Private label and the new rules of brand preference

Private labels are no longer simply rising as they shed their longstanding reputation as less expensive but inferior alternatives. They have become a normalized part of consumers' shopping repertoire.

The question is not whether private labels are a threat, but how brands can sustain preference and justify premiums when consumers increasingly view many private-label products as credible alternatives.

Fresh data from the Ipsos Consumer Tracker reveals a marketplace where private labels have become firmly embedded in consumers' consideration sets:

• 64% of consumers believe private label products are equal to or better than national brands in terms of quality.
• 53% say they are buying more private-label products than they were a year ago and as many actively seek out private-label alternatives when shopping.
• 85% are willing to purchase a private label if their preferred brand is unavailable.

At the same time, traditional brands continue to retain important advantages:

• 67% have favorite brands they are reluctant to switch from.
• 80% prefer food brands whose ingredients they know and trust.
• 72% agree that national brand products have a proven track record.

The implication is not that private labels are replacing brands, it is that private labels have earned legitimacy; they are brands in their own right, and they sit alongside name brands in consumers’ consideration set.

For CMOs and brand leaders, this creates a fundamentally different competitive landscape. Winning is no longer about convincing consumers that private labels are inferior. The brands that succeed will be those that create value beyond functional performance, reinforce trust where risk matters most, innovate faster than retailers can replicate, and build emotional connections that endure beyond individual transactions.

From rising tide to new reality

When we last examined private labels in April 2025, the signs were already evident.

Nearly three-quarters of consumers agreed that private label products were just as good as national brand alternatives, while nearly eight in ten said they would purchase a private label if their preferred brand was unavailable. At the time, the story was about a narrowing quality gap and the growing credibility of private labels.

A new wave of data suggests that those trends have continued rather than reversed.

Agreement that private labels are “just as good” has increased from 74% last year to 77% today. Willingness to substitute a private label when a favorite brand is unavailable has risen from 79% to 85%, according to the Ipsos Consumer Tracker.

What was once a defensive purchase made primarily to save money has increasingly become a deliberate choice: More than half of consumers now report buying more private-label products than they were a year ago, while an equal share actively seek out private-label alternatives when shopping.

This creates a new challenge for marketers. The battle is no longer about persuading consumers not to try private labels. It is about giving them a compelling reason to choose a national brand when a credible lower-priced alternative is already under consideration.

So, how do brands win in this environment?

How brands win #1: Compete beyond quality

Quality has long been one of the primary drivers of brand premiums. Yet the latest data suggest that perceived quality differences between private labels and national brands continue to narrow. Today, 64% of consumers view private-label products as equal to or better than national brands in terms of quality, according to the Ipsos Consumer Tracker.

This is where many traditional branding strategies become vulnerable. For decades, brands relied on a straightforward value proposition: pay more and receive better quality. That proposition becomes increasingly difficult to sustain when most consumers view products as functionally comparable. As brands cost-optimize their products in response to cost increases, this quality gap narrows even further.

What this means

As perceived quality differences narrow, consumers are increasingly evaluating products through a broader set of criteria, including value, convenience, trust, innovation, familiarity, and relevance. In practical terms, quality is becoming a ticket to entry rather than a durable source of differentiation.

What brands should do

1. Stop leading with generic quality claims

Traditional claims of premium quality, heritage, and superior performance no longer provide meaningful differentiation. Because consumers increasingly take acceptable quality for granted, brands must articulate a distinctive advantage that sets them apart from both private labels and branded competitors. That advantage may come from solving an unmet need first, creating a distinctive brand experience, building emotional resonance, fostering a sense of belonging, or becoming synonymous with a particular lifestyle, value set, or consumption occasion.

2. Invest in meaningful innovation

One of the few enduring advantages national brands retain is the ability to innovate faster than private labels can follow. By delivering new product experiences, functional breakthroughs, solutions to emerging consumer needs, and faster innovation cycles, brands can create meaningful competitive distance. Quality alone is rarely enough to do so.

