Key facts
- Sam's Club is expanding its e-commerce strategy to feature premium local brands nationally.
- The initiative aims to increase the discoverability of smaller, high-quality products.
- Onyx Coffee's Doyenne brand experienced a near doubling of sales