NEW YORK (AP) — Walmart is launching the U.S. retailer's biggest store-label food brand in 20 years in terms of the breadth of items, seeking to appeal to younger customers who are not loyal to grocery brands and want chef-inspired foods that are more affordably priced.
The brand, called Bettergoods, is just hitting Walmart stores and the company's online shopping site. Walmart said Tuesday it expects to have 300 products in the line by the fall, including frozen foods, dairy items, snacks, beverages, pastas, soups, coffee and chocolate. The prices range from under $2 to under $15, with most products costing under $5.
The Bettergoods line is divided into three categories: plant-based options like desserts made with oat milk and non-dairy cheeses; products catering to other dietary lifestyles, such as gluten-free, or made without artificial flavors, colorings or added sugars; and “culinary experiences.” The last category features items like creamy corn jalapeno chowder and pasta from Italy.
The launch from the country's largest retailer comes as inflation has driven shoppers to seek less-expensive alternatives, lifting the popularity of private-label brands. Private brands accounted for nearly 26% of the overall market share in the number of units in the food and beverage category sold last year, up from 24.7% during the previous year, according to market research firm Circana. That compares with 74.5% for national name brands last year, down from 75.3% in 2022.
For so-called core pantry items, including breakfast meats, baking items, fresh bread and salty snacks, private brands accounted for 36.6% of market share in dollars in 2023, up from 36.2% in 2019. That compares with national brands, which accounted for 63.4% last year. That's down from 63.8%, according to Circana.
But these store brands are becoming tastier and higher quality, mirroring national brands. Walmart's rivals, including Target, have been growing and sprucing up their own labels. Target's Good & Gather food and beverage brand, launched in 2019, has expanded to include dishes such as chicken tikka masala.
Many grocery retailers face increasing competition from Trader Joe's, which offers shoppers a treasure hunt experience with its variety of high-quality meals, ingredients and snacks.
Bettergoods joins Walmart’s other store label food brands, including Great Value and Equate, that provide lower-priced alternatives to national brand products. In contrast, many of Bettergoods products are designed to be unique to Walmart while introducing its customers to new trends and flavors, the retailer said.
”As an industry, we’re seeing younger customers be more brand agnostic, prioritizing quality and value, and driving increased interest in private brands,” Scott Morris, Walmart’s senior vice president of private brands, food and consumables, said.
FILE - A shopper loads her car after shopping at a Walmart in Pittsburgh, Thursday, Feb. 22, 2018. Walmart announced Tuesday, April 30, 2024, is closing its health centers and virtual care service, as the retail giant has struggled to find success with the offerings. AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)
This image provided by Walmart shows products from the store's new Bettergoods label. Walmart said Tuesday it is launching its biggest store-label food brand in 20 years in terms of its breadth of items, as it seeks to appeal to younger customers who are not brand loyal and want chef-inspired foods that are more affordably priced. (Walmart via AP)
FILE - A Walmart sign is displayed over the entrance to a store, June 25, 2019, in Pittsburgh. Walmart said Tuesday, April 30, 2024, that it is launching its biggest store-label food brand in 20 years in terms of its breadth of items, as it seeks to appeal to younger customers who are not brand loyal and want chef-inspired foods that are more affordably priced. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)
CANNES, France (AP) — Much attention has been paid to the $120 million of his own fortune that Francis Ford Coppola put up to make the futuristic epic “Megalopolis,” but the director himself isn't much concerned.
“I don’t care. I never cared,” Coppola said of money, speaking to reporters at the Cannes Film Festival on Friday. “The money doesn’t matter. What is important are the friends. Because friends will never let you down. Money may evaporate.”
Coppola sold a piece of his winery business to finance “Megalopolis," a passion project the filmmaker has been pondering for decades. Regardless of the outcome — the film is seeking a North American distributor — he's going to be fine, financially, Coppola said.
“My children, without exception, they have wonderful careers without a fortune,” he said. “They don’t need a fortune.”
