The Scoop: Walmart rolls out new premium food brand

When you think of Walmart, a few images might come to mind. Huge, warehouse-like expanses of aisles, bulk food that form a staple of any college student’s dorm room stash. But if Walmart gets its way, its customers will be talking about its food selections in the same vein as Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods.

According to The Wall Street Journal:

The new brand took years to develop and will include foods such as cardamom rose raspberry jam for $5.24 and curry chicken empanadas. Walmart plans to add more than 300 Bettergoods items to shelves this year—many of which will cost $5 or less.

“We didn’t always show up for customers that were looking for this range,” said John Laney, head of grocery for Walmart U.S. The new line features more adventurous flavors and health call-outs.

While Walmart already owns one of the largest food brands in the country, Great Value, it realized during the height of the pandemic that a change was needed to compete with rival food sellers. With more and more people looking for more adventurous flavors and healthier options, Walmart faced a pivot point.

Why it matters: Walmart’s reimagining of its food offerings could stem from a few places, but it appears a major aim of the retailer is to appeal to higher-income customers shopping in its stores due to high prices. With this new customer base, Walmart needed to respond with new offerings to keep them coming back.

Even if you’re a well-established brand that’s mainly known for low price points, a rethink still might help. It remains to be seen whether or not customers will latch on to the Walmart branded items like they do the ones from Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods, but that’s where smart marketing comes in.

Maybe a social media campaign can help put these new food items in the viral discussion in the months ahead. However Walmart chooses to position these choices, it’s clear that the big box retailer doesn’t want to be penned in by labels and is aiming to stake a claim to the elevated grocery space. Sometimes taking a swing in a new direction can help change your reputation in the public forum.

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Sean Devlin is an editor at Ragan Communications. In his spare time he enjoys Philly sports and hosting trivia.