In the past six months, several well-known own-label manufacturers have come to us with a project: to help them launch their own brand. In all the decades I’ve worked in design and innovation, I’ve never known anything like this. It think it’s fair to say that these numbers definitely indicate a trend. So why is it happening?

The reasoning, as ever, is economic. As any own-label manufacturer will tell you, you’re only as good as your last contract. And when a supermarket switches suppliers, you can be left with an empty factory and a big problem.

But when you have a brand, the relationship is longer-lasting - and you have a connection to the consumer. You have more control over value, advertising and pricing - and most importantly, you build equity. A brand gives your business an inherent, owned value.

Talking of equity, another factor in the decision to launch a brand is the fact many own-label businesses are backed by private equity or funding from the bank. You can only remove costs and extract value once before you need to look to growth and innovation to make a company more profitable and stable in the long term.
So that’s the ‘why’ - what about the ‘how’? It’s not as simple as thinking of a product and selling it. A company needs a culture that is sympathetic to the idea of brands: an R&D team that is no longer about copying, but about creating something new, and a structure that supports real innovation.

You then need the means to manage your new brands. You need marketers, as well as commercial and sales teams, which might mean growing or reassigning resources. Launching new teams can cause resentment in other parts of the business. Innovation and R&D should be built into and run through a company and its culture rather than being bolted on. Poor management doesn’t generally create sector-leading brands.

Hopefully many own-label players entering the branded market will succeed. My money is on those that have genuinely adapted their businesses.