According to the Private Label Manufacturers Association (PLMA) “2023 Private Label Report,” private brand sales hit a record-setting $228.6 billion for the 52 weeks ending Jan. 1, 2023 — an 11.3% jump over the prior year. By comparison, national brands grew 6.1% in dollar sales during that same period, according to PLMA’s exclusive IRI Unify sales data.
PLMA cites the inflationary environment as a major reason for the growth, with consumers trying and buying private-label brands in search of value. It is worth noting, dollar sales growth came in spite of drops in unit sales for both private and national brands: Private brand unit sales slipped 1% in 2022, and national brand unit sales dropped 4.1%.
Sixteen of the 17 departments tracked by PLMA’s IRI-sourced statistics showed sales growth, with beverages, deli prepared foods and refrigerated foods leading the pack. Double-digit growth was produced in the following food segments:
- Beverages, up 19% to $12 billion
- Deli prepared foods, 17% to $5.9 billion
- Refrigerated foods, 17% to $47.4 billion
- Liquor, 15.6% to $62 million
- General food, 14% to $38.6 billion
- Bakery, 12.6% to $8.4 billion
- Produce, 11.9% to $13.5 billion
- Deli meat, 10% to $1.7 billion
The frozen foods, deli cheese, and meat segments also showed strong growth of 5% or more over the prior year.
