Elevating Ingredient Transparency in Retail
Walmart plans to remove synthetic dyes and over 30 extra additives—including certain preservatives, artificial sweeteners, and fat substitutes—from all of its U.S. private brand food lines such as Great Value, Marketside, Freshness Guaranteed, and bettergoods.
The company emphasizes that this reformulation effort aligns with shifting consumer preferences: a growing number of customers want food made from simpler, more familiar components, and many now routinely check ingredient labels.
Behind the scenes, Walmart is collaborating with suppliers to reengineer recipes and identify natural substitutes, with the goal of preserving flavor and product performance.
Positioning a Retailer as an Industry Leader
As one of the nation’s largest food retailers, Walmart’s commitment carries weight. By overhauling its private label portfolio, it sets a precedent for large-scale reformulation across the grocery sector.
Though most of its store-brand foods are already free of synthetic dyes, the new effort aims to standardize this across all products. Reformulated items will gradually appear on shelves over the coming months, with full implementation targeted by January 2027.
A Consumer-Driven Commitment
While the change involves significant technical and supply-chain challenges, Walmart frames it as a response to customer priorities. The company states that shoppers want confidence in what they feed their families, and this step furthers that goal.
Walmart also points to its “bettergoods” brand, launched earlier, which already emphasizes “made without” products and simplified formulations—showing a strategy that dovetails with this broader initiative.
Outlook: Broader Impacts and Next Phases
This reformulation could trigger ripple effects across the food industry: suppliers, ingredient manufacturers, and competing brands may feel increased pressure to adopt cleaner lists. Some major food companies have already committed to dropping petroleum-based artificial colors.
Internally, Walmart intends to keep refining formulations and expand other ingredient commitments as part of its broader quality strategy.
As implementation proceeds, customers can monitor package labels to see which products have been updated—and expect consistent pricing, according to Walmart’s public statements.
For more information, you can read the full press release here: Walmart U.S. Moves To Eliminate Synthetic Dyes Across All Private Brand Food Products