PLMA's 2023 Trade Show to Hail 'The Store Brands Phenomenon'

The largest event for store brands in North America is set for November 12-14 in Chicago

NEW YORK (April 24, 2023) - At a time when store brands have grown to become a $230 billion industry in the U.S., PLMA has announced a fitting theme for its 2023 Private Label Trade Show: “The Store Brands Phenomenon.”

The show will be held November 12-14 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Chicago.

"'The Store Brands Phenomenon' theme is appropriate in many ways," said PLMA President Peggy Davies. "Hailed as dynamic, innovative and pervasive, store brands offer boundless opportunities for retailers, manufacturers and trade suppliers."

The growth of store brands has been strong and steady. By the end of 2022, PLMA calculates that annual store brand sales had increased by 40% over a five-year period. Last year's double-digit gains continued through the first quarter of 2023, according to Circana. Sales and dollar and unit market shares are at all-time highs. 

They are the shopper’s best friend, offering innovation, performance and quality. Store brands accounted for nearly one-third of all new sales flowing into U.S. retailing last year.

And there's more to come. Every day, store brand products are moving into new categories, new chains, new channels, and new platforms.

Store brands are a powerful retailer component that provides important points of differentiation, competitive advantage and builds consumer loyalty," added Davies.

The 2023 Private Label Trade Show will reflect this expansion. PLMA expects that over 1,500 companies will be exhibiting and 5,000 individuals attending.

"For more than 40 years, PLMA has provided supermarkets, supercenters, drug chains, wholesale clubs, dollar and specialty stores, mass merchandisers, importers and exporters, and e-commerce retailers an exclusive venue to discover the latest food and non-food products, ingredients, flavors, fragrances, and packaging,” Davies said.

For more information on "The Store Brands Phenomenon" trade show, contact PLMA at +1 212 972-3131, email info@plma.com or click here for more information.

About PLMA

The Private Label Manufacturers Association (PLMA) is a non-profit trade organization founded in 1979 to promote the store brands industry. With executive offices in New York and International Council offices in Amsterdam, PLMA represents more than 4,000 member companies worldwide. In addition to the Annual Private Label Trade Show in Chicago and its World of Private Label Trade Show in Amsterdam, PLMA provides annual conferences, executive education and professional development opportunities. Follow PLMA on plma.com, plmainternational.com, Twitter and LinkedIn.

Store Brand Beverage Numbers Deserve a Toast!

Featured in PLMA’s e-Scanner March 25, 2023 newsletter, created by Tom Prendergast, Director, Research Services

Throughout store brands' steady double-digit gains of 2022, which has continued through the first two months of this year, fully 16 of the 17 departments tracked by IRI showed store brand improvement.

One department demonstrated particularly strong sales performance -- Beverages -- a section once considered impenetrable for store brands due to the powerhouse national brands that inhabit it.

But that dominance may be changing. In this extremely competitive department, store brands have been growing at a faster pace than brands for the past 4, 12 and 52 weeks, reported IRI Unify exclusively to PLMA.

The numbers deserve a toast. Total private label beverage sales in 2022 were $12 billion and dollar sales grew by 19.3%. Double digit growth continued into the new year as dollar sales over the past four weeks totaled 18.6%, only a slight dip from the 20% sales growth in the past three months.  

The Beverages department is the third largest of the 17 tracked by IRI when it comes to national brand and store brand dollar sales ($130B) and second largest in unit sales with over 40 billion in sales. 

The largest category in beverages is bottled water. The category has sales of $6.8 billion in 2022 and dollar sales growth of 23.1%. While dollar sales did slow, from 21.3% over 12 weeks to 20.3% in the past four weeks, it remains the largest dollar sales category in the department.

Water is not the only growth category in this department. When you take a closer look at other areas you see while not everyone is showing growth but the ones gaining sales are especially strong.

For instance, carbonated beverages have increased from 15.8%-dollar sales growth last year to 32.4% in February and 28.9% over the past three months. This growth is also reflected in unit sales, as sales for carbonated beverages grew 4% in the past 4 weeks and 1.2% over the past 12 weeks. While unit sales did dip 2.5% last year, like dollar sales, sales of units of carbonated beverages continued to advance.

