Dive Brief:

• Store brands are gaining market share these days, fueled in part by heavier purchases by millennials, according to market research company IRI Worldwide.

• Millennials also have an eclectic approach to purchases, sometimes buying off-price or private label brands, and sometimes more expensive high-end brands, according to millennial marketing expert Jeff Fromm, writing in Forbes.

• There have also been improvements to many store brands, as with Target’s Archer Farms brand, which now includes “Simply Balanced” products with organic and other more healthful options. 

Dive Insight:

Store brands have come a long way from their Repo Man days. In that movie, “generic” products had the simple stenciled labels of the 1980s, and symbolized a punk rebellion against consumerism. Now, store brands have logos that project their level of perceived quality and utility.

Regardless, all categories of store brands are being embraced by many financially minded millennials who are even more concerned about money these days as they start families and take on mortgages.