Own-label sales growing twice as fast as branded goods: NIQ

Sales of own-label products at British supermarkets have grown at double the speed of branded goods in 2023, data from market researchers NIQ showed today (31), as customers adjust to soaring prices.

Food prices are up more than 19 per cent over the last year, outpacing the broader inflation rate across the whole economy and adding strain to household budgets already stretched by high energy bills and other price increases.

The latest data showed value sales of own-label goods grew by 14.1 per cent compared to branded product growth of 7.1 per cent. In the last four weeks, the volume share of own-label sales rose to 63.3 per cent in the fast-moving consumer goods' category, versus 62.1 per cent in 2022.

Earlier this month Tesco, Britain's biggest supermarket group, cut the price of its own-brand pasta, vegetable and sunflower oil.

Food retailers have said they expect prices to rise in 2023 overall but with the rate of inflation declining through the year.

Meanwhile, Britain's competition regulator on Tuesday (30) told supermarkets it was looking at their earnings to identify which supply chains it needed to examine more closely as part of efforts to tackle food price inflation.

The news comes days after a report stated that ministers are working with supermarkets to voluntarily cap the price of basic food items in an effort to ease the UK’s cost of living squeeze.

With food and drink prices rising at the fastest pace in more than 40 years and no let-up in sight, the Treasury and supermarkets have been discussing a possible voluntary scheme for maximum prices for certain goods. These would be likely to include essentials such as bread and milk.

The report was met with uproar from retailers with some claiming that with “price caps”, Britain would be returning to 1970s-style price controls.

The report mentioned that a potential plan had been discussed, citing a Treasury source who said that food price inflation “is much more resilient and difficult to get rid of than we anticipated”.

However, officials say the government has no plans to cap the price of food, and that any resulting scheme would not be mandatory.