Is the tide shifting for grocery private brands?

Grocery Dive reported the development on 2025-07-10. While the frequency with which people buy store brands over name ones has softened recently, private labels remain a key driver for grocers, Dunnhumby found.

The report places the news in a wider commercial context. Though private brands are finding a new baseline, they still remain a key driver for grocers, according to new research from research firm Dunnhumby.

For the food sector, the practical implications extend beyond the immediate announcement. Fewer shoppers choose to buy private brands over name brands most or all of the time, with 43% saying they do so in April — the lowest recorded level since the firm’s survey in the fall of 2022. The importance of private brands and the frequency with which people buy them over name brands has softened recently, said Erich Kahner, director of strategy and insights for.

Attention now turns to how companies, customers and regulators respond. The importance of private brands to consumers started to increase in 2022 and hit a high point in 2023. It has since come back down to a level that is still higher than it was before grocery inflation skyrocketed, Kahner said. The main driver behind this shift is lessening price sensitivity by consumers, Kahner said.