Grocery Stores Have Profitable Opportunities In Bakery, Deli, Dairy Aisles

Private label food makers have big sales opportunities in the dairy, deli and bakery departments of grocery stores, according to a study. National brands do not dominate in those aisles, according to a survey sponsored by a house brand manufacturers group. Eleven percent of consumers in the study prefer specific brands when bakery shopping. Just  22 percent prefer national brands in the dairy and 26 percent in the deli. As to brand quality, 71 percent of deli shoppers say store brands are “better/equal” to national brands; 86 percent of deli shoppers say “better/equal;” in the bakery, 80 percent say “better/equal.” Convenience and speed are of primary importance in meal preparation, said Brian Sharoff of the Private Label Manufacturers Association, “and this is creating highly profitable opportunities for retailers to respond with their own brands.”