Two other growing categories over this period were refrigerated tea/coffee and tea bags. Refrigerated tea/coffee grew from 8.2% in dollar sales last year to 10.7% in the past four weeks. Tea bags had even more dramatic results, as dollar sales went from 5% in 2022 to 12.3% in the past three months to 17.5% in the past four weeks.

Other categories also stood out. These include bottled juices (10%), coffee (15.4%) and ready to drink tea/coffee (15.8%); all had double digit growth in 2022. In the past four weeks, while growth has slowed, it remains positive, ranging from 66.8% for ready to drink tea and coffee to 13.9% for coffee and 10.2% for bottled juices.

Unit sales improvements were also striking. Ready to drink tea/coffee saw units rise from 10.4% in 2022 to 84% over the past 3 months and 75.7% in the past 4 weeks. Coffee unit sales were up 2.8% last year but kept most of that growth in the past four weeks with a 2.5%-unit sales growth.

After decades of being a bottom shelf afterthought in a strong national branded department, store brands are evolving to become a presence if not a player in many parts of the huge Beverages sector.

To find out more IRI Unify data is available to all PLMA members and can be found at plma.com where these statistics and sales of 317 categories and 967 subcategories can be found.

PLMA Announces 2023 Private Label Hall of Fame Inductees

NEW YORK (March 23, 2023) - The Private Label Hall of Fame Class of 2023 was inducted last night during PLMA’s Annual Meeting & Leadership Conference in Orlando. 

Presented by PLMA and Store Brands magazine, the Private Label Hall of Fame was created in 2006 to recognize the men and women who have made significant contributions to the growth and development of the global private brand industry.  

This year, the Hall of Fame honors 16 individuals in four categories: Next Gen Private Label Leader, Private Brand Innovator, Private Brand Champion, and Lifetime Achievement. 

“We proudly celebrate the outstanding achievements of these proven leaders and innovators,” said PLMA President Peggy Davies. “Their hard work and dedication are instrumental to the success of the store brands business.” 


Private Label Hall of Fame Class of 2023
 

         Next Gen Private Label Leader: 

  • Anthony Cera III, Own Brands Manager, Perishables, SpartanNash    
  • Colleen Kangas, President, Purcell International      
  • Angela LePore, Senior Manager, Private Brands Product Development, Simmons Pet Food, Inc.    
  • Kristin Provost, Senior Manager, Category Insights, Topco Associates, LLC                 
     
    Private Brand Innovator:
     
  • Alicia Cook, Category Director, Save A Lot                        
  • Casey Creegan, Manager of Merchandising, Love’s Travel Stops        
  • Roger Scommegna, CEO, Flying Blue Imports         
  • Guido Tremolini, President/Co-Owner, G.S. Gelato

    Private Brand Champion: 
  • Shane Brown, Director, Own Brand Sourcing, Giant Eagle, Inc. 
  • Jill Clark, VP, Sales and Marketing, Dutch Gold Honey, Inc. 
  • Andrea Collaro, Senior Director, Owned Brands, Brand Management/Product Development, Walgreens Co. 
  • Kristie Nicolosi, CEO, The Kingswood Company

        Lifetime Achievement: 

  • Brenda Lord, Vice President, Private Brands, CVS Health          
  • Nancy Ragozzino, President, Ragozzino Foods, Inc.         
  • Andy Russick, Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Pacific Coast Producers      
  • Jill Sando, Executive Vice President and Chief Merchandising Officer, Target
     
    “The 16 honorees represent the best of the best from across the world of private label and showcase the depth of talent the industry has to offer,” said Store Brands magazine Executive Editor & Associate Publisher Greg Sleter. “This august group of retailers and suppliers have had a major impact on the private label business and will continue to do so in the years ahead.” 
     
    Profiles on all inductees will be featured in the May/June issue of Store Brands magazine, featured on StoreBrands.com, and posted in a special section of plma.com. 

