Brian Sharoff, President of PLMA, said, “The latest Nielsen statistics reveal clearly that 2015 was a good year for retailer brands in Europe. There were gains for private label in both large and small retail markets as well as in all geographic regions.”

Volume share climbed to 46% in the UK, reaching its highest level there since 2010. Prospects look good for even more gains in the future as private label plays an increasingly important role in the fierce competition between supermarkets and the discounters.

Private label share is growing again in France despite the best efforts by the A-brands to stop it through costly price promotions. Volume share climbed over 35%, its highest level since 2012.

In Germany, where supermarkets have battled discounters for decades, market share for retailer brands stayed above 40% for the eighth consecutive year. Private label now accounts for four of every ten products sold in Austria, and in Switzerland market share has stayed over 50% for more than a decade.

In the north, all four of the Scandinavian countries—Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden—posted market share gains.

The Nielsen data shows that retailer brands have made extraordinary progress in Central and Eastern Europe. Volume share has climbed above 30% in Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia, while private label share in Poland is now nearly four times as high as when Nielsen first started compiling statistics there in 2003.

There also have been gains among the Mediterranean countries. In Spain, market share stayed above 50% for the fourth consecutive year, while shoppers in Italy, Greece and Turkey keep putting more private label products in their baskets. In Portugal, market share remains above 40%.

For more information about PLMA’s 2016 International Private Label Yearbook or arrange an interview with Brian Sharoff, President of PLMA, contact Leonique White, Manager Trade Show Development, PLMA International Council.