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PACKAGING, NEW ITEMS SAID TO LIFT PRIVATE LABEL

NEW YORK -- New products and improved packaging have contributed to the growth of private label over the last year, according to the Private Label Manufacturer's Association here.According to a PLMA-commissioned Gallup Report on how consumers rate retail formats and store brands, the percentage of consumers who are familiar with store-brand products rose from 86% in 1991 to 91% in 1996. Also, the

NEW YORK -- New products and improved packaging have contributed to the growth of private label over the last year, according to the Private Label Manufacturer's Association here.

According to a PLMA-commissioned Gallup Report on how consumers rate retail formats and store brands, the percentage of consumers who are familiar with store-brand products rose from 86% in 1991 to 91% in 1996. Also, the percentage of consumers who are regular purchasers of store brands grew from 77% in 1992 to 83% in 1996. The PLMA attributes these increases, in part, to the expansion of private label into a larger number of categories throughout the store.

"There's a greater presence of private-label products in more categories on the shelf," Brian Sharoff, the PLMA president, told SN. "If you're walking down the jam and jelly aisle, you're not only going to have private label in grape. You'll have it in grape, strawberry and so on."

The quality of packaging has also improved, thanks to more creative logos and graphics. For instance, Sharoff pointed to H.E. Butt Grocery Co., San Antonio, which uses an attractive design on its cereal box.

"For the last five years, retailer by retailer has unveiled major packaging themes, not just a redesign," Sharoff said.

"In a typical supermarket, 30% of all stockkeeping units are private label. If you have the same artistic theme in this 30% then you're able to make an interesting graphic statement throughout the store. It's not a question of just repeating a logo, it's the way labels like Master Choice and America's Choice present themselves, aisle after aisle," Sharoff continued.

When asked if efforts by retailers like Harris Teeter, Charlotte, N.C. -- which uses a cartoon "Harry" dragon on the packaging of its store-brand children's-oriented products -- have contributed to private-label growth, Sharoff said today's clever graphics are making a statement.

"A lot of retailers look for ways to play to the kids, which is a very good idea," he said.

Such designs have helped give private label an edge over national brands, which, according to Sharoff, have been slow to implement packaging changes.

"A lot of the [national] brands have been sitting on their brand equity design, which in many cases has run out of gas," he said.

New Trends, New Products

CHICAGO -- The annual private-label trade show here will have several new components this year.

Rather than attending seminars, attendees will instead watch a two-hour Sunday news magazine, which will consist of 10-minute presentations on various industry issues.

"We're trying to get away from the how-to's and get to more industry trends," said Brian Sharoff, president of the Private Label Manufacturer's Association, New York.

Another addition to the show, which will run from Nov. 16 to 19, is a new products area, featuring about 50 items. The reason for this section is to give greater recognition to products manufactured by smaller companies.

Under PLMA policy, the products included in the area can not have been shown at last year's show. They also have to be new to private label, such as a new category or subsegment.