The First of Its Kind

As I listened to Leslie Sarasin speak this morning, it became clear to me that I was witnessing an important moment for private label.

By holding its first-ever private label conference, the Food Marketing Institute has made it clear that it truly recognizes and appreciates the clout of store brands and is making them a bigger priority.

FMI’s first Private Brands Summit, which kicked off yesterday and runs through tomorrow at the Waldorf=Astoria hotel in New York, is just the beginning.

“This is the first of many new initiatives,” Sarasin, FMI’s president and chief executive officer, told a crowd of some 300 retailers, manufacturers and others.

Next up is FMI’s Private Brands Business Conference, October 26-29 in Dallas. And then there’s a new private brands pavilion at FMI’s 2010 show in Las Vegas.

FMI also will also back its private-label initiative with industry research, the first of which will be discussed later today.

FMI’s commitment to private label can only complement all that the Private Label Manufacturers Association has done for the industry.