Australia’s leading supermarket chains have been accused of using “copycat” packaging of leading Australian food brands to mislead consumers into buying the supermarket’s own private label products. The Australian Food and Grocery Council’s Chief Executive, Kate Carnell, said today that supermarkets are targeting brands with a strong market share and copying their designs as closely as possible without infringing trademark laws. Private label products are forecast to grow strongly and could... ...Read more »

One of the world’s largest accountancy and business consultancy firms, Grant Thornton, today published its annual international business report on the food and beverage industry. The report highlights several key trends and predictions for Australia, including the strength of the Australian supermarket duopoly and the problems posed by their private label business. In the report, ‘Managing through uncertainty: Food and beverage industry in transition’, Grant Thornton’s Industry Leader... ...Read more »

One of the world’s biggest food processors, Heinz, has moved to deprecate news reports suggesting hostility between Heinz and Australia’s leading supermarkets who are its major customers. Articles in both the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age this week claimed Heinz had “hit out at (supermarket) home brands” and had been “forced to rework strategy” because of the impact of growing home brand label presence in Australia’s supermarkets. Heinz told Australian Food News today that both... ...Read more »

Private-label food is here to stay in the US, according to recent research that found that almost 45% of consumers are purchasing more own-label products than before the economic slowdown.According to a survey released by AlixPartners today (13 June), nearly 45% of consumers say the shaky economy has motivated them to continue to consider and ultimately purchase more private-label and other lower-priced food items. “The American consumer is staunchly committed to value and is more open to private-label... ...Read more »

Woolworths has announced plans to add Daily Intake Guide information to the front of all of its private label foods Daily Intake Guide thumbnail labels already feature on more than 4000 supermarket products across Australia, and Woolworths said it plans to increase their use to its full range of products within the next 12 months. The move was applauded by the Australian Food and Grocery Council, which has championed the use of DIG labelling over other front-of-pack nutritional labelling styles,... ...Read more »

Many of Australia’s supermarkets are moving towards private label groceries, but while consumers are interested, the price drop may be hurting retailers in the long run, according to new research by Nielsen’s Homescan panel. Private label products grew slightly in the last six months, going from 24.5% to 24.7% of total groceries over two quarters. However, this quarter saw the average spend on private label drop by $5.79 – down from $208.03 in the December quarter to $202.24 in... ...Read more »

Private-label sales could account for 50% of the global food retail market by 2025, putting pressure on manufacturers of brands that do not lead their categories, research group Rabobank has predicted. In a new research report, entitled Private label vs. Brands, Rabobank said that the share of private-label sales will likely double from 25% to 50% by 2025, driven by retail consolidation in established markets and the deveopment of modern retail in emerging markets. Increased consumer acceptance of... ...Read more »

Consumer research group Roy Morgan has weighed in on Australia’s supermarket ‘milk war’, with new statistics showing that purchasing of supermarket-branded milk is on the rise, particularly in the traditionally branded reduced-fat and no-fat market segments. 15.4 million Australians bought milk in the year to December 2010. According to Roy Morgan, 95% of milk buyers purchased milk over the past four weeks from a supermarket, 13% a convenience store and only 8% from the local milk... ...Read more »

The big brands on supermarket shelves are under increasing pressure as Asia-Pacific consumers have indicated they will continue to choose own-brand consumer packaged goods, even when finances are not so tight. Spend on private label across Asia-Pacific countries will increase to reach $24.65 billion for food, $11.17 billion for non-alcoholic drinks, $580 million for alcoholic beverages and $370 million for household care products by 2014, according to consumer research group Datamonitor. The group’s... ...Read more »

Woolworths today put out a request for information to all suppliers and importers of palm oil in Australia, in an attempt to assess the availability of sustainable palm oil. The supermarket chain aims to use only palm oil certified by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) in its private label products by 2015, a target set in March last year, and the supermarket became the first Australian retail member of the RSPO in September. Woolworths said that while deforestation and threatened habitats... ...Read more »