Unitas to replace Lifestyle own label with Local Living

The Lifestyle own label is to be phased out and replaced by a new value Local Living brand from next month, nearly doubling the existing range.

Ninety products from the existing range, which includes core convenience staples such as sauces, toilet roll, cooking oil, tinned beans, soft drinks and household, will be replaced across several stages. Sixty new lines will also be added, although these are still to be revealed.

John Kinney, managing director of Unitas Wholesale who manages the range, told RN that, while there will be straight swaps, some products will not be replaced. These are to be confirmed.

He added: “The changes aren’t going to happen overnight, and we’ll have to approach it through phases. The brand itself isn’t tired, but we did get feedback that the Lifestyle brand would be advertising branding from another symbol group.

“We wanted to make a significant step change that would be received positively by wholesalers, retailers and customers. The Lifestyle brand needed a bit of a shakeup.”

Kinney added the range will still communicate value to customers through a combination of pricemark and plain-packed products. The existing range offers 30% to 79% shared margin.

Kinney said: ““Local Living will still offer a strong value proposition, especially amid a cost-of-living crisis. Customers will still be able to get access to strong promotions and pricemarks.

“There is a role for third-party brands within Unitas, but we have options to fill gaps where they are unavailable.”

Wholesalers within the Unitas group who currently stock the Lifestyle range include Lioncroft Wholesale, United Wholesale Grocers, Parfetts and Dee Bee Wholesale.

The phasing out of the range comes amid major changes to the Lifestyle brand overall. Last month, RN revealed that Lioncroft Wholesale would be overseeing development of the Lifestyle Express fascia across England, which shares branding with the own label. United Wholesale Grocers still has oversite of the fascia across Scotland.