Private Label International - Summer 2010

No Small Savings

By Samara Kamenecka

Competitive priced private label products allow parents to save on the necessities and splurge on their babies in other ways.

A baby evokes a wide range of emotions: excitement, fear, joy, anxiety, and panic—at the thought of paying for expensive diapers and pricey creams and lotions. Let’s face it: having a baby is costly. Parents want quality products for their little bundles of joy, but they don’t want to cry like babies when they get the bill for the goods. Lucky for parents in Spain, supermarkets stock a wide range of private label products at competitive prices. This article looks at store brand items at Carrefour, Eroski and Mercadona.

Carrefour products are sold under the Carrefour brand and an even more economical label called “1”. The former feature the white store logo and are usually stocked on eye-level shelves; the latter’s logo is a red and white stripe with a “1” and they can usually be found on the lowest shelf. The shelves are marked to ensure that private label products stand out. Their baby product line features the word “Baby” in English in a playful font right below the logo and the products are in a section entitled “Mundo Bebé” (Baby World).

Eroski items are sold under the Eroski brand, with its red and blue E logo. Almost all of the baby products sold here feature the same generic paragraph on their labels, with the corresponding product names inserted. The text states that each product is “specially formulated for very sensitive skin, like your baby’s”, and its “extra-soft texture and fragrance will relax your baby, which makes it the ideal” shampoo, soap, lotion, etc.

Mercadona has a small but complete section of baby items. They all share a similar design and are marketed under its Deliplus brand, the logo for which is the name in script. In this section, private label items share the shelves with just one other brand.

Crème De La Crème

Baby cream at Carrefour comes in a purple and white tube. The white Carrefour logo appears at the top right, followed by the word “Baby”. The text says “Diaper cream” in Spanish and French. It also says it “Prevents redness, avoids rash” and is “hypoallergenic”. The 100-mL tube costs €2.30.

Eroski’s baby cream comes in a white tube with a blue design. The store logo features at the top with “Tu Bebé” (Your baby) in large letters below. Below that it says “Reparative cream” in both Spanish and Euskera. This 100-mL tube costs €2.60.

Mercadona’s baby cream is sold in a 100-mL tube for €2.60. It is white with a yellow stripe at the top that says “bebé”. Below it is a sketch of a baby in blue. Underneath that reads: “Protective cream. Fights irritation. Water-based”, and at the very bottom is the Deliplus logo.

Wipe Out Germs

At Carrefour, baby wipes are sold under both its Carrefour and 1 labels. As for the former, one option comes in a clear plastic package that groups together two packs of 80 wipes each. This costs €1.94. There’s a picture of two babies on the left-hand side, and at the top it reads “Classic. Thick baby wipes”. On the top right is the Carrefour logo in white, followed by “Baby”, below which are boxes that read “Aloe vera” and “Dermo-tested”. The same type of package with 3 packs of 24 sells for €1.69. The “1” option sits on the very bottom shelf. The clear plastic package holds two packs of 80 wipes each, for €1.75. Across the top is a red and white stripe and the number 1 in a circle in the center. There’s a picture of a baby on the right, a picture of a bear on the left, and the letters BB in the middle.

Eroski’s baby wipes are located in a giant box on the floor at the end of the baby items aisle. They come in a white, rectangular plastic package with the Eroski label at the top followed by the word “Wipes” in Spanish, Euskera, Catalan and Portuguese. On the right-hand side is a photo of a baby and there is a blue and green square design around the border of the package. Seventy-two wipes costs €1.00.

One option at Mercadona comes in a bright red package. The center reads “Baby wipes. Face and hands”. This product is a new addition to the store’s repertoire. There are various cartoon sea creatures decorating the package, along with clouds and a rainbow. This 40 alcohol-free towelette package costs €1.40. Another option is a jumbo pack of baby wipes. It features a giant photo of a baby in black and white, with a blue bottom half that reads “Wipes” along with the logo. The top reads: “Soft and hydrating, hypoallergenic, alcohol free, pH balanced”. A little orange circle at the bottom says they contain aloe vera and chamomile. Two hundred and forty wipes costs €2.40. Another option is a 24 pack, which comes in a plastic package. The bottom half is purple, the right-hand side indicates the number of wipes, and the rest of the package is decorated with blue and white clouds. These wipes are “Soft and hydrating, hypoallergenic, alcohol free, pH balanced and dermatologist tested.” On the right is an orange circle above the Deliplus logo that says “with cream, hydrating”. The center opening has a picture of a baby in a hat with text that reads “baby cream” and “aloe vera”. This item costs €0.80.

