You call that a brand? Why, yes!

FMI, the Food Industry Association, has published a survey that highlights the growing popularity and pervasiveness of private-label products—and may be cause for alarm for marketers of branded competitors.

Ninety percent of consumers say they have private-label products at home, and many report being more satisfied with them than with branded alternatives.

In another study, 84 percent of consumers say they trust private-label products as much as, or more than, national brands. Interestingly, although 71 percent claimed they could recognize a private-label product while shopping, only 28 percent could do so when shown side-by-side images of store brands and national brands.

And their emergence is not limited to the US. A recent study indicates private label is growing in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, as well.

Time was, private-label products were called “generic” and they carried a certain stigma. They lived in a separate section of the store and sported plain black-and-white labels. No attempt at branding whatsoever. (More recently the “brand” called Brandless tried and failed with a similar approach.)

But we are in a new era for private-label. If you are a national brand, what does this mean? 

This private-label revolution reinforces the importance of advertising, brand-building, and innovation. As a recent WARC article notes, advertising makes people less price sensitive—they’ll pay more because of the positive associations they have with a brand.

Over the past few years, experts have been dooming and glooming about the death of creativity in advertising. A Lions report shows 51 percent of brands say their insights are too weak to inspire “bold creativity.” If all this is true, it probably helps explain the rise of private label, while also suggesting a path forward for national brands. Namely, invest in better research. Understand consumers more deeply and then connect with them more meaningfully.