Walmart, Sam’s Club Offer Exclusive Products

Celebrity cook Paula Deen is launching a new line of baked goods this week exclusively at Walmart. The branded product line, which will initially offer Apple Crunch Top, Dark Rum Pecan and Old Fashioned Fudge pies, in addition to Gooey Butter Cake dessert bars, retails for between $3 and $7.50 -- prices that the company’s bakery VP, Scott Neal, said would “enable [shoppers] to save money and live better.”

“With our busy schedules, dessert is sometimes left to mass produced items with less than wholesome ingredients, making it the forgotten part of a good meal,” noted Deen. “We created a line of products using what any good cook would use if they had the time...lots of apples, butter, quality nuts and chocolate ... so consumers can have access to baked goods that are both affordable and tasty when they need a good dessert to bring home to the family or to that special party or event.”

Made with premium ingredients, the line will be expanded in the coming months to include a wide variety of custom-baked products only available at the Bentonville, Ark.-based mega-retailer.

In related news, Function Drinks will debut its Function: Light Weight Multipack this week exclusively at 13 Sam’s Club locations in Colorado and Utah. According to the Redondo Beach, Calif.-based company, the physician-created product’s five-calorie formula, which includes polygonum cuspidatum (a plant rich in resveratrol), the green tea extract EGCG and gymnema extract, helps boost metabolism, curb sugar cravings, and support the body’s natural-calorie-burning abilities. The rollout marks the first time that any of Function’s dietary supplement platforms has been available in a multipack format. Retailing for $14.88, the multipack comes in three flavors: Peach Mango, Acai Pomegranate, and Blueberry Raspberry.

Function’s head of public relations, Annie Imamura, told Progressive Grocer that the item would be exclusive to Sam’s Club until the end of the year, when it would expand to other retailers.