There's a narrative that Gen-Z is abandoning name brands. That economic pressure has turned this generation into private label loyalists, willing to swap any product for the store brand equivalent if the price is right.
Our data says something more nuanced and well, interesting.
In ECGO's 2026 State of Gen-Z Consumption Report, built on 25,000+ real product submissions from 760 Gen-Z users, the private label vs. name brand story isn't about a wholesale shift. It's about a generation that has become surgically precise about where they trade down and where they absolutely don't.
The numbers first
Across all three categories we track, name brands dominate:
In beverages, 85% of observed behavior ties to name brands. In food, name brands account for 76% of submissions. In personal care — the most loyalty-driven category in our entire dataset — name brands claim 84% of behavior, with name brands exceeding 80% market share in 10 out of 13 personal care sub-categories.
These are not the numbers of a generation abandoning brands.
But the nuance is where it gets interesting
Gen-Z hasn't rejected private label, they've learned exactly where it makes sense. In beverages, private label over-indexes in water and dairy alternatives — categories where the product feels functional and interchangeable. If water is water, why pay more for the name?
In food, private label leads in pantry staples and baking ingredients — again, low-risk, low-identity categories where the decision feels purely practical. But in snacks, frozen foods, and breakfast — categories where brand carries taste identity and emotional resonance — name brands hold their ground.
In personal care, the story is even clearer. Private label only becomes meaningful in vitamins, supplements, and medicine, where Gen-Z perceives the product as standardized. But in skincare, oral care, hygiene, and cosmetics? Gen-Z is far more reluctant to experiment with unbranded alternatives. The perceived risk of a bad experience is simply too high.
What this actually tells us
Gen-Z isn't cutting corners. They're optimizing. Every private label swap is a deliberate calculation, a recognition that in this category, at this moment, the brand premium isn't worth it. And every name brand loyalty hold is an equally deliberate signal that consistency, trust, and the cost of a bad experience matter more than saving a dollar.
This is what ECGO's report calls situational value optimization — not blanket cost-cutting. Gen-Z has internalized a mental framework for their own spending that most brands haven't fully recognized yet.
The brands that understand which side of that line they sit on — and why — are the ones best positioned to hold Gen-Z's behavior through an economy that keeps asking them to reconsider every purchase.
This insight is drawn from the ECGO 2026 State of Gen-Z Consumption Report. Download the full report at https://brands.ecgo.co/insights-trends/2025-state-of-gen-z-reports
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