Finland's S Group is discontinuing its oldest and largest own-brand range, Rainbow, which offers over 1,500 SKUs.
The retailer will replace the range with Coop products, known in other Nordic countries for its quality-price ratio, it noted.
Rainbow branded products are familiar to the people in the region and are available in Sweden, Norway and Denmark under the Coop brand.
"This is a historic change, not least because Rainbow products play such an important role in many customers' everyday lives. However, there is no need to worry about losing your favourite product, as we will be bringing the corresponding products into the range as Coop products," said Nina Paavilainen, director of own brands at S Group.
S Group stores already offers Coop-branded products and the retailer hopes to expand the range gradually as Rainbow products are phased out.
Demand For Own Brands
Own brands and own imports account for about a fifth of S Group's total sales, and the share has remained quite stable for years.
Since the spring of 2022, customers' interest in cheaper brands, such as own brands, has grown steadily. Over the past year, the share of sales of own brands has seen an increase of more than one percentage point, the company noted.
"The transition to the Nordic, common and renewed Coop brand in Finland will be reflected in even lower prices and a wider range of products for customers: we now have even more agile opportunities to expand our product range with new types of products. The Coop products are looking for even higher quality recipes and a better quality/price ratio," Paavilainen added.
Popular Products
The most popular own brands of S Group's grocery store are Hyvää Suomesta, which was alongside Rainbow, or the Kotimaista product line, which meets the criteria of the Sirkkalehti brands, and the affordable Xtra.
Other own brands include Änglamark, which focuses on sustainability-certified and organic products, Herkku, which offers products for everyday life and parties, and the brands Amarillo and Rosso, familiar from the S group's restaurants.
"We believe that Finns will also take the now-launched Coop as their new favourite. Coop, which brings flavours from around the world as well as from home, will clearly be the broadest product line in our collection of own brands," said Paavilainen.
"The Coop product range is also an opportunity for the domestic food industry. A Coop product can also be a Finnish product and has the opportunity to grow into a product sold in other Nordic countries as well."
