Amazon.com, Inc. now sells its own private-label foods on its website, and the names of its two new brands are actually pretty cute, ya'll.
The online retailer quietly began offering whole-bean and ground coffee under its new Happy Belly label starting the week of June 27; additionally, two new flavors of bottled baby foods are being sold under its new Mama Bear brand.
Amazon says its coffee is sold either in pre-ground or whole bean form, and sourced from Central and South America. Its website describes each Happy Belly blend as "crafted from sustainably sourced Fair trade certified organic Arabica beans, grown by small-scale farmers in high-altitude tropical climates."
Bags of 12-ounce Happy Belly coffee run $9.99 each (that’s about $3 less than Starbuck’s French roast in a similar size), while a dozen 4-ounce jars of Mama Bear’s apple blueberry organic baby food costs $12.49 (approximate $.50 more than a variety 12-pack of Earth’s Best brand organic baby food from Hain Celestial Group Inc., The Wall Street Journal reports).
A company spokesperson confirmed to CNet that the products are currently only available to the $99-per-year Amazon Prime members in the U.S.; they declined to say whether more private-label foods will appear on the website in the future.
The switch into private-label brands enables the e-commerce giant a chance to test new products with considerably higher profit margins. According to The Wall Street Journal, Amazon also stands to save money on costs related to shipping, brand development, and marketing.