Mixed customer ratings for Amazon own brand

It was foreseeable that Amazon would launch its own pet food products in the USA under the Wagg label in May 2018, and in Europe a few months later under the umbrella of its existing Solimo brand. In other sectors the e-commerce giant has been selling private label products for some time; last year its sales from these amounted to 7.5 bn dollars in the USA alone. By 2022 the company expects this figure to rise to 25 bn dollars, showing that Amazon intends to expand its private label business considerably.

Amazon first launched its own brand in 2007, with bath and bed products under the Pinzon brand. Since then, the company has developed 125 other private labels. Their number has shot up in the last 18 months in particular, according to analysts. Amazon's strategy for introducing private labels in other areas has been characterised by a very measured and cautious approach to new categories. Plenty of testing was carried out before the successful concept came into being. There is strong evidence that this is the path taken by Amazon with regard to the introduction of its own pet food products also. Because virtually no retailer in the world communicates more closely with its customers, Amazon is in an enviable market position thanks to its data power. This enables it to bring custom-fit products targeting the requirements of its customers onto the market. The name and address of anyone who orders online are stored and every search, every purchase, every purchase recommendation or review enhances the customer profile; Amazon then tailors its offers to this profile. 

There are already plenty of reviews for Solimo pet food. Most pet owners in Germany wrote that the food would taste good to their dogs and cats. As of 26 November, the cat food was given 4.3 out of 5 stars and 3.9 were awarded for the dog food. Criticism was levelled by some pet owners at what one customer called the "virtually misleading declaration", from which it was not clear exactly what the food contained. The quality of the cat food generally received praise in Italy (4.4 out of 5 stars). However, many cat owners questioned the low price of Solimo, asking openly whether the ingredients could really be of high quality, given such a low price. The dog food didn't score quite as well up to 26 November (3.4 out of 5 stars). One dissatisfied Italian customer complained about the absence of grain-free products from the range. Another critic cited an…