--- title: "Private Label Won the Middle. Where Do Brands Still Earn a Premium?" standfirst: "Brands still sell each grocery unit for a third more than own label in Europe, but only some categories earn it; the rest are being defended with promotion." url: https://www.motionandgain.com/insights/private-label-brand-premium type: "Consultant Article" publisher: "Motion & Gain" author: "Motion&Gain" published: 2026-11-01 updated: 2026-11-01 tags: ["Portfolio & innovation", "Pricing & promotions", "Revenue growth management", "Consumer goods", "Retail"] summary: "Brands still earn 34% more per unit than private label in Europe, but only in categories retailers can't copy. Here is where, and what to do." hero_image: https://wcokbflnhololtfdocak.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/article-images/ai/2026-11/private-label-brand-premium-8f4dbefd.webp hero_image_ai_generated: true access: public language: en --- # Private Label Won the Middle. Where Do Brands Still Earn a Premium? *Brands still sell each grocery unit for a third more than own label in Europe, but only some categories earn it; the rest are being defended with promotion.* Consultant Article · Motion&Gain · 1 November 2026 Hero image: AI-generated illustration (labelled "AI GENERATED" on the page). Private label has not killed the brand premium; it has taken the volume around it. Across 17 European grocery markets, a branded unit still sold for about 34% more than an own-label unit in 2025, the same gap as in 2024, while branded unit sales stood still and own label grew. The question for a CCO is no longer how to defend share everywhere, but which categories still earn that premium and how to stop paying to defend the ones that don't. **Key takeaways** - A branded grocery unit sold for 34% more than an own-label unit across 17 European markets in 2025, unchanged from 2024 (PLMA/NielsenIQ data; Motion & Gain analysis). - Branded unit sales were flat in 2025 (−0.01%) while own-label units rose 1.3%; brands held their price, not their volume. - In UK food and drink launches, own label took about 70% in ready meals but 37% in chocolate confectionery and 6% in sports and energy drinks (Mintel). ## How much of Europe's grocery basket is own label now? Half of it, if you count packs. [Circana reported on 20 April 2026](https://www.circana.com/post/private-label-reaches-record-50-unit-share-across-europe-s-six-biggest-grocery-markets) that own label now sells one in every two units in Europe's six largest grocery markets (Germany, the UK, France, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands), a first, after gaining share every year since 2021. By value the share was 42%, or €324 billion. In the 17 markets NielsenIQ tracks for the manufacturers' association PLMA, own label took 38.8% of grocery sales (€387 billion) and 45.9% of units in 2025, according to [PLMA's 2026 report, A Mosaic of Markets](https://plma.nl/PLMR/Report_2026_Mosaic_of_Markets.pdf). The gap between those two shares is where the brand premium hides. **34%**: more euros per unit for brands than for own label, 17 European grocery markets, 2025 (PLMA/NielsenIQ; Motion & Gain analysis) > **The brand premium**, as measured here, is the euros a shopper pays per branded unit divided by the euros paid per own-label unit, minus one. It includes category mix as well as shelf price, so it is an upper bound on any like-for-like price gap, not a price comparison. ## Brands kept the premium and gave up the volume The striking number is not the size of the premium but its stability. On PLMA's figures, branded products averaged €2.56 per unit in 2025 against €1.92 for own label. The ratio was 33.9% in 2024 and 33.8% in 2025: brands passed through inflation in step with own label and did not let the gap close. Circana's six-market shares imply a similar premium of about 38%. **Chart: Brands kept their price and gave up the volume** (Change in grocery sales 2025 vs 2024, %, own label vs manufacturer brands, 17 European markets) ![Grouped column chart: Brands kept their price and gave up the volume. Change in grocery sales 2025 vs 2024, %, own label vs manufacturer brands, 17 European markets. Own label, Manufacturer brands across 2 categories. Source: PLMA International / NielsenIQ, A Mosaic of Markets 2026.](https://www.motionandgain.com/charts/91c8de5ef06f44005bf9-w.svg) *Source: [PLMA International / NielsenIQ, A Mosaic of Markets 2026](https://plma.nl/PLMR/Report_2026_Mosaic_of_Markets.pdf). Branded unit sales −0.01%, shown as 0.0. The implied brand premium per unit was 34% in both 2024 and 2025 (M&G analysis). [Data (CSV)](https://www.motionandgain.com/charts/91c8de5ef06f44005bf9.csv) · Chart: Motion & Gain* The price was paid in volume. Branded unit sales were flat in 2025 (−0.01%) while