For Hair They Have

Carrefour has three baby shampoos on offer. The chamomile option comes in a transparent 750-mL bottle with a green cap and label. It “doesn’t irritate eyes”. It is dermatologist tested and on the left-hand side is a drawing of a smiley face/sun. It costs €1.34. The other options, “Relax” (€1.85) and “Classic” (€1.62), come in similar packaging and are the same size.

Eroski baby shampoo comes in a 750-mL bottle and costs €1.95. The bottle is transparent, the shampoo yellow and the cap is red. The label features the store logo at the top, below which is a photo of two women with a baby. The bottom half of the label is blue and says “Very gentle shampoo. Doesn’t irritate eyes. Dermatologist tested”. Mercadona’s yellow baby shampoo comes in a clear 300-mL bottle and costs €1.20. The top is pink with “bebé” in white, followed by a sketch of a baby in a bubble bath. Below it says: “Shampoo. Extra-soft. Chamomile and panthenol.”

Baby Soft Skin

Carrefour’s lotions come in two white bottle options. One has a yellow cap and a yellow and green label with the store logo in white at the top and “Baby” just below it. Below that are two green boxes which read: “Classic body lotion” and “With hydrating agents”. On the left-hand side of the label is a yellow smiley face/sun. This 750-mL bottle is hypoallergenic and costs €1.62. The second option has a purple cap and a purple and blue label. This is “Relaxing body lotion” which comes “with hydrating agents” and is lavender-scented. The same smiley face/sun appears on the left, this time in purple. This 750-mL bottle of lotion is also dermatologist tested and costs €1.90.

Eroski has two PL baby lotions available. One option is a 300-mL white bottle with the store logo in red and blue at the top, followed by purple-themed text that reads “Happy times”. In the center of the label is a photo of a baby sleeping with little Z’s drifting from his head. The text on the bottom right says “Relaxing, hydrating lotion” in Spanish, Greek and French. The other option is 500-mL, with the same exact design only in blue-themed text, and in this photo the baby is all smiles. Both bottles sell for €2.50.

Smelling Good

Carrefour baby cologne comes in two options. They are tall bottles, one with purple liquid and the other transparent. They both have the white CF logo at the top with the word “Baby”, below which the purple bottle says “Lavender perfume”. In blue below that it says “Relaxing cologne”. On the other bottle below the store logos the text says “Classic cologne” and “Low in alcohol”. Both are 750 mL; the former cost €2.25 and the latter €1.98.

Cologne at Eroski comes in two options, 500-mL and 700-mL bottles, both of which cost €1.95. The larger bottle is tall and transparent with a purple cap. The top of the label has the logo, then “tu bebé”, followed by a purple nighttime sky with a moon and stars and a sleeping baby. The text below says it is “Relaxing” and it is “Baby cologne”. The other option comes in a transparent bottle with a green-themed label. The store logo and “Bebé” are at the top, followed by a photo of a smiling baby sitting in a green towel, below which it also says “Baby cologne”.

At Mercadona, baby cologne comes in a tall clear bottle. The top bit with “bebé” is green, below which is the baby sketch set among little flowers. Then it reads “Eau de cologne. Gentle fragrance. Freh and soft” with the Deliplus logo at the bottom. This 750-mL item costs €1.95.

Soap ‘n Suds

Carrefour has a 2-in-1 liquid baby soap option for body and hair. It comes in a tall white bottle with a green cap and has a similar design to the PL lotion. The logo appears in white at the top with “Baby” beneath it. This soap “Doesn’t irritate eyes” and contains “Provitamin B5”. It is also hypoallergenic and adequate for sensitive skin and has a smiley face/sun to the left of the text. This 500-mL bottle costs €1.73.

Eroski’s baby soap is similar in design to the private label cologne. The top part has a logo and the words “tu bebé”. One of the store brand soaps comes in a 750-ml bottle (€1.95). The liquid and label are orange and feature a photo of a happy baby in a bathtub. The other option is purple, and features a baby sleeping with a teddy bear. This 500-mL bottle costs €1.95.

Mercadona offers a liquid soap option in a purple and white bottle. The top part is purple with “bebé” in white, below which is the sketch of a baby asleep on a giant star. Under that it says “Liquid soap. Relaxing. Lavender and chamomile”. This 500-mL bottle costs €2.00. Another option comes in a similar bottle except that the top section is blue, the baby is in a bubble bath and the text reads: “Liquid soap. Extra-soft. Glycerin and mimosa.” This 750-mL bottle costs €1.95.

While private label baby products may not the most prolific products on the shelves, they are certainly a viable option. Parents need not break the bank when stocking up on supplies, leaving more funds at the end of the day to spoil their babies in other ways.