12 • September | October 2026 • abasto.com Store Brands Hit Record Market Share in First Half of 2026 BY HERNANDO RAMÍREZ-SANTOS S tore brands are pulling further ahead in the fight for U.S. shop- ping carts. New midyear data from the Private Label Manufacturers As- sociation (PLMA) shows private label products outpaced national brands in unit sales through the first half of 2026, pushing store brand market share to an all-time high. The findings, based on exclusi- ve data from research firm Circana, point to a steady shift in how Ameri- cans shop — even as overall grocery spending cools. Store Brands Outsell National Brands Nationwide According to PLMA, store brand unit sales rose 0.2% during the six mon- ths ending June 14, while national brand units fell 0.5% over the same stretch last year. That 0.7-point spread pushed store brand unit mar- ket share to 23.8%, a record high for the category, Circana reported. Unit sales track how many indivi- dual products move off shelves. Do- llar sales, by contrast, measure total revenue — and the two metrics tell different stories this year. The momentum isn’t limited to a handful of aisles, either. Circana’s data covers 166 food categories carr- ying store brands, and 52% of them posted private label unit growth over the 52 weeks ending June 14. Among 164 nonfood categories, 39% saw the same trend. Pet Care and Beverages Lead the Charge Some departments are outperforming the rest of the store by a wide margin. Pet Care topped Circana’s list, with sto- re brand units climbing 4.8% over the 52-week period. Beverages followed at 1.8% growth, and Refrigerated roun- ded out the top three at 1.5%. Shoppers haven’t abandoned sto- res altogether, but many have pulled back on how much they spend per trip. That caution has weighed on both national and private brands — yet store brands still beat their natio- nal counterparts in unit sales during five of Circana’s six monthly reporting windows so far this year. • Continues on page. 14 Americas Food and Beverage Special Insert