There are more reasons why companies might want to consider private label as a route to the Canadian market.
We posted last year about the opportunities available via private label (a blog post which not only made it to the Swiss Global Enterprise website, but will also soon be included in a school textbook in France). The reasons cited for considering private label included increased revenue, avoiding store listing fees, and “products to fill in the gaps.”
The last point is particularly interesting. This recent article from Canadian Grocer attributes consumers’ growing interest in private label to several factors, including pandemic-related brand supply issues and budgetary concerns.
“Consumers in Canada have been switching to private label for some time, however, what’s happened is more consumers are now more influenced by their wallet,” says Joel Alden, central Canada consumer leader at EY Canada. “A significant number of Canadians are in that cutting back or savings mode, and private label offers an attractive alternative to branded products in terms of being affordable and still good quality.”
The Canadian Grocer article notes that the biggest shift is occurring in Millennial and Gen Z shoppers who haven’t grown up with brand affinity and have a willingness to try new things – a shift that may indeed affect long-term trends.
The study underpinning the article also uncovered a few other items of note:
- Price was the top purchase criteria (60%), followed by health (55%) and availability (40%),
- Roughly 62% of consumers were more likely to buy products from companies they feel do good for society, and
- Another 29% of shoppers would pay a premium for a brand that contributes to their community.