3. Make proof visible

The notion that national brands have a proven track record remains one of the last defensible quality moats. However, that trust can no longer be assumed.

To justify their premium and sustain differentiation, brands should actively demonstrate product efficacy, scientific validation, credible third-party endorsements, meaningful R&D investment, and years of category expertise.

How brands win #2: Defend availability and earn the premium

The latest findings suggest that private-label growth is increasingly driven by behavior rather than attitudes. Consumers are more willing to substitute private labels when their preferred brands are unavailable, turning stock-outs from temporary sales losses into trial opportunities. As shoppers discover that lower-priced alternatives meet their needs, the perceived risk of switching declines and one-time substitutions can become lasting habits.

In this environment, every stock-out is a recruitment opportunity for a competitor. Higher prices can still be sustained, but only when consumers see a clear and compelling reason to pay more.

What this means

Consumers increasingly appear to be building portfolios of brands rather than adopting a one-size-fits-all approach. They may readily choose private labels in some categories while remaining loyal to national brands in others, depending on the context and perceived risk.

Where products are viewed as largely interchangeable, private labels are well positioned to gain share. More broadly, consumers increasingly appear to be mixing private labels and national brands depending on the category and purchase occasion.

What brands should do

1. Protect availability relentlessly

Supply chain reliability is now a growth strategy. When 85% of consumers are willing to choose a private label when your product is unavailable, stock-outs become far more costly than they once were.

2. Defend premium pricing through visible value

Premium pricing requires premium justification. As such, brands should clearly communicate superior ingredients, better sourcing, sustainability credentials, and additional services or experiences.

If consumers cannot easily articulate why a brand costs more, they are unlikely to continue paying more.

3. Focus on high-value occasions

Not every purchase occasion requires the same level of investment. Brands should identify moments where consumers are most willing to pay for reassurance, quality, familiarity, or expertise. Those occasions often provide the strongest return on brand-building investments.

How brands win #3: Build trust retailers cannot easily copy

While private labels continue to gain ground, national brands still hold important advantages. The strongest among them are trust and emotional connection.

Nearly seven in ten Americans say they have favorite brands they are reluctant to switch from, and eight in ten prefer food brands whose ingredients they know and trust. These advantages are strongest in categories involving health, safety, consumption, or perceived risk.

When consumers believe consequences matter, trust matters.

What this means

The future competitive battleground is likely to be less about quality and more about confidence. Consumers are increasingly willing to save money when risk feels low, but they continue to seek reassurance when risk feels high. The brands that win will understand the difference.

What brands should do

1. Turn transparency into a strategic asset

Consumers increasingly want to understand where ingredients come from, how products are produced and why formulation choices were made. Transparency creates trust and trust turns into preference.

2. Invest in emotional distinctiveness

Retailers can often duplicate products but cannot easily duplicate meaning.

Brands should leverage their dacross all communications to reinforce purpose, heritage, human stories and cultural relevance. Emotional connection remains one of the most durable sources of competitive advantage.

3. Build memory, not just awareness

The most valuable brands occupy mental real estate. They show up consistently, become familiar and trusted. In an era of quality parity, memory structures become increasingly important drivers of preference.

What’s next

Private labels have won the battle for legitimacy.

Consumers increasingly see them as acceptable, credible, and often comparable alternatives to national brands. They actively seek them out, buy them more frequently, and readily consider them alongside established brands.

Yet this is not a story about the decline of brands. Trust, familiarity, ingredient confidence, emotional attachment, and proven performance continue to matter.

 The brands that will thrive in the years ahead will be those that continuously earn consumer preference rather than rely on historical reputation alone. Success will depend on innovating faster, making expertise visible, justifying premium pricing, building trust where it matters most, and creating emotional value that consumers cannot easily replace.

In a world where “good enough” has become the default, the winning brands will be the ones that give consumers a compelling reason to want more.

References

• Ipsos Consumer Tracker, Wave 143, June 2026.  
• Ipsos Consumer Tracker, Wave 111, February 2025.