Basia, a major Maebashi City supermarket, strategically strengthens its private brand (PB) products with a recent introduction of new items. This initiative has resulted in a 10% surge in PB product sales from March to September, emphasizing affordability and premium quality to counter rising prices and enhance consumer awareness. The newly launched PB line, “Basia Premium,” focuses on revitalizing existing products and introducing innovations, aiming for over 100 new items by February 2024. Daily releases, including items like butter sandwiches and kimchi, have already expanded the Basia Premium brand to 87 items.
While maintaining competitive pricing, Basia Premium stands out by emphasizing inherent quality. For instance, the flagship product, “Delicious Milk from Betsukai,” is priced around 20% lower than the manufacturer’s national brand (NB). Quality assurance involves rigorous taste tests by a leading food manufacturer’s analytical institution, with about 20% of tested products not receiving a ‘pass.’ Naoki Iizaka, head of the Product Merchandising Division, highlights the intense competition, where Basia Premium products are evaluated against other offerings on a one-to-one basis. Even surpassing criteria may necessitate reevaluation if emphasized points are considered weak.
The company has been offering private brand (PB) products, but the low consumer awareness has been a challenge. The logo was small, and the products were overshadowed on the shelves. To address this, the company not only emphasizes high quality but also changes the presentation by unifying the package color to a vivid red. They are making efforts to stand out, including displaying pop-ups in the store. The current ratio of PB sales to total food sales is 14-15%, but the company aims to eventually raise it to over 20%.
Source: Nikkei 7th Jan 2024.