The Formula For Savings
Safeway Stores sells Toddler Formula with Iron under its Mom to Mom line. Walmart sells infant formula to compare to national brand products and BPA free feeding bottles under its Parent’s Choice line.
Store brand formula and bulk-sized buys are a parent’s winning formula for savings.
From tiny shoes to tempting toys, with all the adorable items on the market for children, spending money on baby basics can be a bore for consumers. Luckily, store brands save them money on necessary items so parents have more money to treat their little ones and themselves.
The Right Formula
Store brand formula options vary from store to store. Safeway Stores, Pleasanton, CA, sells under its Mom to Mom line of baby products, Toddler Formula with Iron. The formula is intended for 9-24 month-olds as a supplement to solid food and as an alternative to cow’s milk. Mom to Mom is the new and improved Safeway brand of baby products. According to the website: “It was created using the shared wisdom of the real experts in caring for babies: moms like you and me. Using our insights and real-life experiences, Mom to Mom developed more functional high-quality products to make our life as moms easier and more fulfilling.”
Walmart, Bentonville, AR, stores carry infant formula to compare to national brand products, like the Parent’s Choice Infant Formula With Iron to compare to Enfamil Lipil & Similac Advance. The Parent’s Choice line offers BPA Free feeding bottles now in multiple sizes and designs, such as orange, red and pink hearts. At $0.97 they are an affordable way to provide babies with the best care.
A recent circular from Walgreens Co., Deerfield, IL, advertised all Walgreens brand infant formula or wipes at “buy 1 get 1 50% off.” This sale included Infant Formula, 24 or 25.75 oz, and 64 to 77-count packs of W Comfort-Smooth Wipes.
Walgreens takes advantage of the growing baby electrolytes category with these new W brand Pediatric Electrolyte Strips that come in a two pack of tiny cassettes.
The W Comfort-Smooth Wipes compare to Papers, but W brand Renew Naturals Baby Wipes are biodegradable. The 60-count of wipes are made with organically grown bamboo, are chlorine and alcohol free, hypoallergenic and retail at $3.19. The green package has an illustration of a panda with its baby on the label and a tagline on the back reads: “Caring for your baby’s most sensitive skin and the environment they will grow up in.”
Another noteworthy new item on shelves at Walgreens is W brand Pediatric Electrolyte Strips. The orange or grape flavor strips dissolve instantly to replenish electrolytes in sick children. Two 20-stip cassettes retail at $5.99. Of the traditional W Pediatric Drink six-pack, a reviewer on the Walgreens website said she gives her daughter the drink and “she likes the Walgreens brand just as much as she likes the name brand.” Walgreens Pediatric Electrolyte (33.8oz) was recently on sale in store for two for $6.00, while the same size Pedialyte retails at $5.99. Store brand baby electrolytes can be found in most stores now and is a growing category. According to IRI, sales of private label baby electrolytes in drug and mass merchandisers (excluding Wal-Mart, Club stores and Gas/Cstores) rose just over 11% to $38.5 million, with only a 4.54% unit share, according to the last 52 weeks ending February 21, 2010.
New at Rite Aid
Rite Aid, Harrisburg, PA, recently introduced its new private brand baby care line Tugaboos.
The new baby care line is part of Rite Aid's plan to revamp its entire private brand program with a new look, new brands and additional offerings to meet the needs of the value-driven consumer.
Tugaboos uses new diaper design technology for additional absorbency and leakage protection. The line includes jumbo and overnight diapers and trainers and is hypoallergenic. Creams, lotions and wipes are among the products that will be added to the line of Tugaboos baby care products.
The line is promoted on Rite Aid’s website where parents can watch short informational videos about Tugaboos-Premium Diapers and Tugaboos Training Pants on Rite Aid's Video Values. Consumers can earn $1 off coupons for watching videos through the online savings program. Videos on the site can be viewed by brand, category or manufacturer. Customers also receive a $5.00 Rite Aid coupon when they earn 20 video credits.
A Super Value
Walgreens W Comfort-Smooth Wipes compare to Papers and protect sensitive skin, but the W Renew Naturals Baby Wipes are biodegradable and protect the environment.
Parents change an average of 2,000 to 3,000 diapers each year before their child is toilet-trained, causing many moms to quickly become experts in diapers.
To appeal to knowledgeable moms, Supervalu, Eden Prairie, MN, is now promoting its “new & improved” Baby Basics diapers, which it claims provide better leak protection, improved fit and cost-savings, and have a comfier, extra-soft interior.
“Our new and improved Baby Basics diapers have shown in third-party testing that they offer the same quality and performance as national brands but at a noticeably lower cost,” said Kristin Parsons, Baby Basics brand manager.
“With so many families trying to make smart decisions in this economy, we believe that they will appreciate not only the cost-savings that the Baby Basics brand provides, but also the convenience of shopping for all of their baby essentials at their neighborhood grocery store. Our new Baby Basics diapers are further evidence of our commitment to providing our shoppers with the quality and value they are seeking.”
Baby Basics diapers are available at the company’s family of grocery stores and come at a time when nearly half (46 percent) of consumers are buying store brands in categories, such as diapers, where they previously only purchased national brands, according to a December 2009 study conducted by GfK Roper for the Private Label Manufacturers Association. The company reports that the brand will soon introduce a new and improved national-brand-equivalent training pant, which will feature re-closeable sides and be comparable to Huggies and Pull-Ups.
