An Inside Look At Walmart's New bettergoods Private Label
Better quality products at affordable prices. That is the focus for Walmart as the largest retailer in the U.S. launched its new private brand bettergoods.
As reported by Store Brands, the new assortment of some 300 items will touch a host of product categories including frozen, dairy, snacks, beverages, pasta, soups, coffee, chocolate and more with most items priced at less than $5. Products are currently in stores and available online and the full selection will be available to consumers in the coming months.
To offer more insight into the development of the new private label product line, the first for Walmart in some 20 years, Store Brands spoke with Scott Morris, Walmart’s senior vice president, private brands, food and consumables. He discussed the motivating factors behind the birth of the new brand, its points of differentiation from products already on the market, and the expected continued growth of proprietary brands at the retailer.
STORE BRANDS: When launching the bettergoods line, what were some of the motivating factors behind developing the new assortment?
SCOTT MORRIS: At Walmart, we believe that great food doesn’t have to be expensive. Over the past several years, we’ve been on a mission to make quality food accessible for our customers by expanding our assortment of both national and private brands. Today’s customers expect more from the products they purchase – including private brands. They want more choices, elevated quality and a variety of ingredient flavors and textures, as well as plant-based options and products made without certain ingredients, such as gluten. Bettergoods is our response to this customer trend. We saw an opportunity to add to our existing private brand portfolio and respond to this need for an elevated, culinary focused offering, bringing it to customers at the everyday low prices Walmart delivers.
STORE BRANDS: How do products in the bettergoods line differ from other private label or national brand products currently offered by Walmart?
MORRIS: Bettergoods is a culinary-first brand that elevates ingredients, taste, flavors and textures to make quality and chef-inspired flavors approachable, easy, and most importantly, affordable for Walmart customers. Unlike some of our own private brands and national brand offerings, bettergoods is not primarily a direct comparison to items existing in the market. In fact, many items may not have a market comparison, inside or outside our stores. That’s what’s so exciting about bettergoods – many of the items are totally unique. Bettergoods will feature items that are new to Walmart, offered at an incredible value.
What shoppers want...
"We know that our customers expect more from the products they purchase and more from private brands. They not only want easy, affordable ways to elevate their everyday cooking, but they also are seeking new flavors and options that are affordable, yet delicious, that fit within their flavor preferences and lifestyles."
— Scott Morris, Walmart
STORE BRANDS: Did Walmart seek input from its shoppers when developing the bettergoods line?
MORRIS: We take pride in listening to our customers and innovating within our assortment to bring them the items they crave at the affordable prices they expect from Walmart. For bettergoods, we really leaned into trends we’ve noticed from our customers. We also leveraged insights, market tours and evaluated restaurant trends and favorites. Our customers are seeking easy, affordable ways to elevate their everyday cooking and bettergoods delivers on that customer need in an affordable and delicious way. We also tested many items via a sensory panel for customer input and were pleased with the customer response.
STORE BRANDS: Why did Walmart focus on its three pillars – Culinary experiences, Plant-based, and Made Without – when developing the bettergoods line?
MORRIS: We know that our customers expect more from the products they purchase and more from private brands. They not only want easy, affordable ways to elevate their everyday cooking, but they also are seeking new flavors and options that are affordable, yet delicious, that fit within their flavor preferences and lifestyles. That’s why we decided to create these three pillars. Culinary experiences spotlight innovative recipes and elevated ingredients with food-trend forward offerings and our plant-based offerings provide exceptional options made to be devoured for those seeking plant-based items. Finally, our “made without” offerings provide a broad variety of options that cater to customers’ different dietary lifestyles, like gluten-free, or made without artificial flavors, colorings or added sugars. Together, these three distinct pillars form bettergoods and provide a fresh take on the culinary experience, making quality, unique and chef-inspired flavors approachable, easy, and most importantly, affordable.
STORE BRANDS: How is Walmart promoting/merchandising the bettergoods product assortment in stores and online?
MORRIS: Bettergoods doesn’t just taste different; it looks different. Packaging design is one of bettergoods exciting attributes. Customers can spot bettergoods by its stand-out and approachable packaging design that helps customers shop easier based on their dietary preferences. Food is the hero in bettergoods packaging design, and with bold, bright, modern packaging, the labeling speaks to the quality products and flavors available in the new collection. The three pillars within bettergoods are also easily distinguishable based on their packaging design:
- Culinary Experiences: These items are packaged in a full spectrum of colors, meant to emulate the delicious culinary offerings within. Expect bold and deep hues with color contrast to identify these offerings on store shelves.
- Plant-Based: Our plant-based offerings are simple to identify for customers with its distinct green branding – perfect for customers seeking plan based items.
- “Made Without”: Items within our “made without” portfolio are packaged in a rich cream tone and will stand apart on shelves compared to our Culinary Experiences and Plant-Based options.
As items continue to become available in-store, there will be a lot more promotion of this exciting new brand across channels. We’re excited for what’s to come!
STORE BRANDS: With 300 items in the line now, are there plans to expand the selection in current categories or into new categories for the bettergoods brand?
MORRIS: We’re constantly innovating and expanding our assortment to meet our customers’ evolving needs, and the same will be true for bettergoods. We’ll continue to deliver exciting items and on-trend flavors, including seasonal items, at an incredible value to inspire our customers' culinary aspirations now and in the future.
STORE BRANDS: Overall, when looking at the impact private label has at Walmart, how has this part of the business grown in recent years?
MORRIS: Bettergoods joins our impressive roster of innovative private brands that bring customers quality products at an amazing value. Across Walmart, we have 14 $1 billion-plus private brands, eight of which are in Food & Consumables and six in Fashion. Great Value is the largest consumer packaged goods brand across Food & Consumables in the U.S. and Walmart’s private brands make up four of the top ten CPG brands in Food & Consumables (Great Value, Freshness Guaranteed, Equate & Marketside). We’re excited to continue to see growth across our private brands, which span multiple Walmart aisles. This growth has been particularly felt through the pandemic and inflationary times and we’re also seeing younger customers who are more brand agnostic and seeking quality and value switching to private brands.
STORE BRANDS: Has there been a noticeable change in the types of shoppers who purchase private label products?
MORRIS: In general the industry has seen younger customers who are more brand agnostic. They’re looking for quality and value and are willing to explore private brands. In fact, while we see growth across all demographics within our private brands, the growth is especially apparent among Gen Z and higher income groups. That’s why we’re so excited to launch a collection like bettergoods, which delivers on the affordable items customers seek within their private brands, but overdelivers on exciting, delicious and culinary-focused flavors and experiences.
STORE BRANDS: Are consumers more open to buying private label products today than maybe 5 or 10 years ago?
MORRIS: We’ve seen growth in our private brands, and new customers come into the portfolio, and both the pandemic and inflation fueled this further. What we’re noticing is that more customers are willing to purchase private brand items and come to expect more from these items. They’re seeking both quality and affordable options and bettergoods opens an opportunity to provide customers with additional options that satisfy both needs.
STORE BRANDS: When looking at Walmart’s total efforts in private label, are there plans for future growth?
MORRIS: We’re constantly innovating and expanding our assortment to meet our customers’ evolving needs, and we’re excited for ongoing growth across our portfolio of both national brands and private brands and beyond.
