Tristan Simpson, MBA’s Post

Walmart has been a growing force in the natural/organic retail space for awhile; they are now doubling down with their private label 'bettergoods' line. I am intrigued- the branding and packaging is clean, eye-catching and definitely not what one would traditionally associate with Walmart. What are your thoughts? Do you think they can take market share from Whole Foods Market, Trader Joe's and others with this new line? Will be interesting to watch!

https://lnkd.in/e9NSq2mm? Walmart is introducing a new Kirkland-esque premium brand. Part of what they're doing is trying to slow the pace at which customers trade up, by giving them a chance to trade up in the store instead of by switching some of their shopping to Whole Foods or Costco. It's also a way to better-segment their offerings: they have a cheaper house brand ("Great Value") and a premium one ("Sam's Choice") but they haven't made the latter look sufficiently different. Sometimes changing the name, refreshing the packaging, and hiking the price is what it takes to tell a slightly richer customer cohort that they're still in the right place.

As consumers cut back on expenditures, premium brands face an existential question: Should they shift their differentiated position to a low-price message or focus on their unique value and distinctive benefits? For example, should BMW shed its hundred-year-old image of being known for producing high-quality, meticulously crafted cars—"The Ultimate Driving Machine"—to become low price? Would that approach even work? When premium brands try to increase market share by going downmarket while retaining their reputation for quality, they often confuse customers, dilute brand meaning, and allow competitors to claim the title. Steve Jobs knew this challenge when he returned to Apple for his second stint at the helm. Apple was in bad financial shape, and Jobs faced intense pressure to lower prices to compete with cheaper mass-market products. His response to investors: “There are some customers which we chose not to serve." Many years later, Apple tried to go downmarket with a cheaper iPhone, it failed because it was antithetical to what the brand stood for. When Harley-Davidson made cheaper products, it nearly bankrupted the company and destroyed one of America's greatest brands. I empathize with Whole Foods's challenge to address the "Whole Paycheck" perception, but instead of trying to erase this clever, sticky, and indelible cultural meme, I suggest leaning into this perception and owning it in a way that turns it into a brand advantage. Target did this for a while with "Tarjay," the faux French accent meme that reminded customers their products were decidedly chic but affordably worth it, distinguishing them from other mass-merchants.  Some will say food is different, but if Wegmans decided overnight to become a low-priced brand, it would erode the incredible market value they've established over many decades. Secondly, it would fail because there's too much perceptual equity in being a deliciously differentiated brand. Instead, Wegmans continually reminds its loyal customers why the brand is worth the slight premium, particularly in tough times when other sacrifices have to be made. Our society is obsessed with living longer, eating healthier and knowing where its food comes from and how it is made. Instead of trying to become just another ordinary grocery store, I wish Whole Foods reminded customers why good, healthy, sustainable food should cost slightly more than low-price options. #grocerystores #supermarkets #foodretail #food #health #organic #natural #branding #strategy #business #retail #business #sustainability #stores

Listening to the radio on the way home from school, and there was a report about tonight's Panorama programme on The BBC. Their analysis has found that dozens of supermarket products price-matched to Aldi UK products are not like-for-like. For example, a supermarket’s chicken nuggets contained 39% chicken compared with 60% in the discounter’s version, (which prompted The Firecracker to ask "What is the other 61% anyway?"). Panorama also found Chicken Kievs of 44% chicken, compared with 57% in the Aldi equivalent and Cottage Pie of 18% beef, whereas the discounter’s had 25%, and we are definitely not comparing apples-with-apples with Apple and Blackcurrant Squash of 6% fruit juice compared to Aldi at 20%. An Aldi spokesperson commented: “We have always said that the full-price supermarkets can try to match us on quality or price, but never both. The only place shoppers can get Aldi prices on high-quality products is at Aldi.” ____ #FMCG #ConsumerGoods #Retail #RethinkRetail #RethinkRetailTopExpert #TheCPGGeek

It's always an insightful read when checking out various Grocery trend predictions for the upcoming year. Fresh Thyme Market I'm here for #5; bring on the Mangos 👏 Oddly enough, Costco Wholesale was offering dark chocolate-covered mangos this past week! 👀 #cpgtrends #predictions #grocery #midwesterner

