US Private Label Food and Drink Market Report 2026
"Accelerating growth means moving beyond products and price comparisons."
John Owen, Associate Director - Food and Retail
Private label food and drink sales and share notched their fourth consecutive gain in 2025 and are poised to make further gains over the next five years. While financial uncertainty and the potential for further inflation set the stage for growth in the short term, retailers’ ongoing efforts to improve the quality and relevance of their store brands are helping to ensure private label success in the long run. Shoppers increasingly rate private label food and drink on a par with name brands in quality and taste.
Retailers can capitalize on these positive perceptions and accelerate growth even further by thinking of private label not just in terms of products and price comparisons, but as a platform for ideas that help shoppers achieve what’s important to them: healthy eating, cuisine exploration, sustainable living and more.
This Report Looks at the Following Areas:
- Private label food and drink sales and share trends
- Market factors impacting private label food and drink’s growth potential
- Openness to private label across major food and drink categories
- Consumer attitudes and behaviors toward private label food and drink
- Top competitors and innovators
Market Definitions
For the purposes of this Report, Mintel has used the following definitions: According to the Private Label Manufacturers Association, “private label” products encompass all merchandise sold under a retail store’s private label. That label can be the store’s own name or a name created exclusively by that store.
“Private Label” and “store brand” are used interchangeably in this Report.
The food segment includes private label products in the following categories:
- shelf-stable
- refrigerated
- frozen
The beverage segment includes private label products in the following categories:
- milk, non-dairy drinks and yogurt drinks
- tea and coffee
- juice and juice drinks
- sports, nutritional and performance drinks
- alcoholic beverages and cocktail mixes
- carbonated beverages (soda)
- energy drinks
- bottled water
- drink mixes and drink enhancers
The brand loyalty groups in the consumer research are based on responses to the question on brand preference by category.
- Name brand loyalists prefer name brands in more categories than they do private label.
- Private label loyalists prefer store brand in more categories than they do name brands.
- Mix and Matchers prefer the same number of name brands and store brands or have no preference across all categories.
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
- What you need to know
- Outlook for private label food and drink
- Opportunities
- Tasting is believing: make trial a top priority to convert brand loyalists
- Graph 1: attitudes toward store brands – any agree, by brand preference, 2026
- Make store brands a reflection of the retailer’s strategy – at every tier
- Graph 2: attitudes toward store brand – any agree, by financial situation, 2026
- Make store brands about ideas, not just items
- Graph 3: attitudes toward meals, by financial situation, 2025
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THE MARKET
- Snapshot – market size and forecast
- Consumers and the economic outlook
- Consumer perception of finances has yet to recover from 2022 inflation spike
- Graph 4: assessment of personal financial situation, 2022-26
- Rising food prices could put further strain on consumers
- Graph 5: consumer concerns – very concerned, by financial situation, 2026
- Rising food prices could put further strain on consumers
- Private label food and drink notches fourth consecutive annual sales and share gain
- Retail sales and forecast of private label food and drink
- Graph 6: total MULO sales and fan chart forecast of private label food and drink, at current prices, 2019-30
- Retail sales and forecast of private label food and drink
- Private label share of multi-outlet food and drink sales
- Graph 7: private label share of multi-outlet food and drink sales, 2019-25
- Market segmentation
- Food continued to lead private label share growth
- Graph 8: total multi-outlet sales of private label food and drink, by segment, at current prices, 2019-25
- Graph 9: private label share of multi-outlet food and drink sales, by segment, 2019-25
- Refrigerator case continues to pace private label growth in food
- Graph 10: private label share of multi-outlet food sales, by sub-segment, 2019-25
- Continued share declines for private label milk flattens growth for private label drinks overall
- Graph 11: private label share of multi-outlet food and drink sales, by segment, 2019-25
- Other channels continue to lead private label growth
- Graph 12: private label share of multi-outlet food and drink sales, by retail channel, 2019-25
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THE CONSUMER
- Increasingly positive perceptions create new strategic opportunities
- Beyond price: store brands are an essential component of retailers’ brand image
- A solid base to build on: positive perceptions on store brand quality and taste
- Graph 13: attitudes toward store brands – quality perceptions – any agree, by brand preference, 2026
- Improved selection and quality key to driving private label growth among financially secure consumers
- Graph 14: change in store brand food/drink purchase frequency vs a year ago, by financial situation, 2026
- Graph 15: reasons for purchasing store brand food/drink products more frequently, by financial situation, 2026
- Closing gaps and breaking habits
- Variety and transparency represent opportunities for store brands to close perception gaps
- Graph 16: attitudes toward store brands – name brand advantages – any agree, by brand preferences, 2025
- Generating private label trial among brand-name loyalists means breaking well-established habits
- Generating private label trial among brand name loyalists means breaking well-established habits
- Graph 17: attitudes toward store brands – opportunities and risks – any agree, by brand preferences, 2025
- Category-level opportunities
- Opportunities for private label extend to name brand strongholds
- Graph 18: brand preference by category, 2026
- Opportunity for private label cuts across levels of financial security
- Graph 19: brand preference by category – prefer private label or no preference, by financial situation, 2025
- Store brands and shopping
- While older shoppers focus on price comparisons, younger shoppers are more likely to look for added value
- Graph 20: private label shopping behavior, by age, 2026
- Price comparisons key across channels, but online, Target and natural grocery shoppers look for more
- Graph 21: private label food and drink shopping behaviors, by primary grocery retailer, 2026
- Financial situation defines opportunities; sharp opening price points remain key for shoppers struggling financially
- Graph 22: interest in private label concepts, by financial situation, 2026
- Store-brand opportunities vary from retailer to retailer based on the needs and interests of their shoppers
- Graph 23: interest in private label concepts, by primary grocery retailer, 2026
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PRODUCT, INNOVATION AND MARKETING
- ALDI private label rebrand leverages trust and familiarity by putting ALDI name front and center
- Amazon Grocery rebrand aims to simplify shopping, highlight value
- Walmart continues investment in Great Value, aligning it with consumer priorities and making it easier to shop throughout the store
- Hy-Vee facilitates healthy eating with two new brands that emphasize dietician credentials
- Kroger extends Simple Truth clean label brand with protein-focused line
- Associated Wholesale Grocers launches coordinated line of snacks and nutraceuticals featuring functional ingredients
- Kroger expands menu variety for its premium Private Selection brand
- Albertsons Chef’s Counter pairs convenience and flavor exploration
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APPENDIX
- Market definition
- The market
- Forecast methodology
- Forecast methodology – fan chart
- Sales of private label food and drink at inflation-adjusted prices
- Sales of private label food at current prices
- Sales of private label food at inflation-adjusted prices
- Sales of private label drink at current prices
- Sales of private label drink at inflation-adjusted prices
- Sales and share of private label food and drink by category at current prices
- The consumer
- Consumer research questions
- Consumer research methodology
- US generation groups
- Abbreviations
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