Brand-New Choices
More shoppers are going generic.
Record unemployment numbers during the pandemic have spurred shoppers to seek more cost-effective ways to keep their kitchens well-stocked. One approach to reducing pain at the checkout counter has been to look past big brands for everything from ketchup to frozen fruit.
According to information gathered by the Private Label Manufacturers Association and data firm Nielsen, supermarket house brands have been slowly capturing a larger piece of the market share. During the first quarter of 2020, private-label product sales increased by nearly 15%.
Home cooks—now preparing their own meals in record numbers—can rest easy knowing that, in many cases, store brands offer very similar nutritional value to their pricier national-brand counterparts.
Matthew Kadey, MS, RD
Matthew Kadey, MS, RD, is a James Beard Award–winning food journalist, dietitian and author of the cookbook Rocket Fuel: Power-Packed Food for Sport + Adventure (VeloPress 2016). He has written for dozens of magazines, including Runner’s World, Men’s Health, Shape, Men’s Fitness and Muscle and Fitness.
