Data from SymphonyIRI Group, a Chicago-based market research firm, for the 52 weeks ending June 13, show sales growth of just less than 1 percent for all first aid ointments and antiseptics, as compared with 3.4 percent for private label, which reached approximately $207 million

Average price per unit rose 2 cents for the entire subcategory and 3 cents for private label.

While overall foot care product sales haven fallen overall in the past 52 weeks, private label foot care items kicked a hole in that trend, rising in sales and gaining market share in the process.

“Simply heat and eat” — the phrase has a nice ring to it, eh? It certainly does to most time-starved consumers out there, whether they’re warming up a breakfast burrito in the morning or sitting down in front of the television with a tray of Salisbury steak and potatoes at night. And although Schwan’s and Stouffer’s dominated many consumers’ freezers in years past, it seems that private label is becoming more and more appealing to value-conscious Americans looking for easy-to-prepare single-serve goodness.

”While the U.S. economy was strong, parents eagerly overspent on their young children leading to historic value growth far ahead of live-birth growth,” reports Euromonitor International, Chicago, a market-research firm. “As the U.S. economy cooled, it forced parents to reconsider their spending.”