Category Reviews - Private Label Buyer

ANTI-BACTERIAL PRODUCTS -- OINTMENT AND CREAM MARKET TURNS PRO-ANTI-BACTERIALS

Private label makers of anti-bacterial creams and ointments say their products continue to experience growth in an otherwise flat economy — and the statistics back them up.

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.

by Ed Finkel

FOOT CARE -- STEPPING OUT

Makers of private label foot care products can be excused for grinning like the owners of comfortable new shoes. That’s because in a market buffeted by declining sales, private label products seem to be a perfect fit for what consumers want when it comes to foot care these days.

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.

by John N. Frank

PASTA & RICE -- MEAL BUILDERS Ask many Americans to remember what they consumed in their college dorm or bachelor pad, and memories of Rice-a-Roni and Kraft macaroni and cheese most likely would fill their heads. But retailers would be mistaken to believe the only consumers who eat pasta and rice are single people and college students. by Randy Hofbauer

FROZEN MEALS -- STICKING IT TO STOUFFER’S

“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.

by Randy Hofbauer