Buying in bulk means big savings for moms. The 82-pack of size four diapers, for example, is packaged in a bright green box with a picture of a happy baby wearing a hat. The upper corner notes it is the value pack and a bright yellow and red sticker reads “New & Improved!” The box costs shoppers just $16.99 at Acme, while Huggies Little Movers size four box of diapers, shelved next to the store brand, sold for $19.99 and contains 18 less diapers.
More Big Buys
For busy parents who prefer to save time by shopping online, the website of Babies ‘R’ Us, Wayne, NJ, recently offered “Free shipping on your baby purchase of $100 or more (up to $25),” excluding baby toys. This is a huge savings when you factor in the time it would take to pack up the little ones and shop the store. Babies ‘R’ Us’s club box sizes make it easy to hit a $100, while getting a long-lasting supply of necessities like diapers and wipes. For example, a mother can find Babies ‘R’ Us Supreme Baby Wipes for newborns for just $12.99 for a 528-count club box. The store brand 96-count box of Supreme Diapers for newborns is priced at $17.99. The diapers have a safari print, stretchable grip tabs and a hypoallergenic liner containing Vitamin E, aloe and zinc, ingredients found in popular rash ointments.
The website also has many customer reviews and in March a reviewer from DC said of the Supreme Baby Wipes club box: “I urge all of you busy, frugal moms out there to give these wipes a try. I used to buy all the name brand wipes until I saw the value of these one day. I tried them and I will never look back. They are convenient for me because of the solo packs. These packs have the hard flip top and the soft body which makes them ideal for stuffing into a diaper bag or sending them to daycare when their stock runs low. The solo pack also eliminates the need to keep around the hard bodies wiper holder, which constantly needs to be refilled.”
Babies ‘R’ Us also offers an innovative product, the Especially for Baby Wipe Warmer, which features a built-in changing light with auto shut off and works with all brand wipes. The product retailed at $24.99 and was found under “Top Sellers” on the website.
Toys ‘R’ Us, introduced an exclusive line of baby essentials marketed under its Babies ‘R’ Us brand name last year. Babies ‘R’ Us branded products began arriving in Toys ‘R’ Us and Babies ‘R’ stores in late 2009 with the introduction of a variety of powdered infant formulas, diapers, wipes, laundry detergent and purified water. “The Babies ‘R’ Us line of essentials provides our value-conscious shoppers with a lower-priced alternative that matches the quality of other trusted brands in our stores,” said Jerry Storch, chairman and CEO of Toys ‘R’ Us.
Costco Wholesale, Issaquah, WA, recently offered a $5 manufacturer’s discount off Kirkland Signature Supreme Diapers on its website. Online, the prices of the diapers range from $39.99 to $49.99 for 135-216 diapers per box, depending on the diaper size. Previously Costco offered a free sample of the diapers online. The sample shipped to Private Label quickly and two diapers came in a pack advertising they were “Exclusively from Costco Wholesale.” The diapers feature cartoon monkeys and read “Kirkland” on the waistband.
The diapers get excellent reviews on Costco’s website. One review says, “I have been very pleased with the new and improved Kirkland diapers. The look and feel seems much better than before.”
Another wrote, “I honestly questioned buying these diapers because they are fairly cheap compared to Pampers and Huggies when you see how many you’re getting... But, I have not bought any other diapers. They’re amazing.”
Costco also has icons below each review allowing customers to instantly share them on Facebook, Twitter, Delicious and Digg.
Kirkland Signature Baby Wipes come in one of the largest quantities we’ve seen yet. The 900-count box was advertised online for $23.99 after a $4 off discount. The wipes are made of Tencel fabric and are made from 100% renewable resources. According to Costco, Tencel is made from the cellulose inside trees, which is naturally absorbent and renewable. The trees are grown on non-arable land without the need for pesticides or fertilizers and the manufacturing process is environmentally responsible because it effectively uses, recapture and reuses resources such as water. The wipes are biodegradable, which creates a natural, sustainable cycle.
According to The Costco Connection, Tencel is a proprietary fiber, which means no other baby wipes will feature this all-natural product. The wipes were introduced in 2009 and each of the packs has a barcode so that small-shop owners can resell the packages. However, green isn’t always better. Consumer reviews on the website were mixed and some said they preferred the old cotton wipes better: “As many have already expressed, the new Kirkland wipes are nowhere near as nice as the old ones.”
But some still enjoyed the switch. As one reviewer pointed out: “I totally don’t get all the negative reviews. I’ve used the previous Kirkland wipes as well as organic wipes. My daughter suffers from chronic severe diaper rash. Most diapers and wipes are terrible on her bottom. The previous Kirkland wipes were great and I find that the new Kirkland wipes are just as great.”
From Sears Holdings, Hoffman Estates, IL, K-Mart’s Little Ones includes a range of items, such as baby oil, nite-bath, detangler and lotion. A bulk pack of 240 Little Ones scented baby wipes with aloe retails for $6.15 and comes in a green package with three 80-count refill packages inside. The hypoallergenic, alcohol-free wipes would cost shoppers $1.30 more if they were to buy the same bulk product as individual packs. Under the American Fare line, an 80-count of unscented Clean Cloths with aloe in a hard container retails for $2.99.
