Store brands stopped being a simple price alternative a long time ago. Today it is a strategic asset for retailers, a segment growing in value, quality and consumer trust worldwide. But there is a precise moment where all that potential is won or lost: the store. It is there, along the journey that takes the customer from the aisle to the cart, that an own-label product becomes a conscious choice or goes unheard.
In this article we look at what the store brand is, where it is growing and which sectors it is expanding into, and why digital signage is today one of the most effective levers for making it stand out in-store.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
DEFINITION
What is a store brand
The store brand (also known as “own brand” or “private label”) is created when a retailer decides to simply sell third-party products, but to develop them independently: designing them, controlling their quality and packaging, and bringing them to the shelf under their own name.
It is not the same as a white label: a generic, off-the-shelf product that any distributor can resell by changing only the label. The store brand is exclusive, identity-driven, designed for that retailer.
The distinction also matters linguistically, because the term varies from country to country and reflects a different market positioning each time. In Italy the term is “marca del distributore” or MDD, in Spain the popular term is “marca blanca“, but the industry prefers “marca de distribuidor” or “marca propia“. In English, “store brand” and “own brand” are most common, with “private label” as the best-known entry point. This convergence towards the word “brand” across all languages is not accidental: it reflects a profound transformation, from a price alternative to the retailer’s own identity brand.
THE NUMBERS
A global phenomenon of structural growth
The store brand is one of the few segments in retail that grows structurally, regardless of the economic cycle — and it does so across the world’s main markets.
In Europe, the average store brand value share in food retail ranges between 38% and 42% across the main markets. Spain leads with over 52% in grocery and nearly 61% in food alone, while the Netherlands exceeds 55%. Across the six largest European markets (France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom) store brands represent a combined €324 billion in sales and, for the first time, account for more than half of all units sold. Growth is driven not by price alone: functional ranges, premium own-label lines and organic products are the fastest-growing categories across the continent.
In the United States, the 2026 PLMA Report records store brand sales of $282.8 billion across all channels, growing almost three times faster than manufacturer brands (+3.3% vs +1.2%). In Asia, the Middle East and Latin America the trend is accelerating, driven by inflation and shifting consumption habits.
Sources: Circana / EFE, April 2026; PLMA 2026 Private Label Report / Circana Unify+
THE SECTORS
Beyond grocery: where store brands are advancing fastest
The phenomenon is no longer confined to grocery retail. Over recent years it has expanded into categories and channels that were once the exclusive territory of major manufacturer brands: pet care, now one of the most dynamic segments; pharmacy and health & beauty, where own-label lines are growing especially in the functional segment; DIY and home improvement, with some of the highest shares in absolute terms; and also baby food, beverages and frozen foods.
These are precisely the sectors in which Nicolis Project operates. And they all share a characteristic with grocery retail: the store is where the decision is made.
If a product cannot communicate its value in that moment, its potential goes unrealised.
THE SHELF
A product can be worth a lot and communicate little
In-store competition for attention is fierce. Manufacturer brands have spent decades investing in packaging, positioning and point-of-purchase materials designed to capture the shopper’s eye throughout the entire in-store journey. Own-label products have historically had fewer communication tools at their disposal: a solid product, a competitive price, but often a quieter voice.
The result is a paradox. A store brand product can be of excellent quality, sustainable and affordable and still go largely unnoticed, simply because no one communicates its value in the right place at the right time.
And that moment is right there, in the store, where the vast majority of purchase decisions are made.
The challenge is no longer simply about being present on the shelf: it is about building a narrative that accompanies the customer from the entrance to the point of choice, with visual impact in transit areas, product content in the relevant aisles, and targeted communication at the decisive moment.
What is needed is a channel capable of doing this in a dynamic, updatable way that is consistent with the retailer’s identity.
This is where digital signage comes in.
