Dive Brief:
- Lidl’s Icelandic-style Skyr yogurt was named the #1 yogurt in the country by the 2017 World Dairy Expo Championship Dairy Product Contest, reports Store Brands. The winner was a pomegranate mixed berry flavor, high in protein, low in sugar and value-priced at 99 cents.
- In all, Lidl won 16 medals, including three gold medals for its cheese. The company also won medals for its other yogurts and ice cream. Lidl’s carefully curated private label assortment is a core component of the retailer’s strategy.
- The German-based retailer has opened 24 stores so far, with 13 more scheduled for September. Lidl has its eyes on 100 locations along the East Coast by the end of next year.
Dive Insight:
Lidl has only been open a few months and it’s already racking up “best” product awards. Lidl’s private labels have a reputation for being premium and exotic, and the award-winning Icelandic style Skyr yogurt seems to fit the bill on both counts. This yogurt from Lidl is just the latest medal-winner for hard discount grocers.
Rival discounter Aldi has recently received accolades for its private label products as well. Several of the retailer’s wines won medals in the International Wine Challenge earlier this year — proving that wine doesn't need to be expensive in order to be appreciated. Some of Aldi’s private label products also were honored with BrandSpark International's 2017 Best New Product Awards. Eighteen of the retailer’s private label products were recently awarded the Parent Tested Parent Approved Seal of Approval from Ontario-based marketing firm PTPA Media, too.
Lidl and Aldi are proving that high quality private label products don’t require premium price tags. Key attributes inherent in the hard discount model — no-frills stores with low operating costs; limited assortments representing only a small fraction of the SKUs traditional grocers carry; and lean staffing requirements — enable Lidl and Aldi to instead pump a lot of money in private label product development.
Exclusive brands dominate the product assortments of both Lidl and Aldi, with private labels composing about 90% of their selection. Lidl’s assortment is carefully curated to meet the chain’s standards for quality and affordability. Aldi states on its website that its exclusive brands allow it to offer consumers the “same high-quality product without passing on all of the hidden costs associated with the national brands, such as marketing and advertising.”
This, coupled with the stores’ aforementioned low-cost operating structure, enables discounters to undercut typical grocery store prices by as much as 50%. Aldi proudly touts this fact on its website, stating that “smart shoppers have found that switching from national brands to Aldi exclusive brands can save them up to 50% on their weekly must-haves.”
It’s this kind of pricing that’s giving traditional grocers a run for their money and fans escalating price wars across the industry. In response, grocery stores increasingly are emphasizing non-price factors: broad and deep selections; prepared foods; in-store restaurants and bars; customer service; and click-and-collect programs. Some retailers like Kroger, Albertsons, and Southeastern Grocers, among others, are improving and ramping up their own private label lines.