Walmart U.S. Moves to Eliminate Synthetic Dyes Across All Private Brand Food Products
Walmart U.S. Moves to Eliminate Synthetic Dyes Across All Private Brand Food Products
The retailer also intends to eliminate an additional 30 ingredients
BENTONVILLE, Ark.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Walmart U.S. today announced it is moving to eliminate synthetic dyes and the use of an additional 30 ingredients, including certain preservatives, artificial sweeteners, and fat substitutes from its private brand food products. This action is a significant step forward in its ongoing mission to provide customers with affordable, high-quality private brand products.
The change, which includes all Walmart U.S. food private brands such as Great Value, Marketside, Freshness Guaranteed and bettergoods, is in line with evolving customer preferences and in support of a more transparent food system.
“Our customers have told us that they want products made with simpler, more familiar ingredients — and we’ve listened,” said John Furner, President and CEO, Walmart U.S. “By eliminating synthetic dyes and other ingredients, we’re reinforcing our promise to deliver affordable food that families can feel good about.”
The move comes as part of Walmart’s journey to evolve its private brands in response to changing customer preferences. According to a new survey, Walmart customers are increasingly more interested in what’s in their food, with sixty-two percent of customers saying they want more transparency and fifty-four percent saying they review food ingredients.1
This growing trend among customers is in part why last year, the retailer launched bettergoods, a quality-chef-inspired private brand which includes a line of plant-based and “made without” items, with 70% of the items under $5.
While this move is one of the largest private brand reformulations in retail history, it isn’t the first time Walmart has removed ingredients customers don’t want. Today, about 90% of Walmart U.S. food private brand products are free from synthetic dyes.
“This commitment demonstrates how Walmart is responding to changing customer preferences, while also setting the standard for providing exceptional quality and innovation at an outstanding value,” said Furner.
The retailer is working with private brand suppliers to adjust formulations and source alternative ingredients, while preserving the same great taste customers have come to expect. Walmart customers will begin to see the reformulated products rolling out over the coming months, with longer lead time changes planned to wrap up by January 2027 at the latest.
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Data source: Walmart Customer Insights: National Survey July 2025 |
About Walmart
Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT) is a people-led, tech-powered omnichannel retailer helping people save money and live better — anytime and anywhere — in stores, online, and through their mobile devices. Each week, approximately 270 million customers and members visit more than 10,750 stores and numerous eCommerce websites in 19 countries. With fiscal year 2025 revenue of $681 billion, Walmart employs approximately 2.1 million associates worldwide. Walmart continues to be a leader in sustainability, corporate philanthropy, and employment opportunity. Additional information about Walmart can be found by visiting corporate.walmart.com, on Facebook at facebook.com/walmart, on X (formerly known as Twitter) at twitter.com/walmart, and on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/company/walmart.
