LONDON, April 18 (Reuters) - Danone is

recouping some of the market share it lost to retailers' private

label brands with high prices, it said on Thursday, winning both

cash-strapped and wealthy shoppers.

In the wake of the pandemic and subsequent supply chain

crunch, input costs across commodities and raw materials

sky-rocketed, prompting consumer companies to sharply raise

prices which drove some customers to retailers' own label goods.

In recent quarters, companies like Danone, Nestle and P&G

have said they plan now to ease price hikes and invest more in

improving products and launching new ones to win back share.

"The low-price segment in Danone's categories is growing

fast, but the high price segment is also growing fast -- but the

middle segment is a bit squeezed," CFO Juergen Esser said in an

interview following a sales update.

Consumers are either trying to get value for money with

cheaper products, or through additional benefits in products

that come with innovation, he added.

"We are winning share with our branded products categories;

we see private labels not winning any more and decreasing in a

number of countries," he added.

Esser gave Danone's dairy business in Europe as an example,

saying it has introduced several "differentiated products" that

are high-priced, but is also selling more affordable brands.