The Food Brands That Private Label Can’t Catch... and What They’re Doing Differently
by Jono Wylie
Right then, you lovely patient marketers. It’s time for the final part of our three part series on the unrelenting rise of private label foods, and what brand marketers can do about it. In part one, we set the direction for our theory: that if you’re a marketer at a ‘big fish’ food brand like Doritos or Hershey or Ocean Spray or Häagen Dazs, and the Challengers in your category are the ‘little fish’, then there’s a third, more ominous force called private label. And we understood private label not as a different kind of fish, but really as more like a deep-sea trawler net, indiscriminately scooping up the codes of the category and playing them back to consumers at a cheaper price.
And then in part two, we explored a handy 2x2 matrix that you can use as a diagnostic tool, pitting branded food products against their private label copycats to see whether your brand is in the danger zone of being caught by the private label trawler net.
So, this final piece is about getting practical. It’s going to show how the most resilient food brands aren’t just dodging the private label threat; they don’t even seem threatened by it. While most brands are just waiting to be caught, these Challengers seem to have evolved gills, camouflage, spikes... defences that make them too sharp, too nimble, or too unwieldy to be netted.
It contains lessons from real Challengers, large and small, and dissects the ways in which they are harder to copy. Because, with private label now accounting for over 20% of the US grocery market (and growing fasterthan branded sales through 2025), the truth is that if you’re not actively making your brand harder to copy, you’re building a business that’s already halfway gone.
So, grab a snack, get comfortable, and let’s learn together.
The Challenger Advantage: Why Mindset Isn’t Just a Vibe
We often say at eatbigfish that Challenger is less about a state of market, and more about a state of mind. It’s an attitude, which forms a strategy. This is important, because it means that what we’re about to explore is just as applicable to massive brands as it is to smaller ones. Phil Knight, founder of Nike, is quoted as saying “To remain the industry Goliath, we need to think like the industry David.” For food brands, this means layering your Challenger thinking onto everything: from how you write a subject line to a buyer, to how your CEO talks on stage, to how your product lands in a shopping basket.
Let’s take three specific food brands who exemplify this Challenger mindset and see what we can learn from them.
Back to Nature – Legacy Brands Rediscovering Challenger Energy
Once a natural food pioneer, Back to Nature is a ‘better for you’ brand of cookies and crackers that’s been around since the ‘60s. Not exactly health foods, their products have cleaner ingredients (and a shorter ingredient list, too), but they’re still definitely a treat, with most of the cookies containing sugar. Stevia? Never heard of her.
This goldilocks product formulation (not as many chemicals or additives as modern snacks; more taste appeal than a date and cacao bar that tastes like cardboard and depression; just right) sounds great, but it wasn’t exactly hard to copy. The product line was at dire risk of being ripped off by Whole Foods 365. In fact, there were some focus groups where consumers thought they *were* Whole Foods 365. Indistinguishable. Ouch.
However, this story has a happy ending. Under new leadership, they’ve reignited what made them distinctive in the first place. Packaging overhaul? Yes. Tighter storytelling? Yes. But what matters most is the attitude shift. Instead of playing catch-up with every trend (higher protein! zero sugar!), they’ve refocused on what only they can own: a story that makes sense of their product formulation. It’s snacking as it used to be, back in 1960s California! Butter, sugar, flour. None of the nonsense. A treat the whole family can enjoy in moderation. Or as they put it, ‘tasty snacks since way back’. They’ve introduced nostalgia, warmth, and a conscious, unpretentious tone that makes them feel real in a category that’s often sterile. Who says natural and organic snacks can’t lead with taste appeal, and keep their natural and organic credentials behind the curtain?
I had the privilege of leading the brand strategy for this work (at a previous role, not an eatbigfish client). I asked Head of Marketing Andrea Furber her perspective on private label, and she had this to say:
“Private label will always be cheaper. So ask: what’s unique, memorable, and emotionally resonant about your brand - and then hammer that across every consumer touchpoint.”
- Andrea Furber, Head of Marketing, Back to Nature
What’s interesting is that Whole Foods 365 wouldn’t have gone here.
By definition, private label is the averaging of category conventions. So, if you break conventions, you’re always going to have that space to yourself, at least for a while. This 1960s Californian brand world that Back to Nature have built makes sense for them, given their history. It’s what gave them permission to build this fabulous pop-up on Abbot Kinney, attended by cult-favourite influencers like Bon Appetit’s Molly Baz. Whole Foods 365 couldn’t authentically build that sort of brand world even if they wanted to.