     
    About PLMA 

    The Private Label Manufacturers Association (PLMA) is a non-profit trade organization founded in 1979 to promote the store brands industry. With executive offices in New York and International Council offices in Amsterdam, PLMA represents more than 4,000 member companies worldwide. In addition to the Annual Private Label Trade Show in Chicago and its World of Private Label Trade Show in Amsterdam, PLMA provides annual conferences, executive education and professional development opportunities. Follow PLMA on plma.com, plmainternational.com, Twitter and LinkedIn.
"How Private Label Packaging Strategies Influence Shoppers Intent to Purchase"
PLMA and Store Brands Announce The Private Label Hall of Fame - Class of 2024
‘Honorees Were Inducted at PLMA’s Annual Meeting & Leadership Conference in San AntonioHall of fame

SAN ANTONIO (March 21, 2024) - The Private Label Hall of Fame induction ceremony took place here last night at PLMA’s 2024 Annual Meeting & Leadership Conference.

The Class of 2024 consists of 16 individuals who are honored in four categories:

Lifetime Achievement

  • Clay Dockery, Vice President, Private Label and Co-Manufacturing, Massimo Zanetti Beverage USA
  • Peter Kroner, Managing Partner, Marketing Concepts Group
  • Edward P. Salzano, President, EDNJ Associates
  • John W. Solomon, The Kroger Co. (Retired)

Private Brand Champion

  • Nils Clement, Founder and CEO, Euro Caps BV
  • Pam Ofri, Senior Director of Own Brands, Wakefern Food Corp.
  • Jac Ross, Vice President, Sprouts Brand, Sprouts Farmers Market
  • Nick Scangas, President and Chief Operating Officer, Cedar’s Mediterranean Foods

Private Brand Innovator

  • Pascale Courtemanche, R&D Director, Plats du Chef, C.H. Guenther & Son
  • Jackie Li, Senior Vice President, Private Brands and Global Sourcing, Dollar General
  • Dr. Rakesh Rathore, Chief Operating Officer, TrueChoicePack
  • Brooke Rice, Senior Director of Own Brands, Southeastern Grocers

Next Gen Private Label Leader

  • William Crosby, EVP, Crosby Foods Ltd.
  • Hope Lenhart, Director of Brand Management for Essentials, Beauty and Hardlines, Target
  • Chad Mallory, Senior Product Manager, Amazon Fresh Private Brand
  • Mohan Valluri, Vice President of Sales and R&D, Alamance Foods

The Next Gen Private Label Leader category honors those who are under the age of 40 and have grown their businesses through innovative thinking; Private Brand Innovator, awards those who have demonstrated out-of-the-box decision making leading to a new way of doing business; Private Brand Champion, recognizes those with a track record of developing successful initiatives that lead to category growth and who have vision and determination that cut through barriers and obstacles; and Lifetime Achievement, pays tribute to those who, over the span of their careers, have distinguished themselves as a leader of store brand development and innovation.

“We’re thrilled to honor this incredible group of men and women for their excellence in these four important categories,” said PLMA President Peggy Davies. “They truly deserve this special recognition for going above and beyond in their contributions.”

Presented by PLMA and Store Brands, the Private Label Hall of Fame was created in 2006 to recognize high achievers and thought leaders who have made significant contributions in their own organizations, as well as those who have set standards of excellence and accomplishment throughout the industry.

Retailers, manufacturers and suppliers, wholesalers, members of the press, market researchers and consultants were among the potential candidates.

Profiles on all inductees will be featured on StoreBrands.com and posted in the Hall of Fame section of plma.com.

About PLMA

The Private Label Manufacturers Association (PLMA) is a non-profit trade organization founded in 1979 to promote the store brands industry. With executive offices in New York and International Council offices in Amsterdam, PLMA represents more than 4,000 member companies worldwide. In addition to the Annual Private Label Trade Show in Chicago and its World of Private Label Trade Show in Amsterdam, PLMA provides annual conferences, executive education and professional development opportunities. Follow PLMA on plma.com, plmainternational.com, and on social media:

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PLMA’s World of Private Label International Trade Show

PLMA’s 2024 World of Private Label International Trade Show will be held May 28-29 at the RAI Amsterdam Convention Centre, The Netherlands. The exhibit hall will feature fresh, frozen and refrigerated foods, dry grocery, and beverages as well as non-food categories, including cosmetics, health and beauty, household and kitchen, auto aftercare, garden, housewares and much more. Click here for more info.

PLMA Announces Upcoming Launch of CEO Interview Series
‘Lunch with Leadership’ Set to Premiere April 4

NEW YORK (March 5, 2024) - PLMA today announced the April 4 launch of a series of powerful online interviews with top store brand executives.

