Rite Aid debuts Ello Market food brand

Drug store chain Rite Aid has expanded its own-brand roster with a new food line called Ello Market.

The Ello Market brand offers over 100 snack and pantry items, ranging from candy, nuts and trail mixes to honey and cooking spices, Rite Aid said Tuesday. The Philadelphia-based retailer did a soft-launch of Ello Market in stores mid-August and then debuted the new brand online this week. Plans call for more product additions to the line in 2024.

Rite Aid noted that Ello Market is designed to provide a palette of flavors and healthy options at an affordable price for those seeking a tasty nosh or ways to enhance a meal. The brand's products are grouped in “Core,” “Better For You” and “Indulgent” segments and come in resealable bags, containers, cans and jars.

Snacks currently make up the bulk of Ello Market’s offerings and include such treats as protein, probiotic and tropical trail mixes (bags); savory bar mix, salted deluxe mixed nuts and lightly salted roasted cashews (plastic containers); raw pecan halves and butter toffee peanuts (cans); dry roasted unsalted/salted peanuts (jars); and peppermint starlights, mini gummy butterflies and peach rings candy (bags).

Grocery items for Ello Market include pure honey in a 12-oz. squeezable plastic bottle as well as ground black pepper and onion powder in 2-oz. jars.

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“We’ve been paying close attention to consumption habits to ensure our offerings fulfill the needs and desires of our customers,” Pamela Kohn, senior vice president and chief merchandising officer at Rite Aid, said in a statement. “We’re excited to bring Ello Market to our stores and introduce shoppers to a line where quality snacks meet unbeatable value.”

Ello Market-branded grocery offerings include honey and cooking spices like black pepper and onion powder. / Photo courtesy of Rite Aid

Overall, Rite Aid fields 10 brands and more than 4,000 SKUs in its private-label portfolio. In grocery, Ello Market joins Rite Aid private brands such as Big Win (food, beverages, household and nonfood items), Thrifty ice cream and Crystal Lake water beverages, as well as the Rite Aid store brand (general merchandise). Other company labels include Pawtown (pet care); Simplify (housewares, household goods and nonfood consumables); Daylogic (health, beauty and personal care); Ryshi (beauty and personal care); Tugaboos (disposable diapers and baby care); and Rite Aid over-the-counter health and personal care products.

Food remains an anchor category in the front end as Rite Aid and other drug retailers look to enhance their convenience positioning by taking advantage of proximity and location, as their stores often serve as grocery destinations in urban areas and communities with few supermarket options. Inflation-weary customers also have developed a bigger appetite for private-brand food with attractive pricing and high quality, while health-conscious shoppers are seeking more wholesome offerings.

Related:Rite Aid appoints Jeanniey Walden as chief marketing officer

For fiscal 2023, front-end sales at Rite Aid totaled about $5.08 billion and accounted for 28.6% of the company’s retail pharmacy sales of $17.79 billion. The front-end figure encompassed general merchandise and other (13.6% of retail pharmacy sales)—ostensibly including food and groceries—plus OTC medicines and personal care (10.9%) and health and beauty aids (4.3%). Prescription drugs represented 71.2% of Rite Aid’s retail pharmacy top line.

*Editor's Note: Article updated with more information about Ello Market.