Public quality labels represent an important device in French agricultural policy. First intended for farmers to whom they brought a way to ease off cost-related competition, their scope of application has been progressively extended to the whole range of agrifood products. They are frequently associated with well-known private brands and more recently to stores’ own brands. Beyond its technical aspects - homogenization and quality labelling -, this quality policy also represents a policy of development and occupation of the rural area. What are the consequences on the promotion of products in comparison with standard products? What kind of redistribution does it allow upstream, towards agricultural producers who are the first recipients? The purpose of this paper is to present a few research results on these two matters.