Walmart launching new own-brand food label and most of products are under $5

Walmart has launched a new private label food brand, with most products costing under $5.

The brand, called Bettergoods, will launch 300 products in Walmart stores and online this fall, Walmart announced Tuesday.

The products include frozen foods, dairy products, snacks, drinks, pasta, soups, coffee and chocolate, the retailer said.

It will be Walmart’s largest food brand in 20 years in terms of breadth of assortment as it seeks to appeal to younger customers who are not brand loyal and want chef-inspired foods that are more affordably priced.

“Today’s customers expect more from the private labels they buy: they want affordable, quality products that elevate their overall dining experience. The launch of bettergoods meets those customer needs in a meaningful way,” said Scott Morris, senior vice president, private brands, food and consumables, Walmart.

‘Bettergoods is more than just a new private label. It’s a promise to our customers that they can enjoy unique culinary flavors at the incredible value that Walmart delivers.”

Prices range from under $2 to under $15, with most products available for under $5.

The launch by the country’s largest retailer comes at a time when inflation has pushed shoppers to seek cheaper alternatives, boosting the popularity of private label brands.

“As an industry, we are seeing younger customers being more brand independent, prioritizing quality and value, and driving greater interest in private labels,” Morris said.

Private labels in food and beverages accounted for nearly 26 percent of the total market share in units sold in that category last year, up from 24.7 percent the year before, according to market research firm Circana.

That compares with 74.5 percent for national brands last year, up from 75.3 percent in 2022.

Walmart’s rivals, including Target, have also expanded their retail labels in food.

Last week, Walmart announced that it is continuing to remove self-checkout machines from its stores in an effort to improve the in-store experience for customers.

The products include frozen, dairy, snacks, drinks, pasta, soups, coffee and chocolate. Prices range from under $2 to under $15, with most products available for under $5

At two stores — in Shrewsbury, Missouri, and Cleveland, Ohio — the retailer said it would replace the kiosks with staffed checkouts that will “give our associates the opportunity to provide a more personalized and efficient service.”

In reality, many stores are abandoning their self-checkout kiosks because they are particularly vulnerable to theft, a problem that retailers say has plagued their businesses in recent years and forced them to close locations altogether.

“The rollback of self-checkouts is largely due to retailers’ concerns about theft,” Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData, told DailyMail.com.

The turnaround by the world’s largest retailer could serve as a milestone in what appears to have been a years-long failed self-checkout experiment.