The latest news, trends, analysis, interviews and podcasts from the global food and beverage industry

Philip Durham, UK business unit leader at Atlante, explores how own-label branding has evolved over the years and how it now competes with bigger brands and bigger budgets.

For years, private label was the quiet understudy to big brands: cheaper, simpler and content to stay out of the spotlight. That era is over. Of course, there will always be space for brands that can build emotion, aspiration and identity – elements that private label can’t always replicate. Good examples are Rodds Coffee, Kencko and Tribe, all achieving what private label would struggle with: consumer reach, product innovation and niche purpose.

But that space is narrowing. As retailer brands grow stronger, the burden of proof is shifting. National brands now have to truly deliver in quality, innovation or purpose to justify their premium and stay relevant. Private label, meanwhile, has grown up. What started as a budget back-up has become a creative force in modern grocery. In many categories, it now defines the direction of travel for taste, ethics and value.

Here is how own-label has evolved from, so to speak, a teenage imitator into a fully fledged professional.

The teenager years: Awkward, imitative, trying to fit in

Private label began life in its teenage identity crisis: copying the cool kids, dressing and speaking the same, hoping nobody would notice the difference in price.

It matched formats, borrowed colours, and delivered 'good enough' versions of branded goods. It worked, but only at the checkout. Emotionally, own-label was a compromise: something shoppers bought because they had to, not because they wanted to. This was private label at its most functional: affordable, but largely forgettable.

The uni years: Finding confidence, improving and developing purpose

Then came the glow-up. The 'uni years' of private label were defined by discovery, ambition and rapid improvement. Retailers tightened standards, upgraded sourcing and partnered with specialist producers capable of delivering genuinely great products.

Ranges like Taste the Difference, Finest and No.1 emerged, packaging sharpened up, and ingredient lists cleaned up. All in all, the value proposition stepped up. Consumers started reaching for own-label because they liked it, and that was the moment national brands first felt the pressure.

Career development: Learning strengths, building identity

Once quality stabilised, private label entered its professional era – the point where it realised it wasn’t just 'good at this,' but built for this. Every pack became a piece of brand DNA: ethics, sourcing, values, design and flavour all rolled into one. Private label stopped being a 'side hustle' and became the core expression of the retailer’s identity.

This evolution was fuelled by something brands could only dream of: consumer data. The winners began using loyalty programmes, basket insights and behavioural analytics to shape product development with forensic precision: formats that matter, claims that land, trends that stick. While brands spend millions trying to guess intent, retailers see it live, hourly, in their data.

The scale of these successes is enormous. Tesco Finest, for example, generates over £2 billion in annual sales and is continuing to grow, while Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference reached £1.6 billion in 2023–24, and is on track to exceed £2 billion by 2025–26.

Far from sub-brands, these are supermarket-built megabrands. Retailers have doubled down, investing hundreds of millions into marketing capability, packaging identity and brand ecosystems. In other words, private label grew up, put on a suit and became a fully fledged professional.

The executive era: Stepping into leadership, commanding the room

For years, own-label succeeded by quietly doing good work. But the executive era demands something different: visibility, confidence and the ability to lead from the front. In today’s world, attention is the new shelf space. If a private label wants influence, it must find its voice, speak and be heard. Branded goods dominate online because they communicate relentlessly: reviews, recipes, reels, communities. They don’t just sell, they tell stories. Retailers have already shown they can do this, too.

Let us consider the rise of the Christmas advert. What began as a few festive jingles is now the UK’s annual brand Olympics, and supermarkets dominate it. From Sainsbury’s nostalgic epics to Aldi’s cheeky Kevin the Carrot, grocers now set the emotional tone of the season.

To keep climbing, retailers should embrace digital storytelling, from behind-the-scenes reels and TikTok recipes to producer spotlights and sustainability journeys. No celebrities are needed. The key is delivering authenticity with clarity and charm. Digital presence isn’t a vanity project, it’s the new trust signal.

The boardroom: Authority, responsibility and leading from the front

Private label now sits on the cusp of this stage. Some retailers are ahead, while others are lagging. For those that are winning, private label isn’t a side project anymore – it makes up over 50% of grocery sales in the UK. For many retailers, it is the majority of what their customers purchase. With that scale comes a new expectation: private label must start behaving like a brand marketer.

This means asking tough, strategic questions – including how to reach younger consumers who will define the market for the next 30 years, how to build emotional connection, how to show up consistently across digital, social, in-store and culturally relevant conversations, and how to tell stories instead of simply displaying products. Future shoppers won’t distinguish between 'brand' and 'retailer brand'. Rather, they will distinguish between what feels relevant and what feels outdated.

Boardroom status, however, comes with risk. If a national brand falls short – for example a poor reformulation, a tone-deaf campaign, a PR misstep or, more worryingly, a food safety scandal – then retailers can delist it and move on. Overall, the damage is contained.

If a private label makes a misstep, the consequences are entirely different. A mistake doesn’t just tarnish a single SKU, but the retailer itself, eroding trust and reputation.

Private label’s success has earned it influence. Now it must pair that influence with marketing leadership, strategic clarity and cultural fluency. The boardroom stage isn’t about shouting louder. It’s about being smarter: more strategic, more human, and more connected to the consumers who will grow up with these products as their default choice.

The journey isn’t over

There will always be iconic brands that justify their space, but the room is getting smaller.

Private label has evolved from a teenager to a student, a professional and an executive, and now stands as one of the most powerful forces in grocery retail. It leads the way in delivering both value and values, with confidence, clarity, and a touch of boldness.

The trust is already there. The next chapter won’t be written in price tags, but in pixels, purpose and participation.