Previously perceived as the less expensive option, the private label in Italian supermarkets is now an important component of identity, loyalty, and resilience that the retailers develop. What started as an alternative that is based on values has become a very powerful force in Italian grocery retail – because of the improved quality, sustainability, and intelligent positioning.
Private Label Today
According to the 2024 data, now, about 31.8% of all the grocery sales are represented by the products of the private label in Italy. This percentage increases to an almost one in every three products sold in supermarkets, although compared to other markets (such as Spain or Switzerland) where the proportion of private label is above 45%.
Value wise, the sales of the Italian-made private labels amounted to approximately to the value of €26 billion in the year 2024 which are a steady growth over five years. Inflation and consumer caution contributed to it, but the real change is brought about by the changing attitudes. Store brands have ceased to be thought of as the second-best by Italian shoppers who have been finding it more trustworthy, frequently more transparent, and even more Italian than the large international brands.
From Value To Strategy
The development of the concept of the Italian supermarkets of the private label is a reflection of the general modernisation of the retail sector in the country.
Price was primarily considered in the 1980s and 1990s when it comes to private label. No-frills options Coop and Conad sold plain-packaged in-store products at a lower price than other major brands.
By the 2000s, retailers were starting to realise that private label was not just a low cost instrument. They launched an organic and regional brand, and began to sell the Italian origin and sustainability.
In 2010s, supermarkets enhanced design, marketing and product innovation. The transformation of the term private label to private brand started – the house brands were put as reputable and even dreamy.
By the 2020s, the weapon of private label had been made. It assisted the supermarkets to defend the margins, manage the supply chains and enhance relationships with the local producers.
The Mover And Shakers Amongst The Big Retailers
To a great extent, this has been spearheaded by Coop Italia. Its label brands of Origine and Vivi Verde encourage trace sourcing, organic farming, and less environmental harm. Approximately, a quarter of Coop total sales are in its own label lines today, which harbors over 5,000 products.
Conad has developed a multi-tiered system of its own label, which reaches out to almost all of the shopper profiles. Its store brands include value, sustainability, and high-end experiences with its everyday Conad products, Verso Natura organic collections, and Sapori and Dintorni refined brands.
Esselunga is a company with high quality and innovation, which produces a large amount of its own brands with collaboration with the Italian SMEs. It usually tries new categories or ingredients and then expands them in the country.
The same has been the case with Despar Italia and Selex Group which have blended regional specialities with national distribution. Selex (a combination of more than 18 retail banners) is specialized in quality mid-tier products, those that are priced well and have a reputation.
In the meantime Eurospin and Lidl are already controlling the discount sector with more than 80 percent penetration of their ranges with their own label. Their emergence has forced classical supermarkets to take their own PL products to the higher level to compete not only on price.
Consumer Trust/ Perception
Italian consumers have been loyal consumers of renowned food brands Barilla, Lavazza, Ferrero, Mutti and rightly so. National brands gained confidence over a long time. That loyalty has mellowed out as pressure on prices and environmental friendliness altered the habit of shopping.
A 2024 survey in the European markets revealed that now an estimated a quarter of consumers are purchasing more private label food and beverage than they did a year previously. Most of the shoppers in Italy refer to supermarket brands as affordable quality.
Transparency has empowered trust. Clear labels, QR codes and visible regional sourcing have been used to reassure buyers. There has been an exceptionally rapid growth in the private label organic products- nearly half of the organic grocery sale in Italy. This change indicates that store brands do not exist in the lowest cost group anymore. They are now priced at all ends – value packs to posh delicacies.
Innovation And Sustainability
The new generation of the Italian private labels is based on three pillars, which include innovation, sustainability and identity.
The innovation is manifested in the number of new products released, plant-based meals, functional beverages, environmentally friendly detergents. The close supplier networks help retailers respond quicker to the trends of consumers than global brands.
Sustainability is through packaging, sourcing and producing. The Origine line by Coop follows the farm-to-shelf process. Despar encourages recycled materials and less carbon logistics. Even the discount chains emphasize the recyclable wrapping and LEAF-certified products.
Such changes are not marketing practices; they are the reacts to cultural demands. Italian consumers are very much concerned with provenience, quality and morality. Respectful products on the label of the company that belong to the same values gain a repeat business.
The European Context
In Europe, the share of private label is steadily increasing – it will reach 39 percent of all grocery sales in 2024. Store brands are mainstream in Spain and Portugal, and usually dominate in household essentials.
The growth in Italy is slower, however its structure is different. The market is decentralized, and place is local. Local delicacies – literally, Emilia-Romagna cheeses to Sicilian olive oil – provide branded producers with enduring power. But the Italian retailers are slowly catching up with the help of premiumisation and innovation.
Assuming that the market of Italy with its own labels would be at the highest levels in Europe, analysts believe that an extra light in the form of turnover has a potential of 50 billion Euro by the year 2030. That forecast indicates the size of the untapped opportunity.
The Role Of Discount Chains
The discount players cannot be left out in any discussion on the topic of private label in Italian supermarkets. The consumer expectations of Lidl and Eurospin have transformed completely.
The chains, which were initially considered as low-end markets, now compete with regular supermarkets directly when it comes to quality perceptions. They have shown the shopper that low prices do not necessarily translate to low standards. They have forced competitors to redefine assortment strategy with their intense emphasis on own label – which frequently is 90 per cent or more of the total range.
Conad and Coop, as a response, have enhanced their packaging, multiplied assortments and introduced additional medium priced store brands to protect share.
Risks and Balances
The growth of private label brings new challenges too.
Supermarkets must ensure consistency across thousands of SKUs, especially when managing suppliers under different regional banners. Premium private labels risk alienating cost-conscious shoppers if prices rise too high.
At the same time, strong Italian national brands continue to invest heavily in marketing and innovation, keeping pressure on retailers. Many categories, such as coffee and pasta, remain dominated by heritage producers.
Another concern is overextension — when retailers launch too many sub-lines, diluting the strength of the main brand. Successful strategies tend to focus on a clear, tiered system: basic, standard, premium, and sustainable.
What Lies Ahead
Between 2025 and 2030, the next phase of the development of the Italian private brands is likely to be influenced by a number of trends.
Premium and gourmet growth – Retailers will keep building upscale PL lines that have regional narratives, craft suppliers, and tiny runs.
Sustainability as a matter of course – Eco-credentials will be not a unique feature any more. Trust will be characterized by carbon labeling, recyclable packaging, and local sourcing.
Digital loyalty integration Apps and loyalty programs will customize PL offers, with the use of information to push certain ranges to repeat buyers.
Zownlabel export – As Italian retailers form international alliances, we will see their own brands in the foreign shelves.
Elaborated producer collaboration The small and medium food companies will grow more and more as consumers of innovation, leveraging supermarket brands as the scale vehicles.
These developments auger a future whereby the idea of a cheaper alternative is not the sole way of having a private label, but a part of the way that the Italy food system feels the need to articulate itself; local, sustainable and quality-driven.
Conclusion
In Italian supermarkets, private label has been developed. It is not a silent part between well-known brands anymore. It bears the story of Italy now it has the local roots, responsible sourcing and developing taste.
Brand and retailer are becoming increasingly blurred. Italian supermarkets are not only selling products as they intensify their investments in the private label. They are defining the modern Italian grocery culture: store brand by store brand.