🔍 New labels on the rise in French supermarkets! 🏪 While the article highlights the introduction of shrinkflation stickers, the broader impact is on consumer loyalty. 📉 With these labels, shoppers will now be fully aware of size reductions in products despite stable or increased prices. This transparency could significantly influence trust and loyalty towards brands. Consumers are more informed and value honesty—companies must adapt to maintain their credibility. Follow Culinary Tides, Inc. for more insights. 🛒🤝 #Shrinkflation #ConsumerLoyalty #Transparency #FoodTrends #CulinaryTides Explore more about this crucial development: https://lnkd.in/esfdJC6M

I wanted to jump into a debate that's really got people talking: Aldi's CEO, Giles Hurley, has raised concerns about Tesco's price-match claims. 👀 Aldi UK’s argument? They believe Tesco’s price match isn’t exactly a ‘like for like’ comparison when it comes to quality or ingredients. The BBC Panorama report highlighted that some of Tesco’s price-matched items actually contain less of the main ingredients. For example, while Aldi’s chicken nuggets are 60% chicken, Tesco’s version only has 39%, even though they’re priced and sized the same. Tesco, on the other hand, insists that ingredient differences don’t necessarily mean lower quality. They say they have a process to ensure their products still meet high standards. Honestly, it feels too soon to pick a side here. There are always different angles to consider, and Tesco likely has reasons for its approach in offering value-driven products. But I can’t help thinking that, at the end of the day, it’s the experience of the product that matters most to us as consumers. How does it taste? How does it feel? These are the things that stick with us. What do you think? Are Tesco’s price-matched products truly offering the same value, or should we start paying more attention to those ingredient labels? or should we start paying more attention to those ingredient labels? 

Great point by WMT - food companies should not need to increase prices with inflation at ~3% (although there may be exceptions like cocoa/chocolate). A good cost savings program should be able to offset that 3-4% and keep prices flat for Consumers. #cpg #grocery #pricing #costsavings

Walmart is stepping up its game — and it might be coming for Trader Joe's with its new private label, Bettergoods. Bettergoods is a chef-inspired label with over 300 products, including fun and preimum-sounding ones like black-truffle butter and nondairy ice cream! Even better, especially amid rising food costs, a lot of Bettergoods items are under $5. Read Amena Ahmed's review that we published on Business Insider below. It's made me really want to head to Walmart to see what's on the shelves! #walmart #bettergoods #food

Pepsi. 7Up. Doritos. Cheetos. Lay’s. Lipton Ice Tea. These are some of the PepsiCo products returning to shelves at one of the world’s biggest grocery chains, after an agreement was reached with Carrefour stores in France. The food feud lasted for about three months, after Carrefour — a France-based grocer which has 12,000 stores globally — announced it was removing PepsiCo products over price increases. Stores in countries such as France, Italy, Belgium and Spain were reported to be affected during the dispute as Europeans continued to battle with high food prices. “It’s good to see friends we haven’t seen in a long time,” Alexandre de Palmas, executive director of Carrefour’s France branch, posted Wednesday on X alongside a photo of himself holding a bottle of Pepsi. “PepsiCo products are back on our shelves,” Carrefour said in a statement, according to French media. “An agreement has been reached, as we had hoped, in the interest of the customer.” PepsiCo France said in a statement that it was "pleased to have reached an agreement and are delighted that our products are returning to Carrefour’s shelves for people to enjoy once again.” The dispute between the two companies became public in early January, when Carrefour began displaying signs in its stores explaining that it would “no longer” sell PepsiCo products “due to unacceptable price increases,” adding: “We apologize for the inconvenience caused.” A spokesperson for PepsiCo told The Post at the time that the company had “been in discussion with Carrefour for many months and we will continue to engage in good faith to try to ensure that our products are available.” The move from Carrefour came as food prices in France had risen 7 percent year-over-year in December. This March, the year-on-year rise was 1.7 percent, according to France’s National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies — a significant decrease from a high of 15.9 percent in March 2023.