Walmart's New Celebrity-Backed Baby Brand Gets Full Launch Support

Walmart supported last month’s launch of new and exclusive plant-based baby brand Hello Bello with prime merchandising space as well as digital and print activity. Hello Bello taps into the growing clean-ingredient market for baby care and leverages Walmart's price-reducing scale to make the brand affordable. Co-founded with comical acting couple Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard, the celebrity-backed brand launched with 10 items including diapers, personal and home care items, outdoor products and gifts, all ranging in price from $1.88 to $23.94.A walmart.com home-page carousel ad introduced the brand as a Walmart exclusive in late February, promising “premium baby care for happy babies, happy planet.” The ad linked to a brand showcase introducing Bell and Shepard with a promotional video. Paid search ads continue to link to the showcases.An early March circular feature appealed to cost-conscious parents by touting the brand's value.In stores, Hello Bello diapers, wipes and personal care items earn prime secondary merchandising space in the baby department with a colorful, whimsical endcap display that communicates price points as well as brand messages such as “premium for all” and “goodbye bad stuff” and multiple product benefits ranging from plant-based ingredients to cute designs. The display also directs shoppers online for additional designs. Bulk diaper packs, meanwhile, receive a brand block in line.The brand also operates dedicated social media accounts and its own DTC website, where it offers bundled subscriptions at a discounted price. The site links to walmart.com and offers a store finder.With the launch of Hello Bello, Walmart is responding to four lifestyle trends, as Forbes outlined in an article:A shift to sustainability for babies. A shift to niche brands that mean something. A shift in influencer credibility. A shift in expectations to “affordable premium.” “We want to be a destination for parents to get everything they need for baby,” said Melody Richard, vice president of baby at Walmart, in a media release. “Hello Bello is a fantastic addition to our assortment, enabling us to offer a fun, exclusive and affordable option for parents who prefer products made with organic and plant-based ingredients.”Over the last year, Walmart also has expanded its baby assortment while enhancing the shopping experience, which includes a remodeled baby department in more than 2,000 stores and a new shopping destination on walmart.com that helps parents shop curated nursery design styles.Competition is fierce among retailers seeking to win cradle-to-maturity shopper loyalty at birth. In January, for example, Walmart rival Target expanded its own private-label line of baby-care products, Cloud Island, also adding some plant-based items.

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