Lunch with Leadership - a companion to PLMA’s popular Lunch and Learn speaker series - is noon-time conversations with corporate leaders and industry trailblazers. Each executive will provide a detailed view of their organization now and where they believe it fits in the future of American retailing and the store brand supplier community.

The April 4 kickoff session will feature Harry Overly, president and CEO of Flagstone Foods. Following Overly, other interview subjects include Ann O'Hara, President, Huhtamaki North America (April 11); Lou DeMent, owner and CEO of Giovanni Foods (April 18); Camilo Romero, CEO of Luker Chocolate (April 25); and Joe Mollica II, CEO of LNK International, Inc. (May 2).

“This new professional development program provides a unique opportunity to learn from the best in the business,” said PLMA President Peggy Davies. “We will explore the inner workings of a wide variety of PLMA member food and nonfood companies, particularly as they are described through the eyes of their CEOs.”

The overwhelmingly positive response to PLMA’s Lunch and Learn - now in its third year - was a motivating factor in the inception of Lunch with Leadership, Davies added.

The host of the new series is Michael Sansolo, formerly senior VP of the Food Marketing Institute, a well-known food industry speaker, author, writer and contributor to PLMA.

Each session will begin at 12:30pm ET and run about 15 minutes. Registration - which is free for PLMA members and retailers - is required.

Interviews will be made available on PLMA's website at Lunch with Leadership, throughout the year leading up to PLMA's 2024 Private Label Trade Show, November 17-19, in Chicago.

Click here for more details or contact PLMA at info@plma.com.

About PLMA

The Private Label Manufacturers Association (PLMA) is a non-profit trade organization founded in 1979 to promote the store brands industry. With executive offices in New York and International Council offices in Amsterdam, PLMA represents more than 4,000 member companies worldwide. In addition to the Annual Private Label Trade Show in Chicago and its World of Private Label Trade Show in Amsterdam, PLMA provides annual conferences, executive education and professional development opportunities. Follow PLMA on plma.com, plmainternational.com, and on social media:

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Store Brands Achieved Record Success in 2023
Dollar SalesJumped 4.7% to $236.3 Billion, According to PLMA’s 2024 Private Label Report

NEW YORK (February 27, 2024) – Sales of store brands increased $10.1 billion to a record $236.3 billion last year compared to 2022, according to PLMA’s just-released 2024 Private Label Report.

That represents a 4.7% rise in dollar sales in all outlets from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2023, versus the same period the prior year, according to the report. Store brands bested national brands, which grew 3.4% in dollar sales.

Compared to 2019, annual store brand dollar sales in 2023 increased by $60.2 billion, a 34% gain. Store brand dollar share rose 1.2 points to a record 18.9%.  During the four-year period, store brand unit sales were ahead by 500 million and unit share improved 0.8 points to 20.7%, also a new high.

The annual report analyzes store brand and national brand sales in unit and dollar sales in key categories. It is based on sales figures from the PLMA/Circana Unify+ market data portal, available free to PLMA members on plma.com.

The results show that today’s consumers are directing more of their budgets to private label items.

"Overall, the industry is healthier than ever," PLMA President Peggy Davies states in the report. "One of every five food or non-food grocery products sold across the U.S. carries the retailer’s name or own brand and was supplied by a store brand manufacturer."

According to the report, nine out of 10 departments that Circana tracks are showing growth over the year before. The outlier once again is tobacco, which continues to trend downward overall.

Departments with the highest dollar sales growth are Beauty, up 10.5% vs. 2022; General Food, +10%; Beverages, +8.9%; Home Care, +8.7%; Frozen, + 4.4%; and General Merchandise, + 4%. 

Click here for the full report.

