Brand loyalty towards food and drink in the UK grocery market is declining at a sharp rate, according to research conducted this month by Canadean.

While there has been much attention to the issue of food inflation, cost-conscious consumers shopping around for the best deals and retailers improving their private label range, the decline in brand loyalty can also be attributed to shoppers questioning wher their groceries are manufactured, says Canadean.

Many shoppers feel both branded and non-branded groceries are produced in the same factory and price differences are not linked to quality but advertising costs, says research manager Emma Herbert.

The survey found that 44 per cent of UK shoppers believe that private label and national brands are produced in the same factory and it is only the packaging that is different. Moreover, 59 per cent believe that the only reason national brands are more expensive than private label brands is because of national advertising costs and not the manufacturing process or ingredients used.

"Although perceptions of the quality of private label products has been improving for decades, these findings show that shoppers now believe they can actually get their preferred brands for a cheaper price because it is presented in supermarket style branded packaging," says Herbert. "This will be a significant blow for branded manufacturers who look to differentiate from store-own products by promoting attributes such as brand authenticity, heritage and expertise in manufacturing."