THE LEVER
Digital signage: a proprietary stage for the retailer’s own brand
Deploying digital signage does not simply mean placing screens in stores. It means designing a communication ecosystem that transforms the physical space into an active channel under the direct control of the retailer. For the store brand, this translates into a concrete advantage: a proprietary stage on which to tell the story of own-label products without intermediaries.
With digital signage, a retailer can create visual storytelling for a store brand range, communicating its origin, short supply chain, animal welfare standards, environmental certifications, highlight a new line at the highest-traffic moment, run a promotion and update it in real time. And it can adapt communication to context: to the season, the time of day, the location of the store.
The right message, in the right place, at the right time.
All managed centrally.
Through profimax cloud, content is planned and updated remotely across every screen and every store in the network, ensuring brand consistency and operational agility. The store brand thus ceases to be a silent product on the shelf: the store becomes a space for engagement and information, not just a product display.
THE TOOLS
An ecosystem to enhance the store brand in every department
A well-designed digital signage ecosystem enhances own-label products at every moment of the in-store journey.
LEDwalls and videowalls are ideal for high-traffic points and large formats: they build the identity of the store brand range with scenic impact, turning entrances and main aisles into narrative spaces.
Interactive totems accompany the customer with product information, suggestions and in-depth content at the moment when curiosity is at its peak.
The Display Bshelf and Display Lumina shelf displays bring communication to exactly where the product is, at the decisive moment of choice.
All orchestrated by profimax cloud, which makes content management centralised, remote and real-time.
The value lies not in the technology itself, but in what it makes possible: transforming every department into an opportunity to tell the story of the store brand, with brand consistency and operational flexibility.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
What every retailer should know about store brand communication
Making own-label products stand out does not depend on a single screen, but on the consistency of the system that governs it. These are the key concepts to keep in mind.
THE STORE BRAND IS A BRAND, NOT AN SKU
It is not enough to produce a good own-label product: it must be communicated with the same care given to major manufacturer brands. The store brand is a strategic asset for the retailer.
THE STORE IS THE MOST EFFECTIVE MEDIUM
The vast majority of purchase decisions are made in-store. Digital visual communication reaches the customer at exactly the right moment.
A STAGE WITHOUT INTERMEDIARIES
With digital signage, the retailer communicates its own products directly: supply chain, values, promotions, new launches. Without filters.
THE PHENOMENON IS GLOBAL, THE OPPORTUNITY IS LOCAL
From grocery to pharmacy, from pet care to DIY: store brands are advancing in every retail sector worldwide. In-store communication is the lever that turns shelf share into conscious consumer choice.
MANAGEMENT MAKES THE DIFFERENCE
With Profimax Cloud, content and campaigns are updated remotely across the entire network from a single point, with brand consistency and operational agility.
IN CONCLUSION
Store brands: from silent asset to the retailer’s voice
The store brand is one of the engines driving the growth of modern retail and an increasingly strategic lever for retailer positioning across Europe and worldwide. But its potential is only realised if own-label products manage to be noticed and chosen in the store — every day, in every department.
Digital signage is the lever that makes all of this possible: it gives own-label products a voice, tells their story in the right place at the right time, and turns customer attention into a purchase decision. Not a simple screen, but a proprietary communication channel serving the retailer’s identity and profitability.
At Nicolis Project, we design bespoke digital signage ecosystems for grocery retail and all retail sectors, putting people and physical space at the centre. So that every store becomes a new way of experiencing retail.
See digital signage in action
Pewex Supermercati digitalised the display areas of its store at CinecittàDue in Rome with bespoke indoor LED walls by Nicolis Project: less paper, smoother communication and a stronger in-store brand presence.
Read the case study >Pewex Supermercati
RELATED ARTICLES
Marketing Strategies for Hardware Stores: Innovation is Digital
Marketing Strategies for Hardware Stores: Innovation is Digital
Mass-market Retail Sales: solutions for increasing margins and reducing costs
Mass-market Retail Sales: solutions for increasing margins and reducing costs
In-store communication: the shelf as a marketing tool
