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Fresh Thyme Market, the Midwest-based natural grocer, has announced a comprehensive relaunch of its "Own Brand" portfolio. The strategic overhaul includes new trend-forward product development, a unified packaging redesign, and an aggressive commercial target: doubling its private label penetration over the next two years.

The relaunch signals a significant shift in the retailer's merchandising strategy, moving to elevate its store brands from budget alternatives to premium, "clean label" destinations that compete directly with leading natural CPG brands.

'Clean Label' Guardrails and Category Focus

As part of the portfolio expansion, Fresh Thyme has instituted strict formulation standards across its entire Own Brand architecture. The retailer confirmed that all products under the private label banner will be free from more than 100 unwanted ingredients, including artificial preservatives, sweeteners, flavours, and artificially derived colors.

The initial rollout will focus on deepening penetration and expanding the Natural and Organic assortments within key high-traffic departments:

• Grocery (Centre Store)

• Produce

• Frozen

"We're excited to deliver healthier, more balanced solutions that inspire discovery and bring fresh ideas and products to every aisle," said Alex Peters, Own Brand Manager at Fresh Thyme Market. "With our Owned Brands products, shoppers can explore new flavours and ingredients that elevate everyday meals without extra cost, complexity or compromise."

A Strategic Opportunity for Co-Manufacturers

Crucially for the B2B sector, the aggressive growth target relies heavily on expanding its manufacturing network. Fresh Thyme stated it is actively seeking new supplier partners to help build out these curated assortments.

The grocer is specifically looking for co-manufacturers capable of delivering high-quality, local, and organic products that align with its revitalised "better-for-you" brand strategy.

Liz Zolcak, President of Fresh Thyme Market, highlighted the overarching goal of the program: "Our Own Brand products are delivering the same high quality our customers know and love. We're committed to cleaner ingredients, organic and free-from options whenever possible, and responsibly sourced products all while creating an experience and community our customers feel connected to."

Visual Identity and Merchandising

To support the expanded product pipeline, Fresh Thyme has redesigned its packaging to unify the portfolio under a single, trusted visual identity. The modernised look is engineered to improve shelf navigation and make the retailer's healthier choices immediately identifiable, creating a strong "brand block" effect across multiple store aisles.

For private label manufacturers and ingredient suppliers, Fresh Thyme’s strategic pivot represents a major opportunity to secure volume in the lucrative Midwest natural grocery channel as the retailer aggressively builds out its new trend-led assortments.