EXCLUSIVE: Love Wellness Enters Walmart
Love Wellness is headed to Walmart.
While Love Wellness is just entering Walmart, the women’s wellness brand’s conversation with the retailer dates back to 2019, according to founder Lo Bosworth.
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“We felt like the brand had not yet reached a stage of maturity from a bandwidth perspective that taking on the world’s biggest retailer made sense back in 2019, 2020,” she said. “In 2023, for us the game has changed completely. Our business has changed completely. We’ve shipped more than 2 million direct-to-consumer orders on LoveWellness.com. Since 2021, Love Wellness has sold more than $100 million at retail. At this point, we understand retail and we feel prepared to enter this new channel.”
Since launching, the brand has doubled down on its retail approach, as it is available at Ulta Beauty and Target. For Bosworth, the expansion into Walmart only deepens the brand’s mission.
“Our retail expansion with Walmart levels up our mission to make clean, doctor-developed personal care products more accessible to everyday women,” she said.
In an effort to promote accessibility and educate consumers on the gut-vagina connection, Bosworth and her team chose six stock keeping units that will be available in the digestive health aisle at Walmart, including Bye Bye Bloat, $25; Gut Feelings Probiotics, $30; Sparkle Fiber, $30; Flora Power Vaginal Probiotic Suppositories, $18; The Killer (Boric Acid Suppositories), $20, and Good Girl Probiotics, $30, which the brand has sold 1 million bottles of, according to Bosworth.
“I’m excited to have the opportunity to educate shoppers about the importance of the gut-vagina connection, as they discover our gut and vaginal health solutions in store. That education piece has always been one of the missions of the brand because when I started the company, I was dealing with all of these vitamin deficiencies, but my root cause of the issues was a gut health issue,” Bosworth said. “That information is missing when it comes to how we are educated about women’s bodies. Being able to reach a new consumer to educate them on that connection is really important and reflects a big step forward. If we are able to gain the trust of that consumer in that retail setting, it marks a huge turning point for the company.”
By entering Walmart with education front-and-center on the Love Wellness packaging, Bosworth expects this retail expansion to grow the brand’s customer base.
“It allows us to bring new customers to the brand that really care about their health and wellness and rely on Walmart for them to bring those types of products into their home,” she said.
For Bosworth, launching at Walmart reflects the brand’s maturity. Last March, the brand brought on Maria Dempsey, formerly of Nest New York, as chief executive officer. Bosworth became chairwoman of the board, managing brand marketing, product development and retail strategy. At the time of the appointment, Bosworth noted the brand had tripled in size within a year and a half. The brand’s Walmart expansion is expected to do $8 million in retail sales its first year, according to industry sources.
“It really is an inflection point. From a growth, sales, profitability, size of team perspective, once you launch into a retailer like Walmart, you’re no longer a startup,” Bosworth told WWD. “You’re more of a mature brand.”