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 Scroll down to read the latest press information from PLMA member companies or click PLMA News for current press releases from PLMA. |
STR HIRES PRESIDENT OF QUALITY ASSURANCE DIVISION
(Enfield, Conn.)— Specialized Technology Resources, Inc. (STR) announced that Mark A. Duffy has joined the company as President of its Quality Assurance Division. He will report directly to Dennis Jilot, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of STR. Mr. Duffy will have full responsibility for all strategic and operational plans for STR’s Quality Assurance Division, which has laboratories and offices in over 30 countries across six continents. Mr. Duffy has 25 years of experience in a wide range of consumer products and food ingredients businesses. Most recently, Mr. Duffy spent seven years as President of Griffith Laboratories USA. Prior to that, he was the Vice President of Sales, North America for the Johnson Wax Professional (now JohnsonDiversey), a division of SC Johnson.
RALCORP ACQUIRES HARVEST MANOR FARMS
(St. Louis)—Ralcorp Holdings, Inc. has acquired Harvest Manor Farms, a leading manufacturer of private label and branded snack nuts with annual net sales of approximately $180 million. Harvest Manor Farms will continue its operations in El Paso, Texas. Ralcorp anticipates the transaction will be slightly accretive during the remainder of its 2009 fiscal year. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Kevin J. Hunt, Co-Chief Executive Officer and President of Ralcorp Holdings, said, “Harvest Manor Farms will become a key part of our snack nut business and will enhance Ralcorp's snack nut product offerings and nationwide manufacturing footprint.”
NOW FOODS EXPANDS MANUFACTURING FACILITY
(Bloomingdale, Ill.)—NOW Foods, Inc., celebrating its 40th year manufacturing natural products, is in the final stages of expanding its state-of-the-art Bloomingdale, Illinois GMP certified manufacturing facility to 250,000 sq. ft. The expansion includes enlargement of NOW’s laboratory in staffing and capability for the more complex testing. The company also announces that it has introduced 3 SKUs of Organic Stevia to its product range.
CALICO BRANDS OFFERS MULT-TIER LIGHTER RACKS
(Ontario, Calif.)—Calico Brands is offering a multi-tier rack program for its lighters to convenience stores. Included in the 3-tier and 4-tier racks is a combination of sparkwheel, electronic, mini sparkwheel, themed-designs and cigar disposable lighters. As an additional bonus, each rack in the program includes a free pre-selected 50 ct. tray of Calico Jeweltone sparkwheel lighters or custom logo sparkwheel lighters.
PRESTIGE WINE GROUP OFFERS FAIR TRADE VARIETALS
(St. Paul, Minn.)—Prestige Wine Group is introducing Fair Trade Certified wines. Four varietals are offered: cabernet sauvignon, malbec, chardonnay, and merlot. The wines are produced by Fairhills, a South African company. Sales of Fair Trade Certified products have grown dramatically in the U.S. Their sales are currently estimated at $730 million and projected to grow to $2.5 billion by 2012. While new to the U.S., sales of fair trade wines have been growing steadily among European countries since 2003. |
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ROSEMONT, IL – The success of store brands on retail shelves across the country and their increasing popularity with consumers fueled expansion and innovation for PLMA's 2009 Private Label Trade Show, which was presented here November 15-17 at Donald E. Stephen's Convention Center in Rosemont, IL. The nation's largest marketplace for store brands presented more than 2,000 exhibit booths from the leading manufacturers of private label products, reflecting year-to-year growth of more than 15% for the show over all. All major product categories were represented, from food and beverages to health and beauty care and household products. More than 4,500 visitors to the show included private label buyers and executives from virtually every major retail chain and wholesaler. Making its debut at the 2009 show was PLMA's Innovation Hall. The new exhibit area highlighted companies that provide services and expertise to the private label industry that focus on innovation – including market research and consulting, software and technology, logistics, product development, testing and certification, packaging and promotion, store design and management. Attractions of the new hall included PLMA's Video Center, an open multi-media studio set from which breaking news off the show floor, live commentary, and interviews with industry experts were broadcast by internet video streaming in real time at www.plmalive.com. Putting innovation into practice was the focus of speakers and seminars from leading companies in market research, business consulting, technology and logistics, quality management and testing, packaging and design. Presenters included A.T. Kearney, Agentrics, Aisle 9 Group, Audit Recovery, Inc., Avery Dennison, BRC Global, Datamonitor, GfK Custom Research, HP Indigo, ILS, Interbrand, Logix 3 LLC, Marketing Management, Inc., MeadWestvaco, Miller Zell, Mintel, The Nielsen Company, North Cliff Consultants, QMI-SAI Global, Retail Optimization, Inc. Silliker, STR - Specialized Technology Resources, united* dsn, Vestcom International, Wallace Church, and Willard Bishop Consulting. Store brands in U.S. supermarkets reached an unprecedented 23% market share in 2009, according to the latest statistics. Total sales of store brands surpassed $85 billion as industry recorded annual sales gains from 6-10% in supermarkets, drug stores and mass merchandisers. Rather than a temporary effect of uncertain economic times, there are clear indications that retailers are winning new adherents to their brands - even among die-hard national brand loyalists - as more and more shoppers give them a try and find satisfaction with the high quality of the products. ● Demonstrating the products' growing appeal to America's shoppers, the Sept. 2009 Consumer Reports magazine documented in blind tests how consumers time and again found that retailer's brands