Amazon has pulled its own-label ready meal range from Amazon Fresh stores and online, replacing it with a selection of Morrisons’ The Best products.
The e-commerce giant – which has 21 physical stores in the UK, all of which are in London except for its Sevenoaks store in Kent – confirmed it had withdrawn the ByAmazon ready meal range.
“Like all retailers, we continually review our range and test new selection with customers,” a spokesman said.
The ByAmazon range covers everyday essentials such as milk, British meat and in-season produce, as well as freshly prepared sandwiches and meals. Amazon Fresh stores also carry a substantial range of Morrisons goods. It is understood Morrisons is the supplier for the ByAmazon range, borne out of a supply agreement forged in 2016 that saw Morrisons products sold on Amazon.co.uk.
Last year, the ByAmazon range grew substantially, with new product launches in cereals, pasta, baking ingredients, and confectionery, both in-store and online.
“We are pleased with how our ByAmazon brand is performing and the response from customers,” a spokesman said. “We had a great Xmas including winning awards for ByAmazon Mince Pies; and byAmazon’s Smoked Salmon, and Pigs Under Blankets Sandwich.”
PwC senior retail advisor Kien Tan, who first spotted the ByAmazon ready meals delisting, said it was “not a surprise they have given up on it”.
“To be a credible grocery operator in the UK to provide a full grocery shop you need an own label offering in certain product categories. Which Amazon does. But [unlike supermarkets] Amazon’s start point is not just the stores, it’s also the fresh delivery offering,” Tan said. “Particularly in ready meals – there are very few branded offerings, it’s one of those categories that is very own label heavy. But it’s hard to justify having that when it’s just not the sort of thing that people buy for online delivery.
“So it was serving, really, only the stores. And when you only have 21 stores that’s not making economic sense. It only works if you’re also selling it online,” he added.
Tan drew comparison to Ocado, which has a substantial own-label offering but leans on M&S for its ready meal range.
“Ready meals are just not an online thing,” Tan said.
In November, Amazon opened a new Amazon Fresh store in West Hampstead, a year since its last store launch in the UK. The company launched its first Amazon Fresh store in the UK – which was its first physical retail site outside North America – in Ealing in 2021. It reportedly planned to open hundreds of Fresh stores in the UK, but – having last year closed three Fresh stores; in Ealing, Wandsworth and East Sheen – the rollout has since slowed significantly.
Earlier this month, Amazon Fresh launched a £1 meal deal across its London locations. Customers can purchase a main, snack and drink from the retailer’s £3.90 meal deal range for just a pound until 31 January, as part of what Amazon is dubbing “London’s Best Value Meal Deal”.
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