ALEXANDRIA, Va.—According to a new survey, “73% of people have acquired a taste for private-label brands and plan to keep buying them even as the economy improves.” The survey was done by Attest for Food Dive and found that 9 out of 10 shoppers are bargain hunting when shopping for groceries and 41% visit multiple stores to find the best bargains.

Although sales of familiar, comforting brands spiked during the pandemic, inflation fueled a move by consumers to private labels.

An effort to improve the quality of private-label products also could be a factor. “In 2021, a survey from FMI found 91% of food retailers and manufacturers planned to significantly or moderately ramp up their private-label efforts in the next years. In addition, 58% of companies said they were adding new offerings focused on innovation,” Grocery Dive reported.

In an August 2022 article titled “An Exclusive Offer,” NACS Magazine dove into private-label goods from a convenience retailer perspective: “Private-label sales in c-stores … are dramatically underdeveloped compared to other outlets. According to Jason Zelinski, client director, convenience and growth accounts at NielsenIQ, private-label products make up only 2.4% of total sales in c-stores. But the good news is that sales in the convenience channel are growing at a fast clip—up 19% last year, Zelinski said—easily outpacing trends in other channels.”

The article noted that among the merchandise categories where c-stores have ventured with their own labels are salty snacks, packaged sweet snacks, packaged beverages, prepared foods and automotive supplies. “According to Zelinski, salty snacks and packaged sweet snacks show the biggest opportunity. In all channels, private-label salty snacks comprise 12% of category sales, but in c-stores, they only account for 2% of category sales.”

Last month, NACS Magazine provided a snapshot of private-label trends at c-stores.