Upmarket grocer Waitrose is to launch a value own-label range.
Essential Waitrose is a range of more than 1,400 lines made up of grocery staples “with the quality and welfare standards you would expect from Waitrose – at prices you wouldn’t.”
The range, which launches on Monday 9 March 2009, includes:
• Fruit and vegetables
• Household goods
• Grocery
• Meat
• Fish
• Poultry
All pork products in the Essential Waitrose range are British and outdoor-reared, chicken is British and eggs free-range. Bananas are Fairtrade.
The company said: “Essential Waitrose is designed to make shopping for staple groceries easier for customers.”
Managing director Mark Price said: “Customer research tells us that although we are a destination store for quality products, shopping for our own-label essential items hasn’t been as easy as it could be.”
The range will be made up of 200 new lines as well as existing Waitrose produces, 450 of which will be reduced in price.
Roll-out of the new lines will continue in stores until the end of October, across 98 categories.
