Walmart Just Launched Bettergoods, A New Private Food Brand
One trend in recent years is for grocery chains to offer what might be termed premium generics — Kroger rolled out its Private Selection and Simple Truth lines in the mid-teens, while Target released Good & Gather in 2019. Walmart may be a bit late to this private label party, but it seems the company finally got there. Perhaps in response to the upswing in store-brand purchasing that coincided with skyrocketing grocery prices, the chain has just released a line called bettergoods, which, as the name implies is meant to be a somewhat higher-end option to the budget-minded Great Value line of store-brand products.
According to a Walmart press release, most of the bettergoods items are not intended to be brand-name knockoffs and are unique to the store. Although they are intended to be on-trend and high quality, the products are still meant to be priced as affordable luxuries. None of the items at present cost more than $15, while the majority range from $2 to $5.
What's included in the bettergoods lineup?
The bettergoods line is meant to encompass 300 different products, as per the press release, and these are said to include beverages, candy, dairy, frozen foods, pasta, snacks, and soups. They will also fall into three broad categories: the foodie-forward Culinary Experiences line which will include items like imported Italian pasta; a plant-based line which will offer oatmilk ice cream and non-dairy cheese substitutes, and the Made Without line which will feature gluten-free, additive-free, and other products catering towards dietary restrictions.
At the time of this writing, a search of the Walmart website only uncovered 19 different bettergoods products (though the availability of different items may vary by location). Among them are different oatmilk ice creams priced at $3.44 per pint in flavors including blueberry swirl and salted caramel. There are also dairy ice creams sold at the same price with flavors such as dulce de leche and cold brew coffee. The remaining items are flavored butters selling for $2.56 per 3-ounce package and consisting of options like hot honey, black truffle, and cinnamon honey. Interestingly enough, the Great Value line once offered this last flavor in a product that seemed to mimic Texas Roadhouse's cinnamon butter, but it seems to have been replaced by the bettergoods product.