More consumers became loyal to private label refrigerated salad/coleslaw, sugar and pastry/donuts from 2008 to 2011, according to a Times & Trends Report released Sept. 8 by Chicago-based SymphonyIRI Group. The number of consumers becoming brand loyal, and not private label loyal, increased in the categories of sports drinks, shelf-stable dinners and dry packaged dinners.

Brand loyalty increased across 45 of the top 100 consumer product categories, according to the report called “Brand Loyalty: How Understanding Brand Equity Impacts Brand Loyalty and Delivers to the Top and Bottom Line.” SymphonyIRI defined brand loyal as consumers purchasing a single brand, not including private label, more than 50% of the time in a specific category.