own-label units grew 1.3%; branded euro sales rose 2.7% against 4.1% for own label. Unilever's [third-quarter 2026 results](https://www.unilever.com/news/press-and-media/press-releases/2026/continued-strong-performance-in-the-third-quarter/), published on 28 October 2026, show what that looks like inside one company: underlying sales in Europe fell 1.7% in what it called a soft market, and globally its Foods business lost 1.1% in volume while home and personal care grew. Part of the premium is also handed back at the till. Circana found that 34% of branded units in the six largest markets were sold on promotion, against 14% of own-label units. A premium that needs a deal on one pack in three is thinner than the shelf price suggests, as we argued in [Trade Promotion Is Your Biggest Budget](https://www.motionandgain.com/insights/trade-promotion-prove-it-pays). Earned on a shrinking share of baskets and partly refunded on deal, it is not a position. It is a slow retreat. ## Where do brands still earn a premium over private label? The average hides a wide spread. Recomputing PLMA's euro and unit sales by country, a branded unit sold for 94% more than an own-label unit in Belgium in 2025, 54% more in Germany, 53% in France, 33% in the UK and only 2% in Sweden. **Chart: A branded unit sells for 94% more than own label in Belgium and 2% more in Sweden** (Implied brand premium: euros per branded unit vs per own-label unit, %, 12 largest European grocery markets, 2025) ![Bar chart: A branded unit sells for 94% more than own label in Belgium and 2% more in Sweden. Implied brand premium: euros per branded unit vs per own-label unit, %, 12 largest European grocery markets, 2025. Highest: Belgium (94%); lowest: Sweden (2%). Source: PLMA International / NielsenIQ, A Mosaic of Markets 2026 (2025 sales); M&G analysis.](https://www.motionandgain.com/charts/fc1cc1e2503f097f1755-w.svg) *Source: [PLMA International / NielsenIQ, A Mosaic of Markets 2026 (2025 sales); M&G analysis](https://plma.nl/PLMR/Report_2026_Mosaic_of_Markets.pdf). Premium = branded euro sales per unit ÷ own-label euro sales per unit − 1. Includes category mix (brands over-index in pricier categories), so it is not a like-for-like shelf price gap. 12 largest of 17 markets by grocery sales. [Data (CSV)](https://www.motionandgain.com/charts/fc1cc1e2503f097f1755.csv) · Chart: Motion & Gain* Category mix explains much of that range, and Belgium shows how. It was the one market where branded euro sales clearly outgrew own label in 2025 (4.2% against 2.8%), and PLMA's report notes that brands there still dominate chocolate, beverages, cosmetics and baby products, categories where, in its words, "innovation and emotional equity prevail". Where the basket leans to those categories, the premium survives. Where it leans to staples, it is close to zero. ## Which categories can retailers not copy? Retailers copy what can be written as a recipe. Mintel data reported by [The Grocer on 16 May 2026](https://www.thegrocer.co.uk/comment-and-opinion/private-label-is-now-leading-the-innovation-charge/718921.article) show own label accounted for 53% of new UK food and drink launches in 2025, up from 39% in 2019. The category split is the useful part: about seven in ten ready meal launches were own label, against 37% in chocolate confectionery and 6% in sports and energy drinks. These are UK launch counts, not sales shares, but the pattern matches the sales data. **Chart: Retailers launch most where the product is a recipe, least where it is a brand world** (Own-label share of new food and drink launches, %, UK, 2025) ![Bar chart: Retailers launch most where the product is a recipe, least where it is a brand world. Own-label share of new food and drink launches, %, UK, 2025. Highest: Ready meals (70%); lowest: Sports and energy drinks (6%). Source: Mintel GNPD via The Grocer, May 2026.](https://www.motionandgain.com/charts/2866a8845af7513fa803-w.svg) *Source: [Mintel GNPD via The Grocer, May 2026](https://www.thegrocer.co.uk/comment-and-opinion/private-label-is-now-leading-the-innovation-charge/718921.article). Share of new product launches, not of sales. Ready meals reported as "seven in 10". Single source. [Data (CSV)](https://www.motionandgain.com/charts/2866a8845af7513fa803.csv) · Chart: Motion & Gain* Sales data point the same way. In PLMA's 17 markets, own label's euro sales grew 4.6% in food departments in 2025 against 1.0% in non-food (Motion & Gain analysis). In confectionery and snacks, own-label units fell 1.4% even as its euro sales rose 7.1% on cocoa-driven prices: shoppers did not trade into own label in the most indulgent aisle. Non-food is not a safe harbour, though. Simon-Kucher research cited in the PLMA report finds 59% of shoppers focus on own label for household items such