• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, January 21, 2011

Don't expect consumers' love affair with private-label products--whether it's the premium Archer Farms from Target, the new Health Starts Here products from Whole Foods Market, or the soon-to-be-reformulated Great Value line from Walmart----to go away anytime soon.

New research from Mintel says that concerted efforts retailers have made to improve store brands, including offering several tiers of "generics," has paid off, with 44% of grocery store customers saying they believe store brand products are better today than they were five years ago. And just 19% say it's worth paying more for name-brand products. Some 34% in the survey say they don't feel like they are sacrificing anything by buying these store-branded goods.