PLMA’s Annual Meeting & Leadership Conference, March 22-24 in Orlando, was a huge success! Congratulations to the Private Label Hall of Fame Class of 2023. These 16 remarkable industry leaders were inducted at the event. Jodi Daley reveals the winners, plus shares other highlights of the conference.

Have you heard of the Carolina Reaper? It's called the hottest pepper in the world - and you can find it in cheese from D&W Fresh Market. In other news, there's Orange Extract from Kroger; bourbon maple syrup from Kowalski's; Indian meal from The Fresh Market and organic discounts at Price chopper. Click here to watch.

There have been many exciting developments in the grocery space. In a special report, PLMA Live! explores five trends: globally inspired foods; value brands; meals-to-go; sustainable household products; and premium beverages and desserts.

There’s still time to attend PLMA’s 2023 Annual Meeting & Leadership Conference, March 22-24 at the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress in Orlando, Florida. You’ll hear from Kroger, CVS, Circle K, Southeastern Grocers, and other top speakers about topics that are unique to the store brands industry. Watch Jodi Daley’s video report on the full schedule of events.

Join us at PLMA’s Annual Meeting & Leadership Conference, March 22-24 in Orlando, for a workshop led by Julien LeBlanc, Co-founder and President of BluePrint and Tim Pollard, Founder and CEO of Oratium. This workshop will teach participants how to develop compelling sales messages and build the personal, strategic and leadership confidence necessary to deliver a winning presentation. Register NOW

PLMA will hold its Annual Meeting & Leadership Conference next month and the program will feature a wide range of speakers and topics. The conference will be held March 22-24 at the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress in Orlando.

The event is themed ‘What Does Winning Look Like for Store Brands?’ reflecting the expanding role store brands play in U.S. retailing, particularly in the wake of 2022's record-breaking, double-digit sales increases.

The conference’s keynote speaker is Juan De Paoli, vice president of Our Brands at the Kroger Co., who will take the stage at the breakfast session on Friday, March 24.

De Paoli’s 20-plus years of experience is responsible for driving Kroger's private label vision, strategy and program development and enhance the company’s brand equity, strategic positioning, revenue, and profit across all food, household, pet and personal care products.

NEW YORK (February 16, 2023) - Private brand sales hit a new record last year, jumping 11.3% to a whopping $228.6 billion in all outlets in the U.S. for the 52 weeks ending January 1, 2023 versus the prior year.

Store brands performed so well that they grew at nearly twice the rate of national brands, which were up 6.1% in dollar sales, according to PLMA’s exclusive IRI Unify sales data. The findings are published in PLMA’s just-released 2023 Private Label Report, available here.

“The store brands business is booming,” said PLMA President Peggy Davies. “Last year’s record sales and double-digit growth reflect the strong consumer demand for store brands. Shoppers are filling their baskets with great-tasting, innovative and high-quality store brand foods, beverages, nonfoods, household goods and many other categories.”

Dollar share increased to 18.9%, up from 18.2% in 2021.  Unit share grew to 20.5%, from 19.9%. 

A major reason for the double-digit surge was that the inflationary environment motivated more shoppers to try, buy, like and remain loyal to store brands because of the quality and value they provide.

Last year’s impressive performance also comes at a time of heightened private brand innovation in areas like health and wellness, sustainability, convenience, indulgence and more. The industry has successfully introduced new product lines, expanded existing lines, and launched impactful marketing and promotional programs.

While private brand unit sales slipped 1% in 2022, they outperformed national brand unit sales, which dropped -4.1%.      

Of the 17 departments IRI tracks, 16 showed store brand growth. Numerous categories even had double-digit sales gains. The fastest-growing segments are beverages, up 19% to $12 billion; deli prepared foods, 17% to $5.9 billion; refrigerated foods, 17% to $47.4 billion; liquor, 15.6% to $62 million; general food, 14% to $38.6 billion; floral, 13.5% to $883 million; bakery, 12.6% to $8.4 billion; produce, 11.9% to $13.5 billion and deli meat, 10% to $1.7 billion. 

