Netherlands residents more often pick store brands as grocery prices continue to rise

Netherlands residents bought fewer A-brand products in the supermarket last year, more often opting for cheaper alternatives, like the supermarket’s own store brand. As a result, the top brands have lost a few hundred million euros in turnover, NOS reports based on figures from market researcher Circana and trade journal Distrifood.

Inflation skyrocketed after Russia invaded Ukraine in February last year, amounting to 10 percent for 2022. Many Netherlands residents felt the higher prices in their wallets and changed their shopping behavior to lower their grocery bills.

In addition to going for cheaper store brands, Netherlands residents often opted for a different product to keep the price down. “In the past, the Dutch mainly bought roast beef and fricandeau, for example. But now it is more often the cheap variants, such as boiled sausage,” Rini Emonds of Circana told the broadcaster.

Heineken, the best-selling beer in the Netherlands for years, was surpassed by Hertog Jan of InBev last year. Another notable riser in the list was liver sausage maker Kips, which has been making vegan products for several years. “This brand is one of the few brands that not only experienced growth in sales but also volume growth,” Emonds said.

Every year, Circana and Distrifood list the 100 A-brands with the highest annual turnover. Their total turnover grew by 2.9 percent last year to 100 billion euros. The increase was almost entirely due to inflation because these A-brands sold less in terms of volume. Supermarket customers still spent about 20 percent of their money on the 100 largest A-brands last year.

Circana expects inflation to level off after this summer, so A-brands may re-conquer some of their lost ground this year. However, Emonds doesn’t expect it to be easy. “We have learned from the past that once people have switched to a house brand, it is difficult to get them back to an A-brand.”

Top 10 A-brands in Dutch supermarkets based on turnover