Why store brands sell out while name brands sit on the shelf

Store brands sell out while name brands rot on the shelves

Store-brand ketchup has gone days without restocking at two supermarkets in a good neighborhood. Heinz, at three or four times the price, is perfectly stocked. The same scene plays out with water, dairy and cleaning products. Official inflation stands at 4%, but the CPI for the real shopping basket already sends a warning: the loss of purchasing power won't wait for the indexes to confirm it.

Store-brand shortages as a symptom

When a family with two salaries of €1,300 faces €1,500 in rent, the first variable to adjust is the grocery bill. Store brands become the refuge. But if the refuge is empty, the consumer faces a dilemma: pay triple for the name brand or wait. Waiting works for non-perishables, but in everyday life, many end up buying the expensive one, whether out of necessity or desperation.

Some interpret this phenomenon as a deliberate strategy by the chains: emptying the store-brand shelves to force sales of name brands with higher margins. Data from Promarca, the Spanish association of leading brands, shows that barely 4% of store-brand products are made by leading companies like Pascual or Danone. The rest comes from specialized or mixed manufacturers. The quality, in many cases, is comparable to—or even better than—that of the expensive brands, as blind taste tests cited in the analysis show.

The debate over real quality

The narrative that the name brand is always better is wobbling. Cases like Tomacoex ketchup or the Eliges brand are mentioned, indistinguishable from Heinz in taste, at a fraction of the price. In categories like sliced bread, Bimbo and Panrico have lost ground to store brands that have improved in quality. The reason is simple: the multibillion-euro margins of name brands (executives, marketing, sustainability) make them vulnerable when the economy tightens. Consumers, far from being loyal, are increasingly pragmatic.

The final paradox

While name-brand shelves fill up, store-brand shelves empty out. Promarca's data indicates that leading brands' store-brand production is negligible, suggesting that quality isn't the problem—price is. In an economy where rent devours half your salary, the store brand isn't an option, it's the only way. And when that way is cut off, the consumption system shows its deepest flaw: inflation isn't a number, it's the reality of someone who can't find a jar of ketchup at an affordable price.

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