Managing director at Encore, Tony Mun-Gavin
The change, however, is about more than price.
Value beyond the price tag
Private label was once largely associated with compromise: a cheaper alternative chosen when money was tight. But as retailer brands improve their quality and range, that distinction is becoming less clear.
International research points to the same trend. Circana found that US consumers trusted store brands as much as national brands for quality, suggesting that private label's appeal increasingly extends beyond simply saving money.
For South African consumers, value is becoming a combination of quality, quantity, convenience and experience at a price that feels fair.
That helps explain why private label has moved beyond basic commodities into categories such as fresh food, dairy, ready meals, healthier options and even affordable indulgences.
The same shopper might choose a cheaper staple in one category while spending more on a premium treat or a product perceived to offer a specific health benefit. In other words, there is no single "South African consumer" making the same trade-offs across every shopping trip.
Health, convenience and affordability
The tension between wanting better choices and needing to manage household budgets is particularly clear when it comes to food.
PwC's 2025 Voice of the Consumer research found that 42% of South African respondents considered health benefits one of the most important reasons for switching food brands, while 70% planned to eat more fresh produce.
At the same time, more than half said they were struggling to pay their bills, while 54% were looking for ways to stretch their budgets.
For retailers and manufacturers, that creates an interesting challenge: consumers increasingly want products that support healthier lifestyles, but those choices still need to fit within a constrained budget.
Private label can play a role here by making products that meet those needs accessible without automatically carrying a premium price.
Convenience is another increasingly important part of the equation. With households balancing work, family and other responsibilities, products that simplify meal preparation, suit smaller shopping missions and deliver consistent quality can provide real value.
Local sourcing adds another layer. Working with local suppliers can allow retailers to develop products around local tastes and needs, while also bringing provenance and local economic benefits into the proposition.
A new generation of shoppers
Younger consumers are helping push the shift further. They are often less attached to traditional brand heritage, giving factors such as relevance, design, values and performance more weight in purchasing decisions.
For private label, this creates an opportunity to compete on something other than price.
A successful own-brand product can become part of a shopper's routine, the ready meal they buy every week, the cleaning product they trust or the affordable treat they add to their basket.
But that also raises the stakes for retailers. When a retailer puts its own name on a product, the experience reflects directly on the wider business. Quality has to be consistent, products need to be available when shoppers want them, and the value proposition has to hold up.
The next phase of retail, then, may be less about offering the cheapest possible product and more about understanding the trade-offs consumers are making.
South African shoppers are becoming increasingly deliberate about where they spend. They want products that are affordable and good, convenient without feeling inferior, healthier without being inaccessible, and locally relevant without sacrificing quality.
Private label is benefiting from that shift, but the bigger story is what it reveals about the modern shopper.
Consumers are not necessarily abandoning established brands. They are asking a more fundamental question: what is this product actually worth to me?
And increasingly, every rand has to have a good answer.
