As private label and national brands compete for space across the store, new research suggests the real battle in fresh is over shopper confidence, according to Acosta Group.
While packaged foods often require more deliberate decision-making, fresh operates more on instinct.
“Fresh is very experiential – what you see, what you feel, what you judge. … There are some pretty immediate indicators for purchase choice,” said Kathy Risch, SVP of shopper insights and thought leadership at Acosta Group.
Rather than being anchored primarily in price, value in fresh is tied to how quickly shoppers can feel confident in their choice. Acosta’s research shows 69% of shoppers cite freshness or quality as a top driver, followed by price (66%) and brand (52%).
Brand steps in when uncertainty increases
While brand may not be the first driver shoppers acknowledge, its relevance grows in moments of trade-off when freshness and quality are harder to evaluate.
“When we look at categories … the trade-off is going to be price-based versus taste and quality,” John Dubois, SVP of fresh at Acosta Group said.
Across fresh categories, national brands hold a 61% preference score versus 39% for store brands and carry about a 17% higher “fair price” perception, per Acosta’s data. This suggests shoppers are willing to pay more when a brand reduces perceived risk.
Private label anchors everyday value
Yet, private label isn’t losing relevance. In fact, store brands remain dominant in many fresh departments.
“There’s just a passion on retail … to bring their own product,” Risch said, pointing out that store brands hold significant share across categories like dairy, deli and meat.
But she emphasized that retailers may be underestimating the importance of offering both.
Private label tends to win in routine, lower-risk purchases where shoppers are familiar with the product and confident in its quality, according to Acosta.
National brands show their strongest advantage in categories like refrigerated pasta, where preference reached 57% for branded options, compared to 45% for store brands. While value-driven categories remain competitive, like refrigerated salsa, with store brands slightly outperforming national brands in shopper preference.
In some categories, like shredded cheese, private label outperformed national brands, capturing 58% preference versus 32% for branded products.
Yet given these preferences, shoppers shifting between private label and national brands is situation dependent, Dubois notes.
Categories where quality is harder to judge tend to favor brands more strongly. However, overall, national brands remain strong among shoppers, with a 61% preference score versus 39% for store brands.
The winning strategy: Balance, not replacement
For retailers, the takeaway is not to choose between private label and national brands, but to think more holistically across the store about assortment.
DuBois points out an increased mix of national brand and private label assortments in fresh as a “winning formula.”
That mix reflects how shoppers approach fresh differently depending on the category and occasion.
Risch emphasized that removing either option risks missing what shoppers actually want in the aisle.
She also pointed to the role brands play in helping shoppers feel more confident in their decisions, particularly in a category defined by quick, often instinctive choices.
That dynamic extends beyond individual products to the department as a whole. Nearly one-third of shoppers say seeing a national brand alongside a store brand improves their perception of the fresh section.
Value in fresh is about confidence, not just price
Ultimately, retailers need to rethink how they measure success in fresh – looking beyond margin alone to consider how assortment drives shopper confidence and category growth.
As DuBois put it, success starts with a bigger-picture view: “What’s my vision and strategy across the total store… and then… how you treat that category.”
In fresh, value isn’t defined by price alone, but about giving shoppers confidence in what they’re putting in their carts.
