One in ten foodstuffs bought from stores is a private label

Unknown until recently, major retailers' private labels or own brands, such as Aro, Nr.1 or TiP, have started gaining more and more ground and have reached, according to ZF estimates, sales of 650-700m euros, that is over 5% of modern retail, considering the main benefits are related to price and the lack of promotion and marketing costs.

Thus, on a market where Romanians' consumption budget has gone down by 10% on average since 2009, private labels are raking up rising sales and eating from the market share of established brands.

Private labels have gained the most solid position in the food sector, where they hold an over 9% share, almost double the one held on the overall consumer goods market.

Despite the recent upward trend, there is still growth potential for this segment.

Considering the domestic consumer goods market reached 13bn euros last year and is set to rise by only 1.5% this year, according to the latest survey by PMR Publications, private labels will put over 660m euros into major retailers' pockets, from 480m euros last year, in line with ZF estimates.