A new and larger value range is to be launched by Asda, amid the cost of living crisis, as the supermarket giant saw growth slow due to customers returning to pre-pandemic habits.
The company, which was bought by the Issa brothers and backers TDR Capital last year for £6.8bn, added it will axe its Smart Price range and replace it with new Just Essentials by Asda products.
The new budget range will include 300 products, a 50 per cent increase on the current Smart Price range.
READ MORE: Grant Shapps warns P&O Ferries boss of law changes to protect seafarers after 800 workers sacked
Just Essentials products will initially arrive in stores from May and be rolled out to replace Smart Price over the summer, the PA news agency reported.
Asda said it has designed the new range with consideration for customer concerns over the cost of living crisis.
It comes a week after the Office for National Statistics said inflation jumped to a 30-year-high of 6.2 per cent in February, with food inflation at 5.3 per cent.
Mohsin Issa, co-owner of Leeds-headquartered Asda, said: "We understand that customers are increasingly worried about the cost of living and want help to keep their grocery bills in check, whilst still being able to buy healthy and nutritious food for their families.
"Our new Just Essentials range has been specifically designed with this in mind, combing our lowest prices with a much larger and more diverse range of great value products to meet all household needs."
The shake-up of its product range came as Asda revealed revenues of £20.4bn in 2021, representing a 0.6% increase in like-for-like sales, excluding fuel.
However, the retailer highlighted that like-for-like sales declined by 2.9 per cent in the three months to December compared with the same period a year earlier, as customers returned to pubs and restaurants.
Online sales also declined by 5 per cent in 2021 against the previous year, as the return to the office saw a reduction in home deliveries.
Asda said operating profits soared over the year, rising by 42 per cent to £693.1m due to a reduction in Covid-related costs.
Mr Issa added: "When we bought Asda we were clear that we wanted to grow this great business and our ambition is for Asda to regain its position as the UK's second-largest grocery retailer.
"We are pleased with the progress made in the six months since we officially took over the business and are confident we can achieve this long-term ambition by providing customers with exceptional value wherever and however they choose to shop with us."
The Issa brothers have continued to lead the supermarket group following their takeover, with the firm's already lengthy pursuit of a new chief executive officer yet to find a replacement for Roger Burnley.