About PLMA

The Private Label Manufacturers Association (PLMA) is a non-profit trade organization founded in 1979 to promote the store brands industry. With executive offices in New York and International Council offices in Amsterdam, PLMA represents more than 4,000 member companies worldwide. In addition to the Annual Private Label Trade Show in Chicago and its World of Private Label Trade Show in Amsterdam, PLMA provides annual conferences, executive education and professional development opportunities. Follow PLMA on plma.com, plmainternational.com, and on social media:

TwitterLinkedIn

Albertsons' Brandon Brown to Keynote Leadership Conference

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PLMA Announces Albertsons’ Brandon Brown as Keynote Speaker of Conference, March 20-22
The PLMA 2024 Annual Meeting & Leadership Conference will also offer insights on Lidl and Aldi from dunnhumby; presentations from Cogknition Analytics, Daymon, McKinsey and more

BrandonNEW YORK (February 20, 2024) - Brandon Brown, Senior Vice President of Own Brands at Albertsons Companies, is the keynote speaker of the PLMA 2024 Annual Meeting & Leadership Conference, March 20-22 in San Antonio.

This cutting-edge event at the Hyatt Regency San Antonio Riverwalk will focus on trends, issues and provide an unparalleled opportunity to gain insights, knowledge and skills. The event brings together manufacturers, retailers and others for several days of presentations, panel discussions, workshops and networking. A highlight of the event is the Private Label Hall of Fame induction ceremony for the Class of 2024.

The conference is appropriately themed “Private Label IS a Brand!" This is clearly reflected in PLMA’s just-released 2024 Private Label Report, which shows that compared to 2019, annual store brand dollar sales in 2023 increased by $60.2 billion, a 34% gain. Store brand dollar share rose 1.2 points to a record 18.9%.  During the four-year period, store brand unit sales were ahead by 500 million and unit share improved 0.8 points to 20.7%, also a new high.

"The industry has become a star player in retailing, the quintessential brand when it comes to influence, quality, innovation, reliability and sales growth," said PLMA President Peggy Davies. “There’s no time for resting our on laurels. It’s more important to discuss the challenges and opportunities that come with this new and deeper responsibility."

Along with Brown of Albertsons, the powerhouse speaker lineup includes other top thought leaders and game changers:

  • Arjun Chakravarti of Cogknition Analytics, with a presentation on “Seizing Opportunities: How Consumers Influence the Macroeconomic Outlook for Private Brands in 2024 and Beyond.”
  • Erich Kahner and Joe Cook, dunnhumby, “Aldi, Lidl and the Right Competitive Response.”
  • Scott Lucas, Sterling Brands Cincinatti, who will discuss how to make the most of the advantages private brands have over national brands.
  • Amber Roberts, Threefold, “The Global Rise of Retail Media and How Private Brands Can Unlock its True Potential.”
  • Brooke Feenstra-Swensen and Jocelyn Carter, Kerry, “Building Private Brands for The Evolving Consumer.”
  • Brooke Daniels and Dave Fedewa, McKinsey & Company, “Innovate to Dominate: Unleashing the Power of Next-Gen Private Brands.”
  • Jonathan Finch, Daymon, “Strong Foundations: Building Your Private Brand House for Long-Term Success.”
  • A workshop by Market Performance Group, “Understand the Building Blocks for Establishing a Strategic Partnership.”
    There’s much more. Click here to view full agenda and register.

About PLMA

The Private Label Manufacturers Association (PLMA) is a non-profit trade organization founded in 1979 to promote the store brands industry. With executive offices in New York and International Council offices in Amsterdam, PLMA represents more than 4,000 member companies worldwide. In addition to the Annual Private Label Trade Show in Chicago and its World of Private Label Trade Show in Amsterdam, PLMA provides annual conferences, executive education and professional development opportunities. Follow PLMA on plma.com, plmainternational.com, and on social media:

TwitterLinkedIn

New Interview Series to Feature PLMA Member CEOs

PLMA has announced the launch of Lunch with Leadership, a series of noontime interviews featuring five of the leading store brand CEOs in the U.S.

The series will focus on how these corporate leaders view their organization now and where they believe it fits in the future of American retailing and the store brand supplier community. The five interviews will be revealed by PLMA one at a time on successive Thursdays, from April 4 to May 2.

The April 4 kickoff session will feature Harry Overly, president and CEO of Flagstone Foods. Following Overly, other interview subjects will include Ann O'Hara, President, Huhtamaki North America; Lou DeMent, CEO of Giovanni Foods; Camilo Romero, CEO of Luker Chocolate; and Joe Mollica II, CEO of LNK International, Inc.

For more information, contact PLMA at info@plma.com or +1 212-972-3131.