Private Label Ecosystem > Blog > Articles > Greek Premium PL: Made in Greece, Sold Only Abroad

Greek Premium PL: Made in Greece, Sold Only Abroad

May 3, 2026 Christos D. Katsanos Articles, Experts

𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐜𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝-𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐮𝐦 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐞𝐥 (𝐏𝐋) 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐓𝐢𝐞𝐫-𝟏 𝐄𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐬. 𝐒𝐨 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧’𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐮𝐦 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐤 𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐬?

Walk into a Marks & Spencer, a Dunnes Stores, or an Albert Heijn. You will find Greek-origin extra virgin olive oil, yogurt, and specialty herbs manufactured to exacting specifications, sitting confidently next to category leaders.
These products are made by Greek producers to technical and compliance standards that satisfy the most demanding retail markets in Europe.

Now, let’s stroll into a Greek supermarket.

As Xanthi Gounari recently highlighted, a new McKinsey report names private label as one of Europe’s biggest success stories of the decade, capturing a massive 40% market share – with premium PL actually outpacing branded growth.
Yet in Greece, the story is very different. Data shows our domestic PL share sat at just 24.6% in Q1 2026 – remaining significantly below the European average.

This isn’t a capability problem. So, what is it?

– Is it inertia/laziness? Retail buyers avoiding the risk of investing in PL?
– Is it short-termism? Fear of investing the time, resources, and frameworks into a strategy that doesn’t yield instant, short-term rewards?
– Or is it purely a strategic decision?

The good news is, we have a roadmap from markets that walked this path before. The Irish market faced a similar maturity curve. Retailers like Dunnes Stores, Tesco, and SuperValu had PL offers before 2000, but when discounters Aldi and Lidl entered the market and changed the price game, the “Big 3” radically upped their game. Today, Irish retailer own-brands win quality awards, command fierce customer loyalty, and proudly showcase local producers.

The infrastructure exists in Greece. The producers are ready. What is missing is the retail conviction to commit – and the structured process architecture to build it properly.

That conversation is long overdue.

– To my Greek network: Is it fear of the unknown, or a lack of long-term strategy holding Greek retail back from unlocking true premium private label?
– To my international network: Any memories on how did your local grocery market bridge the gap from entry-level PL to premium, category-defining own-brands?