Coppola faced questions from the press the day after premiering the hotly anticipated “Megalopolis," starring Adam Driver as an architect named Cesar Catalina who is trying to build a utopia in a future New York City. Critics called the film everything from a disaster to an admirably ambitious gambit that only Coppola could make.
Coppola fashions his film as a Roman Empire-esque tale. The closer he got to making it, he said, the more relevant it seemed to him.
“What's happening in America, in our republic, our democracy, is exactly how Rome lost their republic thousands of years ago,” said Coppola, who lamented the resurgence of the “neo-right, even fascist tradition.”
“Our politics has taken us to the point where we might lose our republic,” he continued. “It’s not the people who have become politicians who are going to be the answer. I feel it’s the artists of America. The role of the artist is to illuminate contemporary life, to shine a light, to be the headlights."
Drawing laughs, Coppola then turned to one his cast members, Jon Voight, noting he had “different political opinions.” Voight responded: “How did you find that out?”
Coppola has been shopping “Megalopolis” for potential buyers. When asked whether a streaming company might be a home for the movie, he suggested streaming was nothing new.
“Streaming is what we used to call home video,” Coppola said. He voiced some misgivings about modern Hollywood.
“The job is not so much to make good movies, the job is to make sure that they pay their debt obligations," he said of studios. "It might be that the studios that we knew for so long — some wonderful ones — are not going to be here in the future.”
But Coppola's tone was otherwise overwhelmingly positive. The 85-year-old filmmaker exalted the family members who came with him and implored reporters to ask more questions of his cast, including Laurence Fishburne, Giancarlo Esposito and Aubrey Plaza. (Shia LaBeouf attended Thursday's premiere but did not join the press conference.)
“There’s so many people when they die, they say, ‘I wish I had done this, I wish I done that,’" said Coppola. "When I die, I’m going to say, ‘I got to do this.’ I got to see my daughter (Sofia Coppola) win an Oscar and I got to make wine and I got to make every movie I wanted to make. I’m going to be so busy thinking about all the things I got to do that when I die I won’t notice it.”
For more coverage of the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, visit https://apnews.com/hub/cannes-film-festival.
Shia LaBeouf, from left, Laurence Fishburne, Aubrey Plaza, Adam Driver, director Francis Ford Coppola, Nathalie Emmanuel and Giancarlo Esposito pose for photographers upon departure from the premiere of the film 'Megalopolis' at the 77th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Thursday, May 16, 2024. (Photo by Andreea Alexandru/Invision/AP)
Adam Driver poses for photographers at the photo call for the film 'Megalopolis' at the 77th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Friday, May 17, 2024. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)
Giancarlo Esposito, from left, Laurence Fishburne, Nathalie Emmanuel, director Francis Ford Coppola, Adam Driver and Aubrey Plaza pose for photographers at the photo call for the film 'Megalopolis' at the 77th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Friday, May 17, 2024. (Photo by Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP)
Adam Driver, left, and director Francis Ford Coppola pose for photographers at the photo call for the film 'Megalopolis' at the 77th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Friday, May 17, 2024. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)
Director Francis Ford Coppola, left, and Adam Driver pose for photographers at the photo call for the film 'Megalopolis' at the 77th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Friday, May 17, 2024. (Photo by Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP)
Director Francis Ford Coppola poses for photographers at the photo call for the film 'Megalopolis' at the 77th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Friday, May 17, 2024. (Photo by Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP)
Aubrey Plaza, from left, Adam Driver, director Francis Ford Coppola, Nathalie Emmanuel, Laurence Fishburne, and Giancarlo Esposito pose for photographers at the photo call for the film 'Megalopolis' at the 77th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Friday, May 17, 2024. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)
Nathalie Emmanuel, from left, director Francis Ford Coppola, and Aubrey Plaza pose for photographers at the photo call for the film 'Megalopolis' at the 77th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Friday, May 17, 2024. (Photo by Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP)
Director Francis Ford Coppola poses for photographers at the photo call for the film 'Megalopolis' at the 77th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Friday, May 17, 2024. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)
