The World of Private Label exhibition, organised by the Private Label Manufacturers Association, is the largest annual event for this industry, and is playing host to 3,100 exhibitors from 70 countries this year.
According to PLMA president Brian Sharoff, the show is expected to be 10% bigger than last year's, with a greater presence from central and Eastern European countries as well as an extended range of fresh and refrigerated products.
Key attractions include the national and regional pavilions. Several new countries and regions will make an appearance for the first time, including Finland, Malta, France, Provence, the southern United States, Taiwan, Russia, Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic.
Food from Britain is a regular attendee at the show and will once again appear alongside its European counterparts such as Germany's CMA and Italy's ICE.
The Product Expo area will showcase
innovative own-label products including packaging and marketing concepts as well as organic and health-related products.
One of the most popular areas of the show is the Idea Supermarket, which is this year themed around Trends in Private Label. Visitors will have the opportunity to see the latest food and non-food products and packaging innovations from more than 60 retailers from Europe, North and South America and Asia. The Idea Supermarket will address several trends including premium private-label, wine, organic products and co-branding.
Within this section of the show, Waitrose will be exhibiting its latest own-label wines and Asda will feature its redesigned 'Good for You' label.
A pre-show programme of seminars has been organised to take place on 21 May. In this presentation Sharoff will focus on the latest Nielsen market share statistics for private-label. Nielsen compiled research for the PLMA's 2006 International Yearbook, which reported that private-label reached a new level of popularity across Europe last year, gaining share in 17 countries and achieving a 40% market share in four - the UK, Switzerland, Germany and Belgium. The figures are expected to be equally impressive in 2007.
The highlight of the pre-show seminar programme will be the presentation of new consumer research commissioned by the PLMA. In the study, conducted by Ipsos-MORI, participants were asked about their shopping habits, selection of stores and formats and attitudes toward both private-label and manufacturer brands. It discovered that four out of every 10 shoppers across Europe would like their supermarkets to carry a wider variety of own-label products; about a quarter of all shoppers' total market baskets are made up of own-label goods. More consumers stated they are 'less likely' to buy manufacturer brands than last year. The results illustrate the growing trend for own-label among consumers.
"The initial findings make it clear that consumer awareness of own-
label in the UK, and Europe generally, has grown significantly," says Sharoff.
"More than half the respondents said they are more aware of own-label today than they were five years ago. This is undoubtedly due to the great number of innovative products that retailers have been offering and the extensive promotion that has gone with it. The result is that own-label market penetration is once again moving upward."
The largest increases in the percentage of consumers aware of private-label were in the UK, Spain and France. This increased awareness is leading to more purchasing, with the biggest gains in the percentage of consumers planning to increase their purchases of own-label products coming in the Netherlands and Germany, according to MORI.
Three out of every 10 shoppers in France and Germany say they are now more likely to buy own-label, while the figure for the UK is one in every five.
"I believe we will see even greater growth of private-label in the future in the UK.
PLMA's 1999 MORI study documented the support that own-label enjoys among younger consumers, and the upcoming 2007 MORI study shows how this demographic characteristic is playing itself out as the population matures," adds Sharoff.
Also speaking at the show is Eric Singler, associate director at In Vivo European
Marketing Research, who will analyse shopping data showing how packaging can be used to attract the attention of consumers. Robert Gregory, retail analyst at Planet Retail, will discuss retailing and private-label in China.n
According to PLMA president Brian Sharoff, the show is expected to be 10% bigger than last year's, with a greater presence from central and Eastern European countries as well as an extended range of fresh and refrigerated products.
Key attractions include the national and regional pavilions. Several new countries and regions will make an appearance for the first time, including Finland, Malta, France, Provence, the southern United States, Taiwan, Russia, Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic.
Food from Britain is a regular attendee at the show and will once again appear alongside its European counterparts such as Germany's CMA and Italy's ICE.
The Product Expo area will showcase
innovative own-label products including packaging and marketing concepts as well as organic and health-related products.
One of the most popular areas of the show is the Idea Supermarket, which is this year themed around Trends in Private Label. Visitors will have the opportunity to see the latest food and non-food products and packaging innovations from more than 60 retailers from Europe, North and South America and Asia. The Idea Supermarket will address several trends including premium private-label, wine, organic products and co-branding.
Within this section of the show, Waitrose will be exhibiting its latest own-label wines and Asda will feature its redesigned 'Good for You' label.
A pre-show programme of seminars has been organised to take place on 21 May. In this presentation Sharoff will focus on the latest Nielsen market share statistics for private-label. Nielsen compiled research for the PLMA's 2006 International Yearbook, which reported that private-label reached a new level of popularity across Europe last year, gaining share in 17 countries and achieving a 40% market share in four - the UK, Switzerland, Germany and Belgium. The figures are expected to be equally impressive in 2007.
The highlight of the pre-show seminar programme will be the presentation of new consumer research commissioned by the PLMA. In the study, conducted by Ipsos-MORI, participants were asked about their shopping habits, selection of stores and formats and attitudes toward both private-label and manufacturer brands. It discovered that four out of every 10 shoppers across Europe would like their supermarkets to carry a wider variety of own-label products; about a quarter of all shoppers' total market baskets are made up of own-label goods. More consumers stated they are 'less likely' to buy manufacturer brands than last year. The results illustrate the growing trend for own-label among consumers.
"The initial findings make it clear that consumer awareness of own-
label in the UK, and Europe generally, has grown significantly," says Sharoff.
"More than half the respondents said they are more aware of own-label today than they were five years ago. This is undoubtedly due to the great number of innovative products that retailers have been offering and the extensive promotion that has gone with it. The result is that own-label market penetration is once again moving upward."
The largest increases in the percentage of consumers aware of private-label were in the UK, Spain and France. This increased awareness is leading to more purchasing, with the biggest gains in the percentage of consumers planning to increase their purchases of own-label products coming in the Netherlands and Germany, according to MORI.
Three out of every 10 shoppers in France and Germany say they are now more likely to buy own-label, while the figure for the UK is one in every five.
"I believe we will see even greater growth of private-label in the future in the UK.
PLMA's 1999 MORI study documented the support that own-label enjoys among younger consumers, and the upcoming 2007 MORI study shows how this demographic characteristic is playing itself out as the population matures," adds Sharoff.
Also speaking at the show is Eric Singler, associate director at In Vivo European
Marketing Research, who will analyse shopping data showing how packaging can be used to attract the attention of consumers. Robert Gregory, retail analyst at Planet Retail, will discuss retailing and private-label in China.n
No comments yet