Private labels are here to stay

Private labels, once rare in Greece, now occupy a significant space in our refrigerators and cupboards, even in a recovering economy.

Besides their attractive prices, the investments made by supermarket chains in private labels to draw customers and distinguish themselves from the competition have made them an integral part of business for retailers and manufacturers alike.

The annual research conducted by the Marketing Research Laboratory of the Athens University of Economics and Business (AUEB) shows that 29.4 percent of the products bought by Greeks at supermarkets are private labels, slightly higher than in 2018 (29.1 pct) and significantly higher than in 2011 (21.5 pct).

The research was conducted on a sample of 750 households and not through store receipts, the way market research companies do.

Buying private labels is no longer the province of the poor or other demographics. “[Private labels] are the choice of a varied consuming public,” the researchers say.

More than 61 percent of the sample said they were satisfied with private label products (up from 56.7 pct in 2018), while only 3.3 pct claimed to be dissatisfied.