Supermarket operator Waitrose has become the latest UK retailer to respond to growing concerns about price among British consumers with the launch of a new cross-category, private label discount range.
The new brand, essential Waitrose, includes over 1,400 individual grocery lines, offering the same quality and welfare standards but at a reduced price.
The range has been introduced across the country today and spans the majority of Waitrose aisles, from fruit and vegetables to household goods, grocery to meat, fish and poultry.
In the fresh produce department, initially the following products will form part of the range: essential Waitrose blackberries (150g), priced £1.99; essential Waitrose strawberries (400g), £1.74; and essential Waitrose salad cress, £0.27 per pack.
The range will be made up of 200 new lines as well as existing Waitrose products, 450 of which will be reduced in price. Products will continue to be launched in stores until the end of October this year across 98 categories.
According to Waitrose, the price reductions do not imply the supermarket has compromised on quality standards or sourcing integrity. All bananas are Fairtrade, for example, while all UK fruit and vegetables will continue to be LEAF accredited.
Under a new pack design carrying the essential Waitrose brand, the company's new range is designed to make shopping for staple groceries easier for its customers.
The move marks a significant shift in policy for a food retailer that has in recent times traded primarily on quality and welfare standards rather than on price.
'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,' said Waitrose managing director Mark Price.
'Waitrose own label lines have always been produced to a superior quality and even sold as a stand-alone brand in quality supermarkets throughout the world,' he continued. 'essential Waitrose effectively combines the quality our customers have come to expect and the reassurance of Waitrose values, together with affordable prices and an easily recognisable brand.'
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