9-13-2024 4:05am

EXPANDED GROCERY LINE

Jeff Barto Editor

Amazon debuts ‘no frills’ grocery brand

SEATTLE — Amazon has expanded its private label grocery lineup with the launch of a new value-focused brand called Amazon Saver.

The Seattle-based retail giant called Amazon Saver a “new no-frills brand that will help grocery budgets go further.” Most Amazon Saver products are priced at less than $5, Amazon said. Prime members get an extra 10% off Amazon Saver purchases as part of the retailer’s Our Brands discount offered through the customer benefits program.

Amazon said that “over time” it plans to add more than 100 items to the Amazon Saver line. Products in the initial rollout include crackers, cookies, deli meat, honey, coffee creamer, pancake syrup, condiments, and canned fruit and vegetables, among other offerings.

Amazon Saver products are sold both online and in-store under the company’s Amazon Fresh grocery banner, which includes 49 supermarkets in California, Illinois, Virginia, Washington, Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey and New York.

In tandem with the brand kickoff, Amazon has extended Prime member savings to over 3,000 grocery items. That includes up to 50% off a weekly rotation of 8 to 15 products — such as fresh produce, protein and pantry staples — plus 25% off more than 1,200 rotating Prime-exclusive groceries and household essentials from top brands, the company said.

Currently, Amazon offers Prime members 10% on more than 1,700 products in its roster of own brands, which besides the new Amazon Saver include Amazon Fresh, Aplenty, Amazon Kitchen, Happy Belly and 365 by Whole Foods Market, with the latter label also sold at Amazon’s Whole Foods Market supermarket chain.

Amazon’s launch of a value-oriented food brand and expanded grocery discounts reflect ongoing efforts by retailers to serve up more savings to inflation-weary shoppers, who have shown a rising affinity for private labels in recent years amid elevated food and beverage pricing.

“We’re always looking to make grocery shopping easier, faster and more affordable for our customers,” said Claire Peters, worldwide vice president of Amazon Fresh. “With expanded Prime member savings, the introduction of the new Amazon Saver brand and simplified online shopping, it’s now easier than ever to get your weekly grocery shopping done on a budget with Amazon Fresh, whether you’re browsing the aisles or filling your online cart.”

As Amazon has tinkered with its online and brick-and-mortar grocery retail strategy, the company has steadily assembled a potent private label portfolio across food and nonfood products, including other brands such as Solimo, Wag, Wickedly Prime, Presto!, Revly and AmazonBasics.

“For many grocery retailers today, the lack of a comprehensive private brand strategy means that they’ll get left behind,” said John Clear, senior director in the Consumer and Retail Group of management consulting firm Alvarez & Marsal. “To unlock the value of private label, grocers need to have a clear plan in place: a differentiated brand architecture and consistent positioning across categories, scalable processes and innovation capabilities that will ensure their success is repeatable.”

Private label spending accounts for 20% of the total grocery market, and that share is projected to climb to 24% by 2030, according to Alvarez & Marsal’s “Accelerate Your Private Brand Journey” report, released Sept. 10. What’s more, private label sales have grown at a 7.6% compound annual growth rate from 2019 to 2024, compared with 5.4% for all other brands and 5.9% for the overall market. Meanwhile, the top four private brand grocery retailers saw 144% growth in their stock prices over the past five years, the report said.

“There’s a strong correlation between the most successful private brand grocers and their market share and financial performance,” said Marco Valentini, managing director of Alvarez & Marsal’s Consumer and Retail Group. “The best players act differently from the rest of the pack. Their C-level executives are committed to growing their own brands and driving differentiation through them.”