RELATED: If You Shop at Walmart, Get Ready for These Major Changes. One noteworthy aspect of wholesale clubs is access to their unique brands, including Sam’s Club’s Member’s Mark and Costco’s Kirkland Signature brand. According to Kiplinger, while Costco’s products are branded as Kirkland Signature, they’re actually manufactured by big-name companies—so if you see a Kirkland logo on batteries, they may actually be made by Duracell thanks to their partnership. Originally advertised as a way for members to save money, these “house brands” (also known as generics) allow you to get quality products without the price tag associated with brand-name products, TheStreet notes. While not a wholesale club, Target is another big name that has capitalized on its house brands, having recently launched an initiative to make these products “distinctive and higher-end,” according to TheStreet. Now, Sam’s Club is following suit and making moves to improve different aspects of its Member’s Mark line. According to a press release from Sam’s Club, the Member’s Mark brand is getting a makeover. The line will now be “Made with Our Member and Planet in Mind,” the company said of the brand’s new identity. Utilizing “trend-right innovation,” Member’s Mark items will maintain their quality, but will now take both people and the planet into consideration, according to the press release. Simply put, the company is becoming more focused on having a positive impact and becoming more sustainable, much like its parent company Walmart. This is otherwise known as a “regenerative brand.”
RELATED: For more up-to-date information, sign up for our daily newsletter. Shoppers should be aware that Member’s Mark products will look different as a result of this new initiative. Labels will now have a new logo and a “subtle checkmark” that you can expect to see on packaging over the next 18 months. The company also plans to remove certain ingredients from Member’s Mark food and consumable products, including high fructose corn syrup and aspartame, which are noted on the Member’s Mark Made Without List.ae0fcc31ae342fd3a1346ebb1f342fcb “The Sam’s Club member is at the center of everything we do, so as we continue to evolve the Member’s Mark brand, we intend to develop items that are reflective of the ingredients, processes, and materials they want—and don’t want—in their products,” Prathibha Rajashekhar, senior vice president of Private Brands and Sourcing at Sam’s Club, said in the press release. “Now, as we introduce new Member’s Mark items and renovate existing ones, we are making decisions that not only focus on quality, innovation and value, but on the impact we are making on the world around us.” Since 2020, Sam’s Club stated they have introduced and renovated over 1,200 items, and the Fair Trade Certified Member’s Mark Colombian Supremo Coffee is one product that has been reevaluated to include sustainable qualities. The company also has a full list of aspirations for the brand, which they plan to set in motion by 2025. These include using better textiles and practices, eliminating antibiotics from poultry, and focusing on sustainably sourced seafood, among other goals. Working with the Walmart Sustainability team, Sam’s Club also anticipates making better use of the My Member’s Mark Community, which includes 40,000 Sam’s Club members who provide feedback on different products at different stages. RELATED: Costco Will No Longer Let You Do This in Stores, as of This Week.
