The Store Brand Story

More consumers are purchasing Store Brand
(private label) products today than ever because of the growing awareness of the good value Store Brands offer. Store Brand prices are almost always lower than the national brands. Consumers are also very often finding their quality and nutritional value equal to their national brand counterparts.

According to the Private Label Manufacturers Association, one in five products purchased in grocery outlets is a Store Brand product. Store Brand retail sales exceed $48 billion annually and continue to grow. In fact, between 1998 and 2001, sales rose an average of 5.5% per year.

Store Brands are the products retailers sell as their own brands. They may bear the name of the retailer selling them, such as Kroger, or may besold under an entirely different name like "Best Yet," which is sold only at Kmart.

Many retailers now offer a full line of Store Brand products, including canned goods, frozen foods, bakery items, snacks and paper products, so it is easy to find Store Brand products throughout the store. From cereal to salad dressing and cookies to snack nuts, there is a wide array of products from which to choose.

Store brand products have earned their rightful shelf space next to national brand products. The inferior "generic" grocery products of yesterday have evolved over the years into Store Brand products that seriously compete with the national brands of today. Dated plain white and black type packaging describing the contents - fruit cocktail, cola, onion soup mix, ground coffee - has been replaced by packaging and graphics that rival the national brands'.

Store Brands are often comparable in quality and nutrition to their national brand counterparts. The key difference for consumers is the notable cost savings - about 25% for many products. The Store Brands cost less because they are not as heavily marketed as national brand products. You will not see many television or print advertisements for Store Brand products. Instead, shoppers will usually see lower prices than the national brands, because the lower cost for manufacturers and retailers is often passed on to consumers.

As with national brands, some Store Brands may be better than others. Personal preference plays an important role in the decision-making process and consumer satisfaction. Generally, however, retailers that carry Store Brands know that their products must be comparable to the national brands to compete in the marketplace. In fact, many retailers make certain that their own brands are as good, if not better, than the national brands. A recent Gallup poll found that almost nine out of 10 consumers rated premium Store Brand products equal to or better than the national brands.

So the next time you are grocery shopping, you may want to consider buying the Store Brand version of the items on your list. As a result, you might be surprised to find out how good they are and how much money you saved on your grocery bill.

Ralcorp Holdings, Inc. is a leading supplier of Store Brand food products. Its business units - Ralston Foods (Cereals); Bremner (Cookies and Crackers); Nutcracker/Flavor House (Snack Nuts); Ralcorp Frozen Bakery Products (Frozen Griddle Products); and Carriage House, - produce high quality products that "compare to" the national brands. Our products are tested on an on-going basis, utilizing internal and independent external sensory testing to insure branded attributes. High consistent quality, the breadth of our various product lines, and very competitive pricing are what makes us a leader in the Store Brand/Private Label industry.