The percentage of consumers in 2024 who said they always or frequently choose a retailer based on store brands carried rose to 38%, up from 31% in 2021, according to a Circana webinar, entitled “From Growth to Transformation: The U.S. CPG Private Label Story.”

Watch Webinar here:

Flavored butter can be used to enhance the flavor of pancakes, waffles, potatoes and more. At Kroger, there’s Private Selection® Premium Butter with Garlic Parmesan & Basil; and Private Selection® Premium Butter with Honey & Cinnamon flavored butter.

Wegmans Food Markets recently expanded its line of private label greenhouse-grown produce. In addition to tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers, it now offers greens, including whole head lettuce and a spring mix. Plus, it has several varieties of greenhouse-grown salad kits that come in a peel-and-reseal container:

Among the flavors: 

• Southwest - Green Leaf Lettuce, Yellow & Blue Corn Tortilla Strips, Cotija Cheese, Fire-Roasted Corn with Chipotle Ranch Dressing.
• Caesar - Green Leaf Lettuce, Parmesan Cheese, Crispy Chickpeas, Garlic Crouton Crumbles, Crispy Quinoa with Caesar Dressing.
• Mediterranean - Green Leaf Lettuce, Feta Cheese, Roasted Lentils, Herb-Seasoned Flatbread Strips with Greek Dressing.

Watch our news report on greenhouse-grown produce at Wegmans and other retailers here:

Tepache is a fermented, probiotic-rich beverage commonly made from the peel and rind of pineapples. Natural Grocers, Lakewood, Colo. has introduced its own Organic Raw Tepache. Flavors include Mango Chile and Citrus.

-  Central Market, Austin, Texas, offers Icelandic-style skyr yogurt in several unique flavors, including spiced peach, coconut, Meyer lemon, tart cherry and Tahitian vanilla.

- Convenience store Casey’s General Stores, Ankeny, Iowa, sells private label health care products, including Casey's “4good” ibuprofen and sinus relief tablets.

- Wild bird lovers can stock up on food at Ace Hardware, Oak Brook, Ill., which carries Ace Songbird Black Oil Sunflower Seed, among many other varieties.

Three-quarters (75%) of all shoppers purchased at least one natural or organic product in the last six months, with 59% responding that they think it's important that their groceries and/or household products are natural and/or organic, according to a study from Acosta Group.

Plus, more than half (58%) purchase natural and/or organic products because they "are better for them" (healthier) and they "tend to have fewer synthetic chemicals and additives."

Dana Sump, Senior Category Manager for Non-Alcohol Beverages at Casey's General Stores, will be part of a panel discussion on private label at c-stores at the 2025 Annual Meeting & Leadership Conference, April 2-4 at the Mountain Shadows Resort in Scottsdale, Ariz.

The panel will address emerging opportunities for private label in c-stores.

The c-store industry has witnessed private label growth in categories throughout the store, including confections, non-alcohol beverages, snacks and much more.

• Rouses Markets, Thibodaux, La., has its own brand of bayou dipping sauce, available in regular and spicy.
• Heinen’s, Warrensville Heights, Ohio, has a wide assortment of store brand hummus, including Pesto, Pine Nut, Everything and Chocolate.
• Stewart’s Shops, Saratoga Springs, N.Y., has teamed with craft brewer Paradox Brewery to reintroduce private label Mountain Brew beer. Five years after brewing its last batch, Mountain Brew is returning to Stewart’s this month with a new recipe and a taller 19.2-ounce can.

$388 billion

Projected U.S. online grocery sales by 2027, or nearly 25% market penetration, according to a report by FMI—The Food Industry Association and NielsenIQ (NIQ).