Bold Bean Co. – Intelligent Naivety in a Commoditized Category
Perhaps you don’t have a long history from which you can spin up an aspirational brand world, like Back to Nature. Perhaps you want to learn from a Challenger who’s newer on the block. Someone who created gold out of nothing. Well, what Bold Bean Co. has done is nothing short of alchemy. They took the least sexy staple food in the cupboard and made it an object of pride. Not just edible: desirable. The beans are beautifully cooked. The jars are eye candy. The messaging - from founder Amelia herself - is always tasteful, witty, and deeply personal.
Let’s hear from Amelia, with this quote taken from an interview my colleague Tara Henderson did with her:
“I’ve always loved food and my first main job before Bold Bean was working in the food sustainability space with chefs. There, I learned about our declining soil health... I genuinely didn’t know before I fell in love with beans - but yes by literally growing (and eating) more beans, we will help improve our eroding soils and make them healthy again!”
- Amelia Christie-Miller, Founder, Bold Bean Co
If you go to LinkedIn, and search for Amelia’s name, you will not find a 10-year career as VP of Beans and Pulses at Kraft Heinz. Nor does her education section describe a glittering MBeanA. No, she brought what we would call ‘intelligent naivety’ to the world of beans. For those seeking to cultivate a Challenger mindset, this is a very, very good thing. She wanted a protein that didn’t taste like fake meat and was beneficial for the planet. When she stumbled on the benefits of beans, she asked “Why can’t I build a bean brand that rivals chicken or beef to be star of the show in your meal?”
Private label can’t copy that in a boardroom. Private label can clone the product spec. But they can’t (and won’t) bring that sort of vision to a product category. And it’s giving Bold Bean Co a clear path ahead of itself as it grows penetration. Might private label copy it some day? Certainly. But Amelia’s mindset of intelligent naivety will be applied again to some new frontier, and it will keep her and the brand one step ahead.
Ben & Jerry’s – Proof That Scale Doesn’t Have to Kill Soul
Perhaps these two sub-billion dollar brands don’t work for you. They’re small fry, and your organization only sits up and listens to big blockbuster brands. Well, what about the original Challenger in ice cream, Ben & Jerry’s? Private label has tried to copy Ben & Jerry’s for decades. But the attempts never stick. Why?
Because Ben & Jerry’s isn’t just ice cream. It’s an activist brand with a sense of humour, a fiercely consistent tone, and a mission that still shapes product development. Despite being owned by Unilever for over two decades, the brand kept its soul. So much so that in 2024, the original founders bought it back.
That’s not nostalgia. That’s insulation. And it’s a reminder that Challenger Mindset has nothing to do with size. It’s about operating knowing what you stand for, and stand against, even when you’re #1.
Build the Toolkit: What Can Big Brands Like Yours Actually Do?
Well you can call us and pay us lots of money to come on board and help you, of course...
Oh sorry, you wanted some free advice. Of course, how rude of me.
Here are the transversal lessons I’m picking up from the brands above which are relevant for other food brands, no matter your budget.
Don’t out-spend... out-feel. Emotional relevance beats functional advantage. Own emotional space, not just product space. This might come from a nugget buried in your own brand history.
Noisy packaging. Safe packaging is no longer safe. You won’t be noticed by whispering.
Do purpose properly, or don’t do it at all. Performative impact doesn’t stick. Be real or be silent. Both are valid approaches.
Use every touchpoint.
Packaging = house media
Merch = belonging
Tradeshows = theatre
Treat distribution as brand expression. DTC drops, exclusive stockists, and curated launches are not just tactics: they’re insulation.
Be founder-led, even if you’re not one. Act like you’re still earning your place on shelf.
Move fast and evolve. Incumbents stagnate. Challengers iterate.
What Next? A Rallying Cry
We spoke at the beginning about some fish who had evolved gills, camouflage and spikes, and seemed somehow uncatchable. And in this sense, Challenger brands (the little fish) are friends, not food.
So: take the 2x2 matrix.
Show it to your team.
Ask them: “If Aldi copied our product tomorrow, would anyone care enough not to switch?”
Choose to move rightwards, before the trawler net finds you. You won’t outswim it with cost savings. You’ll outswim it with character; with the Challenger mindset.
And say it with me, one last time:
“Private label dupes of my product are the biggest existential threat facing my CPG food brand. To survive, I must adopt (and act on) a Challenger Mindset.”