Before it was a sporadic phenomenon but now it has definitely taken hold: we are talking about products “branded” with the name and logo of the chain of supermarkets where we shop. Already in 2020 they represented 20% of all foods sold to the detriment of the big brands that are losing ground.
Which are the numbers
A single figure is enough to make the extent of this new market understood: according to The European House – Fondazione Ambrosetti, the turnover of large-scale distribution on its products reached 11.8 billion euros in 2020, with a growth 9.3% compared to the previous year. To make a comparison, at the beginning of 2000 the market share of food sold under its own name by the large distribution was struggling to exceed 10%: in 2020, as mentioned, it reached 20% and analysts’ forecast is that it will touch the 24% in 2025. The Lifebuoya monthly specialized on laboratory tests against consumer fraud, carried out a survey on 38 foods with the brand of the point of sale and compiled a ranking.
The three rankings
In reality, the rankings are three and grouped under the items Supermarkets, Organic lines and Discount. The related tables are the result of laboratory tests carried out between January 2020 and February 2022: of the 38 foods analyzed, the 226 references also have a specific weight. “This year we introduced the organic lines of the large-scale retail trade. In this ranking, NaturaSì also appears, often present in our tests, for branded foods. The numbers and judgments we have reported represent an average of those taken into consideration, obviously in relation to the samples analyzed“, we read on Courier service. The judgement was expressed considering six judgments with relative scores: Excellent (9.1-10 points), Excellent (8-9 points), Good (7-7.9), Average (6-6.9), Mediocre (4- 5.9) and Poor (under 4 points).
The best supermarkets
From this survey, it emerged that the first place among supermarkets is the brand name Coop with an average score of 7.6, followed by Conad with 7.1 points and by Esselunga with 6.9 which obtained the same score as Carrefour. The first two, therefore, are considered “good”, the other two with the “average” voice. To close the ranking there is Elite Supermercati with a score of 6.2 which also places it in the middle range.
The best organic and discount stores
As regards, however, the quality guaranteed among organic products, in first place we find the NaturaSì brand with a rating of 8.8 followed by ViviVerde at 8.7. In both cases, the scores fall largely into the very good category. In third place we find Esselunga Bio with 7.9 points in the “good” band, one tenth from the higher category. Carrefour bio instead scored 7.7 points while Eurospin’s “I love to be organic” line stopped at 7.6 points. Finally, among the discounters, the scores on the quality of the products branded with the company name are a little lower than the organic lines. The first place goes to the Md chain with a score of 7, followed by Todis (6.8) and Eurospin (6.4). Lidl is in fourth place with 5.9 points, the only reality to drop below 6 points and therefore be considered mediocre.
“What consumers choose”
The investigation wanted to highlight the quality and not food prices: in recent years, Italian consumers are much more attentive than in the past to the relationship between quality and price combined with safety. “Otherwise it would be difficult to explain the success of the supermarket brand that guarantees an average price 15% lower than the average of similar products and even more the growth of purchases in discount stores, where the discount is even higher “conclude the researchers of the Salvagente.
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