With U.S. consumers feeling cash-strapped and frugal, private label products have become an increasingly important pantry staple, representing a vast and growing growth channel that leading retailers are aggressively exploiting. From H-E-B’s family of branded products to Whole Foods’ 365 to Costco’s Kirkland, private label brands generated a record $271 billion in revenue last year. Retailers are doubling down on this momentum, with Kroger recently announcing plans to add 900 new private label items in 2025.

If you lead a successful specialty food brand, private label could offer a significant path to growth for you, enabling your company to materially expand its market reach and bargaining power. In fact, in today’s environment, private label has become a strategic growth imperative for manufacturers looking to expand at retail, rather than more of an afterthought, which is what it was in the past.

Of course, getting your brand accepted at a top-tier private label such as Kirkland or 365 isn’t easy, it can be a real game changer for your organization. Such a partnership can drive sales, grow market share and increase profitability. However, to be successful will require you to strategically manage your supply chain, increase production capacity, ensure stringent quality controls and manage the day-to-day complexities of higher-volume private label manufacturing.

According to Sunny Yurasek, head of advanced analytics and revenue growth management at Wells Enterprises, the trend toward premium private label is here to stay. In remarks last week at The Food Marketing Conference held at Western Michigan University, Yurasek noted that private label is challenging the way many organizations think about innovation.

“We notice that there’s a lot of innovation coming in via private label… at a certain tier of the organization, but it doesn’t stay, says Yurasek.  “However, when you enter private label more in the premium or sub-premium category — when you’re intentional in your innovation– these innovations actually stay.”

Could your brand learn to exploit the private label juggernaut? Can you handle it? How do you even begin to find out?

Truth be told, premium private label offers a huge market opportunity for specialty product manufacturers; but it may not be for everyone. To discern whether your brand should consider investing in this trend, you may want to have a conversation. At Wilks Group, we’ve got a point of view we’d love to share. Schedule a consultation today👉 Calendly