Amazon Courts Bargain Hunters With New Private Grocery Label

Amazon is merging two of its private-label brands to attract bargain-hunting grocery shoppers.

The company launched Amazon Grocery, a new private-label brand combining its Amazon Fresh and Happy Belly brands, according to a Wednesday (Oct. 1) press release. Most products are priced at less than $5.

“With Amazon Grocery, we’re simplifying how customers discover and shop our extensive private-label food selection while maintaining the quality and value our customers expect and deserve,” Jason Buechel, vice president of Amazon Worldwide Grocery Stores and CEO of Whole Foods Market, said in the release. “During a time when consumers are particularly price-conscious, Amazon Grocery delivers more than 1,000 quality grocery items across all categories that don’t compromise on quality or taste—from fresh food items to crave-worthy snacks and pantry essentials—all at low, competitive prices that help customers stretch their grocery budgets further.”

Amazon’s private-label brands have gained momentum, with shoppers buying 15% more private-brand products in 2024 compared to the prior year on Amazon.com, Whole Foods Market and Amazon Fresh, the release said.

That mirrors the larger grocery world, Birdzi CEO and co-founder Shekar Raman told PYMNTS in March.

“Major retailers have aggressively expanded their private-label assortments,” Raman said. “Beyond the budget-friendly items shoppers expect, retailers have tapped into premium, organic and specialty segments. At the same time, economic pressures and inflation have pushed shoppers to find creative ways to cut costs, making private-label products an increasingly attractive choice.”

The PYMNTS Intelligence report “Why Paycheck-to-Paycheck Consumers Can’t Weather a $2,000 Shock” found that in August, 68% of consumers in the United States were living paycheck to paycheck. It’s “a number that leaves little room for error when an unexpected bill arrives,” PYMNTS reported Sept. 23.

Amazon’s private-label announcement came a week after the company said it is shuttering its Fresh grocery stores in the United Kingdom to focus on digital grocery sales in the U.K. as consumers increasingly go online to find groceries and household essentials.

“Amazon U.K.’s growth in the grocery category is outpacing the rest of our U.K. business: hundreds of millions of everyday essentials were delivered the same or next day in the U.K. in 2024—an increase of nearly 20% year over year,” the company said in a Sept. 23 blog post.