Organic private label brands and market incumbents The influence of introducing an organic private label brand on the purchase intention of market incumbents

Abstract

In the last decades, organic brands have become more mainstream. Many retailers have responded to this trend with the introduction of an organic private label brand. Offering an organic private label brand can have benefits for retailers, however, we do not know how organic private label brands influence other market incumbents. The aim of this research is therefore to determine how the introduction of an organic private label brand influences consumers' purchase intention toward the premium private label brand, the national brand, and the national organic brand. This research also takes the moderating variables store image and the price of the organic private label brand into an account, as these moderators can influence the relationship between the introduction of the organic private label brand and the market incumbents. To investigate this relationship a questionnaire was conducted among 257 respondents. The results of this research show that the introduction of the organic private label brand positively influences the purchase intention of the national organic brand. The national organic brand is seen as a dominant and more attractive alternative with the introduction of the organic private label brand. The introduction of the organic private label brand does not influence the purchase intention of the premium private label brand and the national brand. The moderators' store image and the price of the organic private label brand also do not influence the relationship between the introduction of the organic private label brand and the market incumbents.