A Breath of Freshness

Private label is adding pep to the sluggish bags, foils and wraps sectors. Though data from Information Resources Inc., a Chicago-based market research firm, show that overall growth is tepid in a market in which products already are being used by most households, store brand activity is on the upswing as more shoppers seek lower-cost alternatives with enhanced functionality (See the table, p. 68).

While population growth will help drive future category expansion, retailers could further bolster activity with innovations and product upgrades, reports Mintel, a global market research firm. Potential enhancements could include trash bags with enhanced odor control and food storage items that monitor freshness.

“Retailers have worked to improve the quality of some of their private label offerings, especially in plastic food storage bags and aluminum foil, which has made consumers comfortable with using store brands in these segments,” Mintel states.

What they want

Consumers place the highest priority on durability, price and product quantity when choosing trash bags, while food storage product users are primarily interested in tight-sealing effectiveness at keeping food fresh and durability, Mintel reports.

Other features such as combating and managing odors in trash bags and the flexible and easy use of food storage containers also function as product differentiators, Mintel adds.

Indeed, the addition of scent or features such as antimicrobials that limit odor-causing bacteria to store brand trash bags can help more consumers perceive the products as being equivalent to national brand offerings, says Susan Rosenberg, president and CEO of Aluf Plastics Inc., Orangeburg, N.Y.

Aluf’s selections for private labeling include a premium line of bags designed to carry heavier loads while resisting punctures, and a value line with minimal packaging. Bags are available in either standard box configurations or tube packaging. The eco-minded tubes allow for multiple vertical facings on store shelves.

“Consumers are responding to better packaging,” Rosenberg says. “Shoppers also like positive changes, so packaging should be analyzed regularly to see that it meets shoppers’ needs.”

Retailers, meanwhile, are seeking to leverage the greater awareness of scented items that is resulting from the marketing campaigns of major national brands, says Howard Kirschenbaum, vice president of sales for Trinity Plastics Inc., a Livingston, N.J.-based supplier of trash and food contact bags for retailers’ store brand programs.

“Store brands now are me too,’” he states. “There is not a lot of innovation happening with private label, but private label may soon enter a new phase where they behave more like national brands and spark innovation.”

Retailers marketing own brands, meanwhile, are benefiting from the switch by many consumers to lower-priced store brand bags during the recession, Kirschenbaum states. He notes that many of the shoppers are satisfied with the products so they did not revert back to national brands when the economy improved.

To offer the optimal items for their specific shopper bases, retailers should collaborate with suppliers in product development, and it is important that such relationships are long-term, Kirschenbaum adds.

“The parties often work on a year-to-year basis, but it takes much more time to develop and get the products on the shelves,” he says.

Spur sales

Kirschenbaum suggests that retailers leverage aisle displays to attract impulse buyers. He notes, however, that the “strongest place” is next to the national brands so shoppers can see the price spread, “and it becomes an easier sell.”

Retailers also could boost the appeal of store brand bag, foil and wrap products by making it easier for customers to locate specific products, he states. Kitchen, trash, and lawn and leaf bag packaging, for instance, could have separate colors, and product counts could be easily identified on boxes.

Product quantities, meanwhile, are on the upswing — retailers increasingly are mimicking club stores by carrying store brand packages that have larger counts and subsequently higher price points, Kirschenbaum adds. Additional food contact bags, meanwhile, also are being added to packages, and many come with double zippers to better retain freshness.

Retailers could spur impulse purchases of food contact bags by merchandising the items in different areas of the store, he notes, including the lunchmeat and bread sections.

Face the facts

To merchandise the optimal store brand offerings, Rosenberg notes that it is important for suppliers and retailers to maintain an open dialogue and be realistic about merchandising elements. That includes pricing, which is affected by variations in resin costs. Retailers seeking a specific price point, for instance, might consider altering the number of bags in each container, she says.

“Private label, to a large degree, is a pricing issue, and for most shoppers, purchasing will come down to value,” Rosenberg adds. “Store brands can be promoted on floor displays or end caps, but retailers still have to deliver a quality product in order to get the consumer to come back.”

In addition, offering a wide variety of private label offerings will help a retailer appeal to diverse consumer segments, says Jeff Dussich, chief operating officer for Mint-X Products Corp., a College Point, N.Y.-based supplier of plastic bags that contain a mint scent intended to prevent rodents and raccoons from getting into trash. Lines could include basic lower-priced bags, along with extra-strength designs, he notes.

“More consumers understand that they can also get national brand innovations with the store brands,” he states. “Retailers are demanding better-quality private label products, and that is helping to grow the category.”

Future innovations will likely include strong bags that contain less plastic as more shoppers seek environmentally sound products, Dussich says.

Improvements to resins, meanwhile, will result in enhanced plastic films and wraps that will keep foods fresher longer, states Patty Long, senior vice president of industry affairs for SPI, a Washington, D.C.-based plastics industry trade association.

“All food wraps are evolving,” she notes, adding that recent improvements include the addition of layers to plastic wraps.

“The more layers, the better it is for barrier protection,” Long states.

Developers also are studying other potential product upgrades, including indicators that signify if food in storage bags has gone bad, as well as biodegradable bags, she adds.

In the future, these types of cutting-edge enhancements and product upgrades surely will be major elements in retailers’ efforts to enliven a relatively mellow sector.