Contrasts to brands: Russians began to buy fewer products of their own retail brands
Goods of retailers' own brands (STM) are losing popularity among Russians, Izvestia has learned. Over the past six months, the proportion of people purchasing such products has decreased for all food and non-food products. The largest drop was by 8 percentage points, to 36%, in the STM of personal care products, cosmetics and perfumes. This is a new trend that experts attribute to the flow of customers to marketplaces. Why Russians are increasingly choosing online platforms with original brands instead of products from their own retailers' brands is in the Izvestia article.
Which product categories are losing demand
The share of Russians purchasing products from their own retailers' brands has decreased for all food and non-food products, according to a survey conducted by the consulting company B1 (formerly Ernst & Young, EY). Izvestia has reviewed the results of the study. 1,087 people over the age of 18 took part in the survey.
This year, 45% of Russians chose dairy products of their own brands, which is 7 percentage points less than in April 2025 and September 2024. 33% of respondents bought meat, fish and poultry, which is 2 percentage points less than in April and 5 percentage points less than a year ago. Demand for pet products decreased by 2 percentage points, to 15% in September, and for alcohol — by 3 percentage points, to 8%. Interest in electronics, including gadgets, fell by 4 percentage points over the year, to 15%. 36% of respondents purchased personal care products, cosmetics and perfumes from STM, compared to 44% in the spring and 42% in September 2024 (a decrease of 8 percentage points and 6 percentage points, respectively).
A slowdown in sales is observed in the entire non-food group, a representative of Lenta (Lenta, Monetka, WinGaraj, Rainbow Smile) confirmed to Izvestia. According to him, this is partly due to the growth of online sales. On marketplaces, personal care products, cosmetics and perfumes occupy the third most popular place among purchases, according to the B1 study. Brands in this category are often viewed by consumers as an "investment," noted Elena Tsaturova, a service provider in the field of strategy and transactions at B1.
Other retailers have not yet recorded a decline in sales of their own brands. Fix Price reported that sales of household chemicals remain stable, and household goods continue to attract customers to the chain's stores. In "All Instruments.<url>" sales of its own brands in the DIY segment increased by 33% year–on-year in July- September, a company representative said. According to him, although growth has slowed in some categories, due to a diversified portfolio, the decline in some groups is offset by an increase in sales in other areas.
The growing interest in the products of its own brands continues in the X5 network, said a company representative. In Perekrestok, the share of STM in sales reaches 24%, in Pyaterochka it exceeded 26%. At the same time, the largest increase is observed in STM products of the medium and premium price segments.
Sales of Street Beat clothing STM (part of the Inventive Retail Group) increased by 11% year-on-year in the first 10 months of 2025. The organization uses an omnichannel approach in development, so STM products are presented not only in its own stores and on the website, but also on most marketplaces, the IRG representative said.
According to the B1 study, groceries have become the only category where consumer demand for STM has increased. In September, the share of buyers of such products was 46%, 3 percentage points more than in April 2025, when the previous survey was conducted. In last year's autumn survey, the share of respondents was 40% (an increase of 6 percentage points year-on-year).
Buyers often do not see a significant difference between branded goods and STM in this segment, therefore, focusing on savings, they choose their own brands, Elena Tsaturova noted. Retailers also maintain stable demand for such products, representatives of Lenta and Fix Price confirm. According to Ekaterina Kosareva, managing partner of VMT Consult, the growing share of STM in the grocery segment is due to the fact that these are everyday goods that are difficult to spoil.
Representatives of Magnit (the chain of the same name, Dixie, ABC of Taste) and Simple Group declined to comment. The O'KEY Group, Vinlab, Auchan, Sportmaster, and Golden Apple did not respond to Izvestia's request.
What is the reason for the change in preferences of Russians?
The variety of branded products in retail chains is decreasing in order to more actively promote STM retailers, Elena Tsaturova noted. Since 2022, the share of own brands in their sales structure has increased from 10.4% to 15.3% in the first half of 2025, Nielsen estimates. At the same time, the brand remains the third most important consumer choice factor after price and quality, Elena Tsaturova pointed out. Under these conditions, it is unlikely that the STM market will grow dynamically in the future, she believes.
By the end of 2025, STM sales of the 10 largest FMCG retailers (consumer goods) will amount to about 2.8 trillion rubles, which is 19% more than in 2024, says Mikhail Burmistrov, CEO of Infoline Analytics. According to Infoline, the sales growth rate of STM was 24% a year earlier. In January – October 2025, 35 new brands entered the Russian market, of which the share of STM was 17%, CMWP estimated. For comparison, in 2022-2023, the share of new such brands entering the market was about 27%.
Mikhail Burmistrov, CEO of Infoline Analytics, noted a slowdown in the growth rate of STM in the sales structure. This is due to the general weak consumer activity: the attendance of shopping malls is falling, the share of online sales is growing, and the population is reducing spending, showing savings behavior, said Polina Afanasyeva, Senior Director, head of the CMWP Research and Analytics Department.
The survey results indicate that retailers have recently been repositioning their brands, Mikhail Burmistrov believes. According to him, in some cases, companies used umbrella brands directly related to STM for this purpose. This way, customers could purchase products without noticing that they belong to the retailer's own brand.
Manufacturers themselves are losing interest in CTM: suppliers' capacities are overloaded, the situation remains with a shortage of personnel, and manufacturers' contracts for CTM with retailers are "quite tough," the expert added. According to him, today retailers are shifting their focus from their own brands to exclusive brands of manufacturers adapted to specific sales channels. The potential of this approach is high, but so far there have been few successful launches — only dozens.
At the same time, rising prices for raw materials force suppliers to save on production, which affects the quality of STM products and pushes buyers to choose more expensive alternatives, Ekaterina Kosareva added.
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