NEW YORK — The first quarter of 2025 was good for store brands. As the products have grown over the past few years, they have dominated national brands by outperforming their counterparts in dollar and unit sales across all U.S. retail outlets, according to PLMA, per data provided by Circana Unify+.
Store brand dollar sales gained 5%, and unit sales rose 0.9%, compared to national brands, which were up 0.8% in dollars and down 1.1% in units during the quarter ending March 23, compared to the same period a year ago.
Store brand market shares came in at 21.5% for dollars and 23.7% for units, reflecting private label's superior, multiyear performance vs brands. In each of Circana's last 30 monthly reports to PLMA, store brands finished ahead of national brands regarding dollar and unit sales results compared to the prior year.
All 10 food and nonfood departments experienced store brand sales growth for the trailing 52 weeks ending March 23, 2025. Refrigerated improved the most, up 11.5%, followed by Beverages (+4.7%) and Frozen (+3.5%). Nine departments increased in store brand unit sales. The top gainers were Beverages (+4.6%), Pet Care (+3.8%), and Home Care (+3.5%).
For total store brand dollar sales for the 52-week period, Refrigerated led at $59.8 billion, followed by General Food ($52 billion), General Merchandise ($25.5 billion), and Frozen ($21.8 billion). In store brand unit sales, General Food set the pace at 19.8 billion, then Refrigerated (15 billion), Beverages (5 billion), General Merchandise (4.9 billion), and Frozen (4.6 billion).