were equal to or better than leading national brands in terms of taste. ● A recent study by GfK Roper found that 91 percent of shoppers who say they switched from buying name brands to buying store brands during the past year will continue buying the store brand after the recession ends. Based on a poll of 800 grocery shoppers, the survey cited quality as a major factor in influencing their purchase decisions. For more information about PLMA's 2009 Private Label Trade Show and the growth of store brands contact PLMA at (212) 972-3131 or visit www.plmalive.com. Despite an increase in couponing and price promotion by national brands, the latest market basket research by the Private Label Manufacturers Association documents that shoppers can still lop 30% off their grocery bill by purchasing store brand products in their weekly trips to the supermarket. The savings were virtually identical by percentage to results from a similar study released by PLMA four months earlier. Meanwhile, a recent poll of consumers shows that the quality of store brand products is a big factor in convincing shoppers to keep buying them. In a survey by GfK Custom Research North America, 9 in 10 shoppers agreed that the store brand products they buy are as good as or better than national brand products, and the same percentage said they will keep buying store brand products after the recession ends. Conducted over a six-week period, the research on consumer savings tracked prices on 42 basic grocery and household items at a typical supermarket. The results indicate that consumers buying the store brand would save $40.91, on average, on the total market basket, representing savings of 30% when compared to weekly purchases of national brands in the same categories. Products comprising the typical market basket included staple food items like breakfast cereal, peanut butter and orange juice, in addition to non-foods such as bathroom tissue, paper towels, aspirin and mouthwash. A number of seasonal items such as hot dogs and rolls, pickles, iced tea mix, barbecue sauce, bagged salad, charcoal, aluminum foil, and paper plates were also tracked for the study. In total, 31 of the 42 food and non-food items PLMA examined saved consumers more than 20% off their grocery bills. In 23 categories – more than half of those tracked – the savings exceeded 30%, and nine of the products saved shoppers over 40%. PLMA's 6-week price comparison research was conducted in a typical suburban supermarket located in the northeast. The survey was repeated on a weekly basis during the 6-week period from April 18, 2009 through May 23, 2009. A market basket featuring 42 frequently purchased products from both food and non-food categories was used. A leading national brand product was compared to a similar store brand product in each category and prices were adjusted to account for all known discounts, coupons and promotions available for each of the weeks included in the study. The Private Label Manufacturers Association is the industry trade association devoted exclusively to store brands. Founded in 1979, PLMA today represents over 3,000 companies who are involved in the manufacture and distribution of store brand products. The products supplied by PLMA members include food, beverages, snacks, health and beauty aids, over-the-counter drugs, household cleaners and chemicals, outdoor and leisure products, auto aftercare and general merchandise.
EDITORS NOTE: Click here to download full release and price comparison chart for the typical market basket. For more information about store brands and to arrange an interview with Brian Sharoff, President, PLMA, contact Dane Twining, Director of Public Relations, at (212) 972-3131.
NEW YORK - Sales of store brands in the major U.S. retail channels surged by more than 10% in 2008 to a record $83.3B. Supermarkets, drug chains and mass merchandisers combined sold a billion more private label units versus a year ago, and store brands accounted for 42% of the total gain in dollar volume coming into the three mainstream channels, according to data compiled by The Nielsen Company and published in PLMA’s 2009 Private Label Yearbook. In supermarkets, store brand sales soared by +9.4%, outdistancing national brands, which added only +1.4% in sales versus the year prior. Store brands were up $4.6B for a total of $53.8B in the channel. Private label dollar market share increased to 18.2% (from 17.1%) and set a new record. Private label also saw a +1.6% gain in unit volume, while national brands units declined -4.3%. As a result, private label unit market share advanced more than a full point to 22.3%, another all-time high. In drug stores, dollar volume grew +14.4%, or nearly four times the rate of national brands, which were up +4.1%. As a result, store brand dollar market share climbed to a record 13.2%. Private label units meanwhile increased by +9.1%, and private label unit share rose to 15.2%, yet another high. The solid gains in unit volumes when measured against the results for national brands indicates a real shift in shopping behavior, as consumers increasingly made the switch from national brands to purchase retailers’ brands instead. Clearly, the economy was a leading reason for the extraordinary growth in store brands. A recent series of polls conducted by GfK for PLMA revealed that three out of American shoppers agreed that current economic conditions were important in their deciding whether to purchase supermarket or grocery stores’ brands. But the outstanding results at year-end can also be attributed in part to a strong foundation of consumer acceptance and patronage of private label products that predates the current economic situation. Supporting this view, fully 91% of shoppers in the GfK survey said they will continue buying store brand products after the recession ends. The PLMA 2009 Private Label Yearbook is available to association members, retailers and wholesalers at no charge. It is also available to others by request at a cost of $1,500. To order a copy of the Yearbook, contact PLMA at (212) 972-3131.
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