Misfits Market debuts its first private-label line, Odds & Ends

Misfits Market is joining the many retailers going private…label, that is.

The sustainable grocery marketplace today unveiled its first private-label brand, Odds & Ends. Its 12 debut products include whole-bean and ground coffee, dark chocolate-covered mini pretzels, and varieties of organic nuts and dried fruit, priced from $3.99 to $11.99.

Your end of the bargain: The line is a “natural extension” of Misfits’s goal to be an affordable online grocery marketplace, chief strategy officer Kai Selterman told Retail Brew. As food prices continue to rise and consumers are increasingly open to buying private-label products, he said now was the “perfect time” to launch Odds & Ends, which had been in the works for several months.

• In March, food prices increased 8.8% YoY, according to Labor Department data released yesterday. Meanwhile, the Private Label Manufacturers Association said last week that in March, store-brand sales were up 8.3% compared to the same quarter a year ago.

Plus, Selterman believes that Misfits’s curated, cross-category offerings from meat and dairy to wine have helped it establish consumer trust. “Ultimately it comes down to if the customer trusts the retailer to deliver to them, or to offer them something that’s good quality, then why wouldn’t their private-brand goods be the same?”

Owning up: Misfits aims to address “supply-chain inefficiencies” by working directly with farmers and producers and sourcing from different areas—like an upcoming olive oil sourced from Spain—to keep prices low, Selterman noted.

• “We don’t just go out there and buy what everyone else is buying and slap a label on it…We’ve really spent the time and will continue to spend the time to look for ways of doing it a little differently,” he said.

Zoom out: As Misfits debuts its first line, other grocers have been expanding theirs. Foxtrot yesterday announced new private-label products in collaboration with rock band Wilco, while last month, Thrive Market debuted cleaning brand Rosey, and Amazon Fresh added new plant-based products.—EC