Expanded Product Range Spotlights Persistent Advancement in Retail Sector with Associated Wholesale Grocers' Own Brand for Pets and Infants
Associated Wholesale Grocers Introduces New Private Label Brands for Pets and Babies
In a bid to provide relief to price-weary shoppers, Associated Wholesale Grocers (AWG) is holding steady on back-to-school prices and expanding its product offerings. The Kansas-based grocery cooperative has recently launched two new product lines under its Best Choice brand: Pure Wonder for pets and Hello World for baby care.
Pure Wonder, designed to offer a savings of 20% over national brands without compromising on quality, aims to provide nourishment and care for pets. The product line includes products for dogs, cats, and birds, with 11 new wet cat-food products, 11 new wet dog-food items, and wet-food pouches for cats and dogs. The new Pure Wonder line fills a void by relaunching a dry-kibble line for cats and dogs, and offering reformulated wet food with better-for-you ingredients.
The Pure Wonder packaging was developed to make the brand stand out on shelves and give the appearance of a true brand. Meanwhile, the Hello World by Best Choice packaging is designed to communicate the quality of the products and show value to shoppers.
The Hello World product line was developed to serve as an expert in baby care, with quality and advanced technology, while building upon the trust and value that comes with the Best Choice brand. Almost 30% of consumers buy private-brand diapers and almost 50% buy private-brand baby wipes, indicating a demand for private-label products in the baby category. The Hello World line offers a 100% guarantee, allowing customers to try the new products at no risk.
AWG Brands division has a private label brand named Best Choice, which has been in existence since 1985. The Best Choice brand includes over 3,300 products. A suite of marketing and promotional support, including in-store signage, online marketing content, and digital coupons, has been created to help AWG member retailers promote the Hello World by Best Choice line.
While specific information about the factors influencing the development and launch of AWG's private label brand, Hello World, in the baby care category is not readily available, general industry knowledge suggests that factors such as consumer demand for affordable, trusted baby products, market gaps for high-quality essentials, the desire to compete with national baby care brands on price and quality, and trends in health and safety preferences (e.g., organic or hypoallergenic products) likely played a role. Retailers often launch private labels to control product availability, improve margins, and build customer loyalty through exclusive offerings.
Dollar General is partnering with celebrity brands to support its growth strategy for nonconsumable categories. However, the development of the Pure Wonder and Hello World lines does not appear to be influenced by such collaborations. Instead, it seems that the growth in the number of pets in households and the humanization of pets, as well as the demand for affordable, high-quality baby care products, have driven the introduction of these new product lines.
In continuing its expansion of the Best Choice private label brand, Associated Wholesale Grocers (AWG) has ventured into the food-and-drink sector for pets with Pure Wonder, offering lifestyle-oriented food options at a lower price point without compromising on quality. The home-and-garden division also received a boost with the launch of Hello World, a baby care product line that caters to the demand for affordability, quality, and advanced technology.
