Generic No More: How Packaging Innovation Can Help Private Label Gain Market Share
- VOLUME XV, ISSUE 23
- Executive Insights
While established national brands have struggled to grow sales in recent years, private label brands are in the middle of a veritable growth spurt. Fueled by the economic downturn and vast improvements in quality, store-brand product lines have recently grown by around 6% a year and will soon account for over $100bn in sales in the U.S. But the category is still in the early stages of embracing the innovations in premium packaging available to the industry.
That needs to change if private label is to reach its full potential. Private label is increasingly competing not as generics, but equals, and to do that comprehensively its packaging must offer consumers valuable attributes such as customer appeal, ease of use, freshness, "green" packaging, packaging that is integrated with mobile or smartphone devices and other innovations. In this new Executive Insights, L.E.K. Consulting collects private label packaging best practices from Europe, Asia and the U.S. to identify the attributes that will allow private label packaging to continue to grow market share.