Grocery shoppers in Finland often choose private label branded food products over their brand-name counterparts.
Finland's two biggest grocery retailers, S Group and Kesko both sell private label alternatives.
S Group is in the process of switching from its private brand Rainbow to Coop, while Kesko stocks its own Pirkka-branded items.
Food shoppers in Finland often choose private label items, with the category accounting for about a quarter of grocery purchases. The share of store brand sales in central European countries is even larger.
However, some in the Finnish foodstuffs sector — including those who market brand-name products — are concerned about the proliferation of private labels.
According to Finland's newly appointed Food Market Ombudsman, Jarno Sukanen, examining market practices surrounding private labels could be warranted.
"If we examine issues related to individual contracts, then perhaps we can see whether more detailed laws on private label contract practices are called for," he said.
As an example, Sukanen said he has considered issues related to the transparency, objectivity and fairness of wholesale food product auction procedures.
Cheaper meat
Many turn to store brands because they are often cheaper than brand name products.
In terms of a cost-per-kilogram comparison, this is particularly true in the case of meat, according to Bate Ismail, an economist at the Finnish Food and Drink Industry lobby group.
"We're talking about around a 30 percent [difference] for beef and pork products. But with chicken, it is a question of more than 50 percent," he said.
According to the Finnish Grocery Trade Association (PTY) lobby group, the industry is already subject to a good deal of regulation.
"If something illegal or blatantly against good practices is found, those issues must be dealt with. But generally, I don't think that private labels would need separate legislation," said Tuula Loikkanen, PTY's managing director.
Sukanen began his job as Food Market Ombudsman at the beginning of this month. He said that in general, the ombudsman's role should be one of prompting change through negotiations rather than coercive measures.
The Food Market Ombudsman is an independent, autonomous authority with advisory and supervisory duties. The ombudsman is under the auspices of the agriculture and forestry ministry and appointed for a maximum of five-year terms by the government.
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