At a time when families need to make every penny count, Walmart has relaunched its Great Value brand in the U.S.

More than 80 new products were introduced last month and the formulas for 750 were changed based on consumer tests that compared the flavor, aroma, texture, color and appearance of Great Value products against leading national brands.

Some of the reformulated products include breakfast cereal, cookies, yogurt, laundry detergent and paper towels. New products include thin crust pizza, ice cream and yogurt flavors, organic eggs and teriyaki beef jerky.

The new emphasis on its own brands may have national brands quaking in their kitchens. In a recent study, more consumers, now faced with financial uncertainty, are buying store brands—three out of 10—and 77% reported store brands were “as good as, if not better than, national brands,” according to GfK Customer Research North America.

Walmart redesigned the look of its brand packaging to be more consistent so consumers can easily identify it on shelves across the store. The quality of the food photography was improved to make the products more visually appealing. And in a signal of the confidence the company has in its own brands, a quality monitoring program has been put in place to continually evaluate the products and customers are encouraged to rate, review and share thoughts about the items at www.walmart.com.

The Great Value brand was first introduced in 1993 and spans more than 100 categories.

Walmart has faired well in this economy, U.S. stores sales were up 6.8% to $256 billion for the 12 months ended Jan. 31, due in large part to an increase in the number of people coming to its stores.

At a time when families need to make every penny count, Walmart has relaunched its Great Value brand in the U.S.

More than 80 new products were introduced last month, and the formulas for 750 were changed based on consumer tests comparing the flavor, aroma, texture, color and appearance of Great Value products against leading national brands.

Some of the reformulated products include breakfast cereal, cookies, yogurt, laundry detergent and paper towels. New products include thin crust pizza, ice cream and yogurt flavors, organic eggs and teriyaki beef jerky.

The new emphasis on house brands may have national brands quaking in their kitchens. In a recent study, more consumers, now faced with financial uncertainty, are buying store brands — three out of 10 — and 77% reported store brands were “as good as, if not better than, national brands,” according to GfK Customer Research North America.

Walmart redesigned the look of its brand packaging to be more consistent so consumers can easily identify it on shelves across the store. The quality of the food photography was improved to make the products more visually appealing. And in a signal of the confidence the company has in its own brands, a quality monitoring program has been put in place to continually evaluate the items, which customers are encouraged to rate at Walmart.com.

The Great Value brand was first introduced in 1993 and spans more than 100 categories.

Walmart has fared well in the current climate. U.S. stores sales were up 6.8%, to $256 billion, for the 12 months ended Jan. 31, due in large part to an increase in in-store shoppers.