Wal-Mart Launches Gourmet Food Subscription Service

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is now playing in all retail segments, this week launching a specialty food business called Goodies Co., a monthly food subscription service for consumers “to savor delectable foods and discover new items,” the retailer said in a company announcement.

For $7 a month, including tax and shipping, subscribers will receive a gift box at their doorstep filled with five to eight hand-picked taster samples ranging from healthy and organic to artisan and ethnic. The new Goodies Co. box was created by the retailer’s @WalmartLabs. Wal-Mart has been testing Goodies Co. for the last few months with more than 3,000 users across the United States.

“We continue to experiment with new offerings to delight our customers and leave them with a smile,” said Ravi Raj, vice president of products @WalmartLabs. “With Goodies Co., subscribers have the pleasure of opening a box filled with delicious treats every month that they like or may never have tried before. Great value combined with a community of food lovers and the sheer surprise of what a box might hold makes Goodies Co. a compelling offering.”

Each month, treats are arranged into a thematic selection, such as “Flavors Around the World” and “Trick-or-Treat Sweets” for Halloween. November’s Thanksgiving theme is “Easy Entertaining,” complete with gourmet foods such as wine biscuits, pumpkin soufflé mix, dark-chocolate-infused quinoa bars and white cheddar popcorn, among others. The items arrive in a gift box with an information card that describes each food in detail.

“The Goodies Co. box is packed with high-quality foods that I would not have found elsewhere at a price that is unmatched,” said Jason Coleman of Gadsden, Ala., a Goodies Co. beta tester who hosts a food video podcast at BevNerd.com. “The themes make me look forward to opening my Goodies box to discover what is inside every month. It’s a great way to taste and experience new foods in a fun and healthy way.”

Users can sign up for the service at www.goodies.co. After they sign up, their name is placed in line to receive an invitation to join the Goodies community. Once an invite is received and the user completes the subscription, they can receive their first Goodies Co. box within weeks. The service is only available in the continental United States.

Goodies Co. offer a large assortment of products for a price that is almost 50 percent less than the total value of the items if they were purchased separately. For example, the total price for all of the items in the November box would be approximately $15 compared to the Goodies Co. $7 price. When subscribers discover a product they like, they can purchase full-size versions right from the Goodies Co. website.  

Goodies Co. creates a social community online where subscribers can post reviews to earn loyalty points, which can be redeemed for future boxes or items.

Goodies Co. is the latest in a series of innovations from @WalmartLabs. In the last year, the group has unveiled Polaris, a search engine built from the ground up and used on Walmart.com; Shopycat, a social gift finder; Classrooms by Wal-Mart, a program to make back-to-school shopping easer; Get on the Shelf, a crowd-sourcing contest to unearth new products for Wal-Mart; and Social Media Analytics, tools that use social chatter to select items to be carried by Wal-Mart.