3 Stocks Riding The Shift To Store Brands As Grocery Bills Stay High

Stubbornly high grocery bills, rising interest in store brands and price rollbacks at big retailers are reshaping where consumer dollars go and which companies keep more of each sale. For investors, this mix of pressure on traditional brands and opportunity for lower cost alternatives can make private label and store brand producers worth a closer look, whether you prefer stability, growth potential or resilience when budgets tighten. This article breaks down how the latest trends could matter for your portfolio and highlights 3 stocks from our Private Label and Store Brand Producers screener that are directly exposed to these shifts.

Honest Company (HNST)

Overview: Honest Company is a Los Angeles based personal care business that focuses on baby and family products, including diapers, wipes, beauty and everyday personal care items, sold through major retailers, its own website and third party ecommerce platforms.

Operations: Honest Company generates about US$352.2 million in revenue from personal products, with all of it coming from customers in the United States.

Market Cap: US$409.5 million

Honest Company sits at the crossroads of premium, clean label products and growing demand for retailer friendly brands. This combination can be important when shoppers are trading down from traditional labels but still want safer ingredients. The company is working through revenue pressure and recent losses. Analysts expect a turn toward profitability in the coming years, supported by its omnichannel reach and category expansion. At the same time, recent revenue guidance cuts, insider selling and reliance on external borrowing highlight that the path involves meaningful risks. For investors willing to weigh these trade offs, Honest Company provides a focused way to gain exposure to rising interest in store and private label style personal care products.

Honest Company’s push toward cleaner, retailer friendly baby and personal care products could be masking an underappreciated shift in its story, and the analyst forecasts for Honest Company may reveal how that trajectory connects with the recent revenue pressure and funding risks investors keep debating

Dingdong (Cayman) (DDL)

Overview: Dingdong (Cayman) runs a fresh grocery and prepared food platform in China, delivering vegetables, meat, seafood, snacks and ready meals through its own Dingdong Fresh app, mini programs and offline partners so customers can order daily staples and Dingdong branded products from a single ecosystem.

Operations: Dingdong (Cayman) generates about CN¥24.5b in revenue from online retail, all from customers in the PRC.

Market Cap: US$514.0 million

Dingdong (Cayman) stands out in the private label theme because it is not just a grocer; it is a food producer with 12 self operated factories and a growing range of Dingdong branded products that can benefit as shoppers trade down to lower priced, store style offerings. Earnings forecasts indicate growth and recent quarterly results show what higher volumes and tighter supply chain control can do for margins. However, net margin is only 0.7% and has compressed from last year, while funding relies entirely on higher risk external borrowing. For investors weighing those funding and governance risks against the role of its private label operations, this fresh food platform represents an alternative way to gain exposure to the store brand segment.

Dingdong (Cayman) looks like a grocery app story, but its 12 self operated factories and store style brands tell a different tale, and the analyst forecasts for Dingdong (Cayman) could show whether today’s slim 0.7% margins are a stepping stone or a ceiling

Cobram Estate Olives (ASX:CBO)

Overview: Cobram Estate Olives is a vertically integrated olive oil producer that owns olive groves, mills, bottling and storage facilities, and brands such as Cobram Estate and Red Island, selling premium and store brand olive oils and related products in Australia, the United States and online.

Operations: Cobram Estate Olives generates about A$177.6 million in revenue from Australian operations and A$60.8 million from US operations, partly offset by A$5.4 million of eliminations and corporate items.

Market Cap: A$1.6b

Cobram Estate Olives sits at an interesting intersection for the store brand theme: it supplies retailers with private label edible oils while also building its own premium brands, and it does so with tight control over farming, milling and bottling. That vertical model, paired with strong relationships with supermarkets that praise its reliability and sustainability record, can matter when retailers push harder into store brands and want dependable partners rather than spot importers. At the same time, investors need to weigh its relatively high P/E, reliance on external borrowing, agricultural yield swings and rising water costs against analyst expectations for earnings and revenue growth. The question is whether those long term growth and margin ambitions justify paying up for Cobram Estate today or call for more caution as the story plays out.

Cobram Estate’s mix of premium brands and store label supply has investors focused on its high P/E, but the analyst forecasts for Cobram Estate Olives could show whether that pricing power is hinting at something bigger yet fragile.

The three stocks here are only the starting point, as the full screen of Private Label and Store Brand Producers surfaced 27 more companies with equally compelling stories inside the Private Label and Store Brand Producers screener. Use Simply Wall St to identify and analyze the specific catalysts, balance sheet strength and private label narratives that matter most so you can focus on the highest conviction opportunities in this theme.

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Seeking Fresh Alternatives Before They Fly

Markets move fast, and some breakout ideas may not stay unnoticed for long. Before momentum is fully recognized and prices potentially change, review these fresh picks and consider whether they fit your approach.

• Look for potential momentum in companies with strong balance sheets before the wider market focuses on them by running the list of solid balance sheet and fundamentals (49 results) and filtering for businesses that match your risk tolerance.
• Review potential income opportunities by using the 9 dividend fortresses to find companies with higher yields and balance sheets that may support consistent payouts.
• Explore growth stories related to AI infrastructure by scanning the 55 AI infrastructure stocks to see which stocks are involved in building tools and services for this trend.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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