Rexall and Giant Tiger add new private-label brands

Recently, non-grocery retailers have ramped up their private-label food offerings. Among them: Walmart with “Our Finest” frozen foods and “Your Fresh Market” bakery lines, and Shoppers Drug Mart with its extensive “Simply Food” brand. Now, add two more retailers to that list.

Last week, drugstore operator Rexall unveiled what it is calling a “new flagship private brand” called Be.better that contains a food element. Discount department store chain Giant Tiger, meanwhile, is adding a line called Giant Value to its food shelves.

Rexall’s Be.better brand consists of more than 100 products in four categories: vitamins; household products such as cleaners; beauty products; and snack food such as vegetable crisps.

Each product contains a health or sustainability benefit. For instance, Be.better snacks are high in fibre or low in sodium or gluten-free. Household cleaners are free of artificial dyes and fragrances, with all the ingredients listed on their labels.

“There is an element of better-for-you in these products,” Rexall spokesperson Michelle Lee said.

The Be.better line is carried at some 300 corporate Rexall and Rexall Pharma Plus stores. Key features and benefits of each product are explained next to check marks on the front of packages.

“Our customers have told us they are looking for more options to make it easier to take those small steps towards living better, in every area of their lives. Our new Be.better line provides Canadians with the tools they need to feel good about their choices,” Frank Scorpiniti, CEO of Rexall Pharma Plus, said in a press statement.

Rexall is running a four-week promotion for the new brand, including special introductory pricing. Promotion so far included radio ads, flyers, as well as in-store marketing.

At some Pharma Plus stores this week, end caps of Be.better products were featured under signs that said, “Exclusive products crafted to help you live better.” Staff were wearing Be.better t-shirts.

Giant Tiger meanwhile is in the midst of a soft launch of a new brand of everyday food. The Giant Value lineup covers products such as muffins, donuts, paper towels, frozen entrees, cheese and honey.

At a Giant Tiger store in Toronto this past weekend, Giant Value products like coffee, sugar and bagged cereals were featured sporadically on shelves next to name-brand items. Also on shelves were two more Giant Tiger house food brands: Market Value and Sylvie’s.

On one shelf, a 400-gram jar of Giant Value chocolate and hazelnut spread was priced at $2.47, while a 375-gram Nutalla jar cost $3.87.

Giant Value products feature a check mark logo that is also the letter “V” in the words “Giant Value.”

Ottawa-based Giant Tiger has some 200 stores across Canada. Stores in Western Canada are operated by the North West Company through a franchise agreement with Giant Tiger.