Batteries 2024: brands lead the charge in battery sales

In batteries, branded lines hold all the power. Having nearly run flat in 2023, brands have recharged this year, adding 8.8% in value on volumes up 2.8%.

Those gains have come at the cost of own label alternatives. They’ve shifted 1.1 million fewer units – a decline of 6.6%.

Price rises have occurred across the category, but particularly among private label lines. They’re 14.9% costlier, while brands are up 8.8%. That’s benefited branded sales, suggests Sarah Chapman, category director for Duracell UK, Ireland & Nordics.

“In the past 12 months, the prices of many own label products have risen, reflecting the cost pressures faced by the industry,” she says. “This increase can be seen as a ‘correction’, as own label prices had previously declined over the previous couple of years to levels that were likely unsustainable from a cost perspective.

“The rising prices of own label products may be a factor driving the stronger growth of branded products, as the narrowing price gap makes branded options more appealing to shoppers,” she adds.

Duracell is far and away the leading battery brand, more than double the value of nearest rival Energizer. It’s put up prices too, but “brands continue to win out primarily due to shoppers better understanding the value equation,” Chapman says.“Value really is the key word here. Duracell prides itself as being different, better, and worth paying more for, and shoppers vote with their wallets.”

Being worth the extra pennies versus own label has been the focus of Duracell’s ongoing campaign, which shows a dad buying cheaper batteries that lead to his family’s devices running out. Disappointment descends on the household. “The ‘buy cheap, buy twice’ concept resonates well with consumers,” says Chapman. It’s left Duracell £15.5m better off on volumes up 1.9%.

There are positives for other brands, too. Energizer is in double-digit value growth, while Varta has shifted more than double the number of units, and Sony and Ansmann are soaring in value – albeit from small bases.

Not all have fared well, though. Take Panasonic. The fourth-placed player continues to shed value. It’s down £2.7m, or 29.7%.

Excelltec suffered a year of even heavier decline, seeing 54.9% of its value wiped out. Kodak, Eveready, Uniross and Supacell also took a downward turn.

While these brands strive to claw back sales, the battle with own label is far from over. Differentiation and demonstrating quality will key in the year ahead, Chapman says.

“With Duracell having proprietary technology in the market, it’s essential to effectively communicate our differentiation, showing that we’re not just different but also better and worth the premium,” she says.

Safety concerns

As a key point of difference, safety is emerging for both Duracell and Energizer. The former has coated its most popular coin cell batteries with the terrible-tasting denatonium benzoate since 2020 – to discourage children from accidentally swallowing them.

Last year, it launched a campaign to encourage parents to replace coin cell batteries with bitter-coated alternatives.

Energizer followed suit in October, adding a range of lithium coin batteries “equipped with three levels of child-protection technology” (see Top Launch, below). The brand hails “a product that offers a higher level of child safety while maintaining long-lasting performance”.

Read more: Batteries 2023: No boost yet from home working shift