Dive Brief:
- Walmart has launched a clean beauty shop, the retailer said in a company blog post on Thursday. It includes more than 900 products, with almost 80% of them selling for under $10, and the retailer plans to expand the offering over the years.
- Dubbed “Clean Beauty at Walmart,” the platform offers products without more than 1,200 ingredients, per the website. The formulated without list includes acetone, aluminum and aluminum salts, lead, talc, vitamin A and D3, phthalates, parabens and more.
- Walmart’s vice president of beauty, Creighton Kiper, said in the post that the retailer consulted state and federal regulations, suppliers, the Environmental Defense Fund and others to decide which ingredients to filter out of the clean beauty offering.
Dive Insight:
Walmart is courting conscious shoppers with the launch of a new clean beauty platform that prioritizes a low price point. Products on the platform as of Friday include makeup brushes, face wash, toner, hair regrowth treatment, acrylic nails, acne patches, mascara and lip liner.
While the big-box retailer is starting with a formulated without list of more than 1,200 ingredients, the company’s definition of what counts as clean will evolve over time, Kiper said. The beauty platform builds on a broader effort to become a “regenerative company” that has a net positive impact, Senior Vice President of Sustainability Jane Ewing said in the blog post.
“Our customers want to buy products that reflect their values, and for many customers, that means providing greater transparency into product formulations and products made without certain ingredients,” Ewing said.
Walmart has made a larger bid for beauty shoppers in the past couple of years, launching a beauty accelerator last year to invest in up-and-coming beauty brands. The retailer’s first Walmart Start cohort included a nail brand, a perfume brand, two hair care brands and a skin care and wellness company. The big-box giant also partnered with British beauty retailer Space NK last year to bring a selection of products to 250 stores and online.
But Walmart has competition from rival Target as well, which has invested heavily in its beauty shopping experience. Target in February announced it would add thousands of new products to its beauty assortment, with a majority of them priced at less than $10. That’s in addition to a partnership with Ulta that has brought beauty shop-in-shops to hundreds of Target stores.
Clean beauty in particular has been a focus point for the industry, as shoppers push for more sustainable choices and ingredient transparency. Over the years, retailers from Ulta and Sephora to Neiman Marcus and Target have all launched programs aimed at highlighting “clean” products for shoppers. But the search for environmentally friendly products has been muddled by confusing, and sometimes misleading, marketing claims from retailers. The Federal Trade Commission in December indicated it’s hoping to dispel some of that confusion with potential updates to its Green Guides for environmental marketing claims.
