGP Style

By Adara Ralston - Account Strategy & Planning

My life in brand building had always concentrated on big, iconic consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands. Brands that I naively believed could never really be seriously threatened by private brands, but I've peeked behind enemy lines. And I'm here to tell you, they've assembled the troops and they are gearing up for battle. Private brands are thinking and acting like CPG brands, and they've got a few interesting tactics up their sleeves. In addition to rethinking the structure of marketing and support teams and driving toward more streamlined operations, they are building brands in a similar fashion to their CPG counterparts.

Setting strategic growth targets The mission of private brands is no longer centered on finding ways to make a few extra cents by giving consumers less expensive, look-alike alternatives to national brands. Private brands have stepped up, and a projected market share of 35% by 20151 is proof that retailers' confidence and momentum is growing. They are aiming to deliver consistent quality that consumers trust. In March of this year, Texas retailer H-E-B pitted trial of its private brand products against national brands as part of the “Texas Showdown Challenge,” giving away private brand products for free to customers purchasing the national brand.2

And consumer confidence is growing, too, as more and more are turning towards private brands. Could it be that the recession has given them reason to pay closer attention to their wallets? Possibly. Consumer Reports noted in a September 2010 study that a family spending $100 a week on groceries could save up to $1,500 a year.3 And they like what they are buying. In the same study, taste test results versus 21 big-name brands, showed store brands beating the national brand three times and tying 11...