Research: Private Label is the new standard of quality and loyalty

For years, private label was seen as an economical option, but of dubious quality. Today, that perception has changed radically: 79% of Spaniards believe that the quality of private label has improved, and 88% choose it for its value for money. Buying one's own brand is no longer giving up, it is choosing wisely.

And it's not just a matter of perception. According to NielsenIQ, private label already represents 49% of the total value of FMCG sales in Spain. Another study by Shopadvizor reveals that 80% of consumers believe that private labels equal or exceed those of the manufacturer. It is no longer enough to have notoriety or invest in advertising: you have to deliver value.

In this new scenario, Mercadona has been a pioneer. It has made its own brand a strategic pillar. It reformulates more than 70% of its references every year, listens to the customer obsessively and measures the performance of each product with real data. This is how he has turned Hacendado, Deliplus or Bosque Verde into brands with a life of their own and growing loyalty.

In addition, its network of urban supermarkets, on a rental basis, allows it to open stores with investments of about 2 million euros per unit. A far cry from the more than 20 million that a hypermarket of its own requires. This model gives you agility to close or resize without accounting or operational friction

Other retailers are also making strong progress. Aldi, for example, has increased its private label sales by 25% in the last five years. Today, 9 out of 10 tickets include at least one product of their own, with more than 40 registered trademarks and 72% of their sales focused on private label. NielsenIQ already ranks Aldi Spain as the tenth most relevant European retailer in this field.

White label is no longer white: it has identity, reputation, scale... and quota. The question is not whether this trend will be slowed down, but whether manufacturers will be able to adapt in time.