As part of our dedicated Private Label Issue, ESM spoke to industry leaders at a number of retailers across the continent, about why they believe private label continues to set the pace in European retail. This article first appeared in ESM's May/June 2023 edition.
Tânia Lucas
Head of Private Label, MC (Portugal)
The current inflationary situation has led many customers to embrace private labels. What trends have you noticed at your company?
In 2022, the Continente private label represented approximately €925 million in the food area, registering growth of more than 20% in the past year – i.e. an additional €175 million – and growth of almost 50% in the last three years.
The weight of private label in the food sector exceeded 30%, which means a growth of approximately four percentage points in the last three years. The year 2022 was one of exponential growth for private label across Europe, and in Portugal.
How are you seeking to adapt your private-label offering to cater to both value-hungry and premium shoppers?
Continente’s private label is a central piece in our value proposition. We’ve been investing massively to guarantee our customers products that are recognised for their quality and innovation, always at the lowest prices. Private label plays an important role in the access to quality-product democratisation. It is and will continue to be a differentiation factor of the Continente brand.
The Continente brand has multiple branches that have been carefully developed to respond to different needs and lifestyles, which is the reason our private-label sub-brands are cross-category, instead of having specific sub-brands for different categories.
Read More: Continente Opens Innovation Lab For Private Label Products
What new private-label product launches or campaigns have proven particularly successful over the past year?
In Continente, we launch a new product on a per-day basis, prioritising national production and continuously improving the nutritional components of our products, never forgetting the sustainability dimension. This investment has been noticed by consumers.
Recently, healthier and more sustainable products have become more successful. In 2022, Continente launched protein puddings (Continente +Proteína) in vanilla, caramel and chocolate flavours. In the first three months, this product achieved €3 million in sales.
© 2023 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest private-label news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones and Robert McHugh. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
