Little-known brands nudge their way into the mainstream amid lockdown

Once regarded as cheap me-too products, the lockdown has changed how customers engage with private labels. Will the trend outlast the pandemic?

Scroll down the essentials list on your ecommerce app, or scour the aisles at a local grocer and what leaps out for attention, apart from the bare shelves and sparse order-lists, is the large spread of new, little-known brands across categories. From flour and biscuits to cleaning agents and packaged condiments and sauces, retailer-owned labels have nudged their way into the mainstream, carving out a unique space for themselves in a fear and panic-addled customer landscape.  

Brands such as Clean Mate, Tasty Treat and Golden Harvest, part of the long list of labels from the Future group for instance have