Spain is a highly competitive market for supermarket chains that want to operate here. Under the shadow of Mercadona’s absolute leadership, the fight for market share is brutal and private label brands (commonly known as store brands) are a key tool to gain tenths each month. Thus, the latest report from Worldpanel by Numerator (formerly Kantar) on fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), which dominate supermarket shelves, points out that stores that bet on these own brands in their assortments are improving their share more than their competitors.
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Thus, except for Mercadona, which maintains its market share intact at 27.4% in July compared to the same month last year, the other three brands that show the most private label quantity on their shelves have gained share.
Lidl, the third chain by market share in Spain after the Valencian one, leads growth with 0.4 percentage points more, up to a market share of 7.3%. It is the chain with the most presence of own brands on its shelves, which account for 82.4% of its assortment. A year ago, these brands represented 80.7%. The German chain has a growth plan underway in Spain with an investment of over 600 million euros until February 2027 and an annual opening pace of about 50 stores to try to catch up with the second contender, Carrefour, which maintains a 9.1% share.
After Lidl, Dia manages to gain 0.3 percentage points in the last year since July 2025, up to 3.9%, and has increased its private label assortment by 1.1 points, up to 66.6% of the total offered in its stores. Dia’s strategic plan points to an investment of between 150 and 180 million euros annually to open up to 300 proximity stores.
Total sales of these brands in Europe reached 352 billion in 2025
The German Aldi is another winner in terms of market share in the review of the first seven months of the year, gaining 0.3 percentage points, up to a 2.1% share. Its private label participation has grown by two percentage points in the last year, up to 77%.
The exception is also the Valencian Consum, which with a private label share of only 37.2% also manages to scrape 0.3 points, up to 3.9%, and get closer to its immediate competitor, Eroski, which remains at 4.2%. The Valencian has been pushing in recent months to accelerate its openings, especially in the central area of Spain, another of the strategies that chains choose to gain weight in the market.
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Private label is a clear competitiveness tool for chains because Spaniards are increasingly likely to choose them in their shopping basket. According to a study by EAE Business School, store brands already represent 54% of the mass consumption market in Spain, which places the country “as one of the European leaders in penetration of these supermarket own brands,” they point out. The report highlights that a third of Spaniards have increased their consumption of private label brands in the last year.
In Europe, these products
have already reached a leading position in the mass
consumption sector. According to data from the consulting firm Nielsen and the international organization Private Label Manufacturers Association (PLMA) in 2025, total sales of own brands in 17 European countries reached 352 billion euros, with an average share of 38.8%.
Private label accounts for 54% of mass consumption in Spain, one of the highest figures in Europe
“Private label brands have stopped competing exclusively on price. Spaniards no longer choose these brands just to save money, but because they trust them and perceive them as responsible options,” highlights Alejandro Alegret, co-author of the study and professor at EAE Business School.
Store brands predominate especially in categories such as dairy, yogurts and desserts, household hygiene products, packaged and frozen foods, while manufacturer brands maintain a greater presence in water, beverages and soft drinks, “where the experiential and sensory component remains decisive,” the study notes. Thus, the next stage, as Antonio Khalaf, managing director of Circana, points out, is “to continue developing relevant value propositions for the consumer and expand presence in categories where there is still room for growth.”
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