Surge of Secondary Brands

Speculation as to how surging demands for new and secondary brands will effect the market and the supply chain.    And can be better controlled with digital strategies.

 As secondary brands surge, CPG leaders need a digital playbook
Margo Kahnrose in Smartbrief

In the mid ‘80s, Cabbage Patch Kids were all the rage. I wanted one, badly. But to my mother, those dolls symbolized everything detestable about the mega-consumerism rampant in the ‘60s and ‘70s, epitomizing the superficiality her generation had willfully rebelled against. She got me a knock-off -- a cheaper, also-cute, unbranded alternative. I was unimpressed. A fake held no social currency.

Until recently, generics stood for one thing only: price. As a result, a knockoff in any category may have done the job well enough, but there was a reluctance around them. They were a last resort.

Fast-forward to today, and alternatives to name brand goods have been steadily on the rise in all ways: proliferation, quality, adoption, even cool-factor. As of the last three months, when the COVID-19 global health pandemic began driving unprecedented e-commerce demand -- and simultaneous supply chain constraints -- generics have seen an even bigger boost, and not only in fast-moving “essentials” categories like toilet paper, but in a vast array of consumer goods, including beauty products, exercise equipment, consumer electronics and home furnishings. The reason comes down to a perfect storm of counterintuitively intersecting influences -- more impetus than ever to shop, and less money than before to spend.... "  ... '