Strong sales were also reported in general merchandise, up 9% to $27.7 billion; frozen foods, 8.2% to $17.7 billion; deli cheese, 5.5% to $754 million; meat, 5% to $26.5 billion; health care products, 3% to $17.6 billion, beauty, 2.7% to $3.7 billion; and homecare, 2% to $2.7 billion.

The only category that saw a sales decline was tobacco - not surprising at a time of declining cigarette use.

The outlook for 2023 looks just as promising, as shoppers continue to make store brands their brand of choice. 

“When it comes to quality, value, taste and performance, store brands can’t be beat,” Davies said.

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.

Kroger’s Our Brands VP Juan De Paoli to Speak at PLMA Conference in March

PLMA will hold its Annual Meeting & Leadership Conference next month and the program will feature a wide range of speakers and topics. The conference will be held March 22-24 at the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress in Orlando.

The event is themed ‘What Does Winning Look Like for Store Brands?’ reflecting the expanding role store brands play in U.S. retailing, particularly in the wake of 2022's record-breaking, double-digit sales increases.

The conference’s keynote speaker is Juan De Paoli, vice president of Our Brands at the Kroger Co., who will take the stage at the breakfast session on Friday, March 24.

De Paoli’s 20-plus years of experience is responsible for driving Kroger's private label vision, strategy and program development and enhance the company’s brand equity, strategic positioning, revenue, and profit across all food, household, pet and personal care products.

Other industry experts who will speak include:

* Kevin Ryan, Founder and CEO, Malachite Strategy and Research, a retail and foodservice-focused insights and innovation agency and former executive at Amazon and General Mills, who will discuss "Beyond the Horizon: Future Forces Impacting Private Label."

* Jim E. Dillard III, Executive V.P and President, Consumer Healthcare Americas, Perrigo plc, formerly a top executive at Altria Group, Inc., will discuss "Winning With Self-Care Brands."

* Roger Davidson, CEO, Oakton Advisory Group LLC, an expert on food trends with 30 years’ experience in merchandising, marketing, operations and global sourcing at Walmart, Wild Oats, SUPERVALU, Ahold USA and HEB, whose topic is "Winning Through Innovation, Infrastructure & Sourcing."

* Judy Clark, CEO of Fresh From Texas, a high-quality, value-added fresh produce solutions provider, who will offer a "Fresh Spin on Winning in Store Brands." With retailers focusing on the perimeter and winning the first twenty steps into the store, Clark will highlight the role of store brands on the fresh produce side.

There will also be a of a blue-ribbon panel of industry experts titled "Store Brands' New World: Meeting the challenges and opportunities of uncertain economic times."

Moderator Michael Sansolo, president, Sansolo Solutions LLC, a food retailing guru and longtime SVP at FMI, will be joined by Brooke Rice, Sr. Director Own Brands at Southeastern Grocers; Tom Becker, Director, Proprietary Brands-US at Circle K; Jorge Flores, Executive Director, Store Brands at CVS Health; Christina Reyes, Senior Manager, Client Insights at SPINS; Joe Mollica II, President at LNK International; and Mark Gilliand, VP, Sales & Marketing at Old Dutch Vinegar and Mustard Co.

To register for the conference please click here or for additional information, contact Carleen Foster at conferences@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.

Dunnhumby’s annual Retailer Preference Index (RPI) ranks U.S grocery retailers based on financial performance and how they respond to customer needs.

Big news this year: H-E-B has replaced Amazon in the top spot. Hear more about the RPI and what it reveals about H-E-B’s strength and store brand. Watch Carol Angrisani's interview with Erich Kahner, Director of Strategy & Insights at dunnhumby. CLICK HERE FOR FULL INTERVIEW.