The basket of basic supermarket products remains on an upward trend in terms of value and sales volumes this year despite the high living cost and the limitation of offers.
By mid-April, according to data from Circana’s weekly report (ed.: period from 5/1 to 13/4), the so-called fast-moving consumer goods (FMCGs) showed an increase in turnover of 6.1% compared to the corresponding period last year, while sales volumes increased by 4.5%, a particularly significant performance, as it reflects the dynamics of actual consumption.
It should be noted that the April period also includes part of the Easter turnover in the chains, as this year Easter was celebrated on 22/4 compared to 5 May last year, which affects the dynamics of the comparison.
In terms of prices, the average increase per item in the period under review is 1.5% for all FMCGs, indicating that sectoral inflation is starting to rise again.
However, branded products seem to perform better than private labels in terms of turnover and volume growth, recording an increase of 6.1% and 4.8% respectively. Especially in terms of volume, branded products show a greater increase than the entire FMCG category, and this in a period where the “haircut” of offers on the shelf has begun. Private labels, in the same period, recorded a milder increase in volume of 3.7%, while revenues were at the level of all FMCGs, namely 6%.
Price gap
Regarding the price trend, branded products recorded an increase in the average price per item by 1.2%, while the increase in private labels amounted to 2.2%.
However, the price gap between branded and private label products is still strong. According to the same data, the comparison in the basket of 60 basic products indicates that the branded product is 45.5% more expensive than the corresponding private label product. Specifically, the branded basket of 60 codes costs 210.6 euros, compared to 144.7 euros that the same PL basket costs.
Meanwhile, the branded basket shows a reduced price by 1% compared to the 212.9 euros it cost in the same period in 2024, while the PL basket increased its cost by 0.5% compared to the corresponding period last year.