as bin bags, foil and batteries, while pet food, baby products and alcoholic drinks remain brand-led. The line does not run between food and non-food. It runs between products a retailer can specify and products a shopper buys for something a specification cannot capture. From that evidence, Motion & Gain applies three tests to every category in a portfolio: - **Experience:** is the product bought for taste, identity or ritual (chocolate, energy drinks, beauty) rather than function? If yes, the premium is defensible. - **Risk of failure:** does a bad product cost the shopper something real, as with baby care or pet food? Trust carries a premium there. Regulation alone does not: own-label health care sales grew 13% in 2025, from a small base. - **Speed:** can the brand renew the product faster than a retailer can copy it? This test is weakening. Retailers now turn social media trends into limited editions before many brands can react, as the pistachio chocolate craze showed. A category that passes none of the three is a commodity with a logo. AI shopping assistants make that harder to hide: Circana expects online and AI-driven shopping, which compare products on price and function, to give own label a further lift, which is why we argued that [AI visibility is the new shelf space](https://www.motionandgain.com/insights/ai-visibility-brand-share-of-ai-answers). In the Motion & Gain [commercial value chain](https://www.motionandgain.com/ai-transformation#framework), this decision sits in Corridor 1, Create Superior Product Portfolio & Brands: the premium itself is pricing power (O3), and the defend, reshape or harvest call is portfolio mix and SKU productivity (O5 and O6). ## What to do now 1. **Measure the premium by category (CCO and head of revenue growth management, 30 days).** For each category, compute euros per unit against the leading own-label equivalent, its trend over three years and the share of volume sold on promotion. The net premium after promotion is the number that matters. 2. **Sort the portfolio with the three tests (CCO and category directors, 60 days).** Mark each category defend, reshape or harvest. Expect most staples to land in harvest. 3. **Stop funding the commodity middle (revenue growth management director, 90 days).** Cut promotion depth where the premium is mostly refunded on deal, and decide whether to compete with a value tier, supply retailers' own label or exit. 4. **Move the money to categories that pass (CMO, next budget cycle).** Put innovation and brand investment where experience or trust carries the premium, and make product claims legible to AI assistants where the premium rests on performance. ## The bottom line Own label has not won the argument on price; brands still collect a third more per unit. It has won the argument on relevance in every category where the product is a recipe. Portfolios that defend share everywhere will keep paying promotion for a premium shoppers no longer value; portfolios re-cut around the categories that pass the tests keep it where it is earned. ## Questions leaders ask ### What share of European grocery sales is private label? In the six largest European grocery markets (Germany, the UK, France, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands), own label reached 50% of units and 42% of value, according to Circana in April 2026. Across the 17 markets NielsenIQ tracks for PLMA, own label held 38.8% of grocery value (€387 billion) and 45.9% of units in 2025. Value shares range from 52% in Switzerland to about 24% in Norway and Greece. ### Do brands still command a price premium over private label? Yes. Across 17 European markets, a branded grocery unit sold for about 34% more than an own-label unit in 2025, the same as in 2024 (PLMA/NielsenIQ data; Motion & Gain analysis). The figure includes category mix, so it overstates the like-for-like shelf gap. The premium ranges from about 94% in Belgium to 2% in Sweden, and brands kept it while their unit sales stood still. ### Which categories are least exposed to own label? Categories bought for experience or where failure is costly. In the UK, own label made 37% of chocolate confectionery launches and 6% of sports and energy drink launches in 2025, against about 70% in ready meals (Mintel). Shopper research cited by PLMA finds pet food, baby products and alcoholic drinks still brand-led, while household staples such as foil and bin bags are mostly bought as own label. --- Source: https://www.motionandgain.com/insights/private-label-brand-premium Cite as: Motion & Gain, "Private Label Won the Middle. Where Do Brands Still Earn a Premium?", 1 November 2026, https://www.motionandgain.com/insights/private-label-brand-premium Editorial standards: https://www.motionandgain.com/insights/editorial-standards