Dive Brief:

• Brandless on Wednesday announced an expansion of its wellness products, including 17 items ranging from organic superfood powders and organic vitamins to non-GMO supplements and essential oils, according to press materials emailed to Retail Dive.

• Prices range between $4 for the Tea Tree essential oils and hair, skin and nail supplements, to $15 for a seven-day herbal cleanse kit. Vitamins and several powders are priced at $9. Those are all above the $3 price tag Brandless had on products across the board up until January.

• Brandless views health and wellness as a major category opportunity, especially since the types of products offered generally come at higher price points, the company said. It's also leaning on data that show between 2015 and 2017, wellness grew from a $3.7 trillion to $4.2 trillion market.

Dive Insight:

This is the latest in a series of category expansions for Brandless, which in January launched in pet and baby. That also heralded the moment that the company opened up its pricing above the $3 price tag that previously accompanied all products. To a certain extent, that consistent price also played into the marketing of Brandless. During a pop-up physical experience last year, shelf signs read: "Don't bother checking prices, it's all $3!" Now, that's not the case.

Regarding the launch into pet and baby in January, former CEO and founder Tina Sharkey told Retail Dive that over 90% of the company's product assortment was still priced at $3. "If we were making a car or a plane, which we're not, it wouldn't be $3, but Brandless is about high quality at remarkable affordable value," she said.

Brandless is also about giving customers what they want. At the end of 2018, the company offered about 400 products, and the plan is to double that by the end of 2019 by focusing on new categories that customers have been asking for, Sharkey said. "We're really reimagining the purchase funnel. It's like an infinity love loop," she said. "So we're constantly in conversation in spots incorporating them into everything we do."

Sharkey said pet and baby were categories that shoppers were asking for since the brand launched, about a year and a half ago. The push into health and wellness now, targets a growing demand from customers for better-for-you home essentials as well as health supplements.