PLMA “Store Brands and Beyond” Trade Show Offered Retailers Expansive View of Private Label Present and Future

From absolute space to total visitors, the final statistics for PLMA’s 2015 Private Label Trade Show have been calculated, and the numbers confirm that 2015 was another re

cord-breaking year, pushing limits and boundaries for today’s store brands. Under the theme of “Store Brands and Beyond,” the show presented retailers and wholesalers in attendance Nov. 15-17 with a total of 2,774 exhibit booths. It was PLMA’s 36th annual event and its largest assemblage ever of store brands manufacturing expertise and capabilities, showcasing 1,339 companies from more 45 countries around the world.

Visitors to the 2015 PLMA show exceeded 4,700 – a record participation that included buyers and executives from all major channels – food, drug, mass, club, limited assortment, convenience, dollar, specialty, online, military – as well as wholesalers, distributors, importers/exporters and brokers. Retailer and wholesaler registrations were up 2.5% over last year’s figures and total registrations saw an increase of 4.2%, resulting in over-all participation in the show by more than 10,500. The total includes all exhibitor personnel, as well as non-exhibiting manufacturers and suppliers, licensing, product development, retail consultants, financial services and others.

The PLMA show has seen significant expansion in recent years as it continues to reflect the growth of the store brands industry. In the last two years alone, PLMA added nearly 250 exhibit booths and expanded by 10% the overall exhibit space to total more than a million square feet within all three halls of the Rosemont Convention Center.

Food and beverage exhibitors – including shelf stable, frozen and refrigerated foods, gourmet and specialty foods, organic and natural, fresh prepared foods and snack foods – accounted for more than 1,700 booths for 2015, with another 700 booths representing exhibitors across all non-foods categories. Additional numbers of both food and non-foods exhibitors were also to be found among 15 national pavilions located throughout the show floor, plus PLMA’s own “World of Private Label” international pavilion.

By percentages, food and beverages were offered by 70% of exhibitors, with another 21% offering non-foods and another 9% comprised of trade suppliers that serve the private label industry – including packaging, design, printing and labeling, ingredients and flavorings, marketing, research, software, logistics and more.

A series of industry speakers and workshops addressed ongoing societal changes, consumer trends, store brands marketing and major industry challenges.

Delivering the keynote address was PayPal president and CEO Dan Schulman, who warned that digital commerce is inexorably leading to fundamental changes for the store brands industry as a whole and for how companies go to market. Retail futurist Howard Saunders, president of Twenty Second & Fifth addressed attendees and pointed toward ever-increasing expectations among shoppers for transparency from purveyors of the products they buy and a bespoke customer experience.

The program also included a Sunday afternoon seminar on digital retailing strategies, moderated by Jim Wisner, Wisner Marketing Group. The panelists included Heidi Reale of Price Chopper Supermarkets, Brad Robertson of MYWebGrocer, and Colt Reichart, Red Gold.

PLMA launched a multi-year initiative in conjunction with the 2015 trade show, with the goal of increasing representation among store brands suppliers of products for the fastgrowing grocery perimeter departments – particularly in fresh deli, dairy and bakery. Another seminar was dedicated to examining the trends driving store brands growth in these departments. The panel, moderated by Robert Vosburgh, news director of PLMA Live!, featured presentations by Paula Summers and Heath Osburn of Food Lion/Delhaize Group, and Lee Smith of Deli Business magazine.

Exhibits that were offered at the trade show included:

 PLMA’s 2015 Salute to Excellence – a special showcase of products that were selected by a jury of professionals and consumers, and honored as winners of awards for store brands innovation.

 PLMA’s New Product Expo – turning a spotlight on the newest products being featured by exhibitors on the show floor.

 PLMA’s popular Idea Supermarket – showcasing new and interesting store brands programs, products and packaging from more than 50 leading retailers across North America, Europe, Asia and Latin America.

 Store Brands USA – a special demonstration of PLMA’s new platform to bringing online video information about store brands to American shoppers via YouTube, Facebook and a dedicated consumer website www.StoreBrandsUSA.com.

Sales of store brands year over year continue on a strong upward trend according to industry statistics, and their growth shows no sign of abating. In a recent study, half of all shoppers aged 25-45 – the key years for building households and careers – say they buy store brands frequently or always when they shop for groceries. In addition, half said they tried store brands recently in categories where they had previously only purchased a national brand.