Walmart Store has announced the launch of the "Matcha Season" collection under its private label, Marketside. The lineup spans bakery, snacks, dairy, beverages, ice cream and other categories, comprising dozens of products. Rooted in the brand's philosophy of "Simple Freshness," the new products feature matcha from premium growing regions such as Tongren in Guizhou Province and Jingshan in Zhejiang Province, with upgraded formulations and process innovations designed to balance health-consciousness with seasonal flavors.

Customer-Centric: Precision Tiering Expands Category Breadth and Depth

Walmart Store has developed a tiered product matrix tailored to varying levels of matcha preference, aiming to deliver a fresh experience across different consumption occasions. For those new to matcha or preferring lighter notes, the brand has created combinations with jasmine, white chocolate and cheese to balance the natural bitterness of matcha. For devoted matcha enthusiasts, the collection uses higher-grade matcha from more concentrated origins, minimizing other ingredients to preserve the authentic tea aroma and lingering aftertaste.

In terms of category breadth, Marketside has for the first time achieved a full-scenario coverage of matcha flavor. Beyond bakery, beverages, ice cream and pastries, it has developed innovative offerings such as matcha jasmine corn flakes, dark chocolate bitter matcha crunch, extra-strong matcha, and thousand-mesh matcha red bean spread with pistachio spread.

This granular, on-the-ground product development approach draws on deep customer insights, astute market trend forecasting and strong differentiation capabilities from the Marketside team. The bakery merchandising team includes Walmart veterans with decades of sourcing and supply chain management experience, as well as specialists who have served as executive pastry chefs in five-star hotels and Michelin-starred restaurants.

Sourcing Across China: Premium Matcha Origins from Tongren to Jingshan

Adopting a "dual-origin" sourcing strategy, Marketside selects high-quality tea gardens in Tongren, Guizhou, and Jingshan, Zhejiang, both of which undergo more than 100 pesticide residue tests. The brand has also introduced organic matcha and selections from the Fanjingshan production area to offer more choices. Matcha from the Tongren area, known for its deep, vibrant green color, pairs exceptionally well with cheese, milk and chocolate, making it the base for many products, including ice cream. Jingshan matcha, recognized as the birthplace of Chinese matcha, carries deeper cultural significance and is a preferred choice for matcha connoisseurs. Marketside has incorporated it into products such as matcha salted cheese milk tea and dark chocolate bitter matcha crunch.

Upgraded Formulations and Processes with Globally Sourced Premium Ingredients

Marketside has adhered to its core principle of clean, simple ingredients throughout the Matcha Season collection. The shelf-stable matcha pudding features a streamlined formula with no added preservatives. The matcha-filled rice cracker uses trehalose instead of white sugar and is produced with infant-grade manufacturing technology. The matcha jasmine corn flakes contain seven-infusion jasmine petals. The matcha latte instant mix contains only four ingredients: matcha, milk powder, sugar and cheese. The low-sugar matcha fresh milk latte coffee is sweetened with monk fruit extract, while the thousand-mesh matcha red bean spread has 25 percent less fat compared to similar products, balancing indulgence with health.

Customer feedback has been the most dynamic and effective source of product development inspiration. Marketside continuously listens to customer voices and channels them into product development cycles. An earlier product, the dark chocolate oat crisp sandwich (which gained traction among fitness enthusiasts as a clean-ingredient meal replacement), directly inspired the creation of the dark chocolate bitter matcha crunch sibling product. With a base of 65 percent dark chocolate and sugar-free oats, the new item contains nearly 20 percent nuts and seeds from globally sourced regions, including Australian almond pieces, Canadian flax seeds and Mexican chia seeds.

Ultimate Craftsmanship: Catering to the Discerning Matcha Connoisseur

Beyond mainstream tastes, Walmart Store has turned its attention to high-end matcha connoisseurs who demand precise flavor notes, layered textures and exacting craftsmanship. The extra-strong matcha powder, sourced from the thousand-mesh grade of the Fanjingshan area in Tongren, undergoes an 11-step production process — from shading to grinding — including 20 days of shading before harvest to reduce bitterness synthesis, hand-selection of spring buds, high-temperature steam fixation and low-temperature airflow ball milling to retain the vivid green color and natural aroma. With no sugar or milk added, it delivers a rich umami flavor reminiscent of nori and evokes the orthodox tea-whisking tradition of the Tang and Song dynasties.

The matcha ice cream, cold-formulated for precise granularity and aroma, uses a custom-blended thousand-mesh matcha with theanine levels exceeding national standards, ensuring a smooth bitterness followed by a clean, sweet finish and a pronounced umami flavor. Low-temperature grinding and nitrogen packaging preserve chlorophyll. For the bakery category, the matcha tiramisu cup eschews the gelatin-set method commonly used in China in favor of the traditional Italian technique: matcha infusion in place of coffee liquid, relying on the natural integration of mascarpone and egg custard to achieve a silky texture.

Other new products in the lineup include matcha cream puffs, matcha white chocolate probiotic Swiss roll, matcha jasmine mille crêpes and matcha doughnuts — all adhering to the same principles of simple ingredients, fresh raw materials, regional sourcing and fresh execution.

Customer First: The Enduring Strategic Point and Product Logic

Always putting the customer first has long been Walmart Store's strategic touchstone and the foundational logic behind Marketside product development. From Tongren to Jingshan, from extra-strong matcha to custom-blended ice cream to traditionally crafted tiramisu cups, Marketside integrates premium regionally sourced ingredients with global counterparts, translating the "Simple Freshness" brand proposition into tangible products and experiences. Moving forward, Marketside will continue to explore more premium origins, using meticulously sourced ingredients and exacting processes to build differentiated products that deliver on the promise of "save money, live better."