A standard basket of private-label products in Portugal has seen price rises of 32% over the past year, while a similar basket of manufacturer-branded goods saw a 13% rise, a study by Deco Proteste has found.
However, the study found that consumers are still switching to private labels, even as prices rise.
Monitoring Products
In the period from 1 January to 31 December, the Portuguese consumer association monitored, on a daily basis, the price of 60 products, including 30 mid-range store brand products, along with an equivalent number of manufacturer brand products, on the the online stores of five supermarkets (Auchan, Continente, Intermarché, Minipreço and Pingo Doce).
During 2022, the average price of the vast majority of products rose well above the inflation rate, while 23 of the 30 private label products saw their prices rise more, in relative terms, than their manufacturer-branded counterparts.
Read More: Jerónimo Martins Urges Portugal To Cut VAT On Food, Eyes Slovak Market
Savings Margin Reduced
According to Deco Proteste, in some categories, the savings that shoppers have been able to achieve when purchasing private label over manufacturer products has been significantly reduced.
For example, those who opted for private label pasta spirals at the beginning of 2022 saved an average of 48% compared to the manufacturer brand equivalent, a difference that dropped to only 22% on 31 December.
This is due to the fact that the price of the manufacturer's product fell 4% (from €1.32 to €1.27), while the price of the private label product rose 44%, from €0.69 to €0.99.
Read More: Portugal Rules Out Intervening To Curb Soaring Food Inflation
© 2023 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest Private Label news. Article by Branislav Pekic. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
