CVS debuts new Well Market private-label consumables line

CVS today announced the debut of Well Market, its new private-label consumables brand which will include 40 new food, beverage, and grocery products and serve as an umbrella for its three other consumable store brands.

Well Market will roll out online and in stores nationwide starting today, with most offerings priced between $2.99 to $8.99. The brand features products like Salt & Vinegar Flavor-Infused Almonds, Dark Chocolate Lightly Dipped Cashews, Mexican Street Corn Snack Mix, Ghee & Pink Salt Popcorn, Fruity-Cereal Gluten-Free Cookies, and Purified Alkaline Water.

CVS will eventually unite its existing private-label brands Gold Emblem, Gold Emblem Abound, and Big Chill under the Well Market brand, with some products updated or reformulated, CVS’s VP of store brands, Michael Wier, told Retail Brew.

The move is a “repositioning of our consumables portfolio,” that will create an “elevated brand shopping experience,” Wier said. CVS found that featuring several different private-label brands in a small retail space created confusion for consumers, Wier explained, and it worked with a year-long cohort of consumers to narrow in on Well Market’s branding, followed by months of blind taste tests.

“We designed Well Market to be really simple for the customers both from a packaging perspective to understand the benefits of the product and what's inside, but also to provide clear modern color blocks and navigation to help them select what they're looking to purchase,” he said.

CVS aims to “earn the right to grow” Well Market in stores and potentially boost customer loyalty as a result, and plans to have about 250 products under the brand by the end of the year, according to Wier.

“What we see from an industry trend is owned brands are often winning in the market, as customers understand that you'll get a really good high quality product at a better value,” he said. “So we know that and we lean into that across our store.”

Zoom out: The new CVS private label follows the introduction of the retailer’s new beauty and personal-care brand, One+Other, last year. It also joins a slew of other retailers like Target and Walmart who have expanded their private-label presence across grocery and personal care this year.