Challenging Misconceptions with Private Brand Food & Beverage Awards
For private brands, finding a spot on grocery shelves isn’t nearly as hard as it is for most traditional regional or national food & beverage brands. However, for these store brands, standing out from the competition is a unique hurdle. Private label products have lined almost every aisle of grocery stores for the past few decades. Though, in the past few years, many grocers have invested in their private label lines. They’ve innovated in the types of products they produce, their packaging, and the way in which these products are marketed. In 2020, many private labels saw a huge increase in sales as options on shelves became limited. Many shoppers tried private brands for the first time, and many continued purchasing them even after supply chain issues were repaired.
However, these brands still face the common misconception that private label products are inferior in quality compared to well-established national or regional brands. Thus, keeping shoppers engaged and coming back for more is a constant struggle even after a huge increase in sales in the past few years. Grocers, such as Aldi, have utilized private brand food & beverage awards, such as the ChefsBest Excellence Award, to help their private labels stand out on shelves. Through programs such as ours, and through strategic marketing, grocers can overcome the negative stigma that many shoppers still associate with private brands.
Understanding Misconceptions
In the early days of private brands, not too much thought was put behind their marketing and packaging. These products were often offered at a much lower price and slowly started to be viewed as the “cheaper” option (in both price and quality) by many shoppers. That stigma has been carried with private brands even through today. However, in recent years, many grocers have completely revitalized and rebuilt their private label lines to be more in line with what modern shoppers are interested in. Their packaging is a lot bolder and more interesting and mirrors what a lot of national and regional food & beverage brands are doing. Their product offerings are no longer just pantry staple items, but rather products with unique flavor profiles that appeal to shoppers with many different dietary or nutritional interests/requirements.
Private brands have always had high-quality products. In the past their marketing and packaging didn’t always communicate quality as a call-out, but this new wave of private labels is fighting back against these misconceptions. With updated modern packaging and more money spent on marketing of private brands, grocers need to find new ways to communicate the quality of their products to potential shoppers. With strategic marketing efforts, private brands can even the playing field and capture the attention of interested shoppers.
How to Stand Out on Grocery Shelves
Private brand food & beverage awards are a great way to help differentiate your products on shelves and overcome the low-quality stigma. With third-party validation, private food & beverage brands can clearly communicate to potential shoppers that they are high quality, and utilize substantiated data to make concise and effective claims regarding their products. Building trust is the first step in creating brand loyalty with shoppers. With a private brand food & beverage award, grocers can help drive shoppers to make informed purchasing decisions and communicate the high quality of their private label products.
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