Private Label’s 2025 Record Is Not Just a Trade-Down Story

Private label sales in the United States reached a new high in 2025, extending a growth pattern that has become increasingly difficult to attribute solely to inflation or short-term consumer pressure.

According to data released by the Private Label Manufacturers Association using Circana measurement, U.S. shoppers spent nearly $283 billion on store-brand products last year, a 3.3 percent increase over 2024. Over the same period, national brand dollar sales rose 1.2 percent, meaning private label once again outpaced branded growth by a wide margin.

The top-line figures matter, but the more meaningful signals sit beneath them. Category performance, unit movement, and who is buying private label point to changes that appear increasingly durable.

Growth is coming from categories that require confidence

If private label growth were primarily about trading down, gains would be concentrated in a narrow set of low-consideration staples. That is not what the 2025 data shows.

Refrigerated foods led all departments with dollar growth of just over 6 percent, followed by beverages at nearly 5 percent. Pet care, beauty, frozen, and general food all posted gains, with even general merchandise growing modestly. These results build on similar category breadth seen in 2024.

Pet care stands out. Private label unit sales in the category increased more than 5 percent last year, leading all departments. This is not a category where consumers typically accept substitutes lightly. While the data does not prove universal trust, it does suggest that retailer-owned brands are earning a place in higher-consideration baskets.

Units are growing, not just revenue

Inflation can inflate revenue without increasing true demand. Unit trends help clarify whether that is happening.

PLMA reports private label unit sales rose by more than 430 million units in 2025, reaching a record 68.7 billion units sold. National brand unit volumes, by contrast, declined by 0.6 percent.

This combination matters. Dollar growth paired with unit growth indicates that private label is gaining penetration through increased adoption and repeat purchase, not simply riding higher prices.

A five-year view changes the conversation

One strong year can be explained away. Five consecutive years of momentum are harder to dismiss.

Over the past five years, private label dollar sales increased by more than 30 percent, while dollar share climbed from 19.1 percent to 21.3 percent. Unit share rose nearly two percentage points to 23.5 percent over the same period, according to PLMA.

This longer view suggests that private label’s role in the assortment has shifted. It is no longer defined only by economic cycles. Instead, it reflects sustained changes in how shoppers evaluate value, quality, and relevance.

Global context reinforces this perspective. Consulting firms such as McKinsey have noted that private label penetration in Western Europe is meaningfully higher than in the United States, indicating that U.S. growth may still have room to run rather than being near a natural ceiling.

Higher-income households are participating more

Another notable signal is who is buying private label.

Research cited by PLMA from management consulting firm Alvarez & Marsal shows that households earning more than $100,000 annually are increasingly purchasing private label groceries, even as many report feeling more confident about their financial position.

This does not mean higher-income consumers have abandoned national brands. It does suggest that private label is no longer perceived solely as a budget choice. For a growing share of shoppers, store brands are viewed as acceptable, and sometimes preferred, options depending on the category.

What retailers can take from the data with confidence

Several implications are well supported by the numbers and by how retailers are investing.

Private label is increasingly a portfolio strategy.
Growth is coming from categories that demand differentiated product development, quality systems, and consistent execution.

Operational rigor matters more than ever.
As private label competes on quality and attributes, failures in availability, consistency, or performance carry greater brand risk for retailers than they did when store brands were positioned primarily on price.

Private label strengthens retailer leverage.
Sustained share gains give retailers more influence over assortment decisions, promotional calendars, and shelf space negotiations with national brands.

What national brands should not overlook

The data makes it harder to argue that private label growth will simply fade as economic conditions improve.

Unit gains, category expansion, and higher-income adoption suggest a more competitive baseline. National brands still have meaningful advantages, but those advantages increasingly depend on clear differentiation, innovation, and brand relevance rather than scale alone.

Private label’s progress does not eliminate opportunity for branded manufacturers. It raises expectations.

The signal behind the record

Private label’s 2025 record is important, but not because it sets a new dollar high.

The more consequential signal is how normal this level of performance has become. Growth is broad, units are rising, and adoption continues to expand across income levels. That combination points to a structural shift in how shoppers evaluate retailer-owned brands and how retailers deploy them.

For retail and CPG leaders, the most pressing questions now are practical rather than philosophical: which categories are most exposed, where differentiation still holds, and what capabilities are required to compete effectively as private label continues to mature.

The answers to those questions will shape assortments and strategies well beyond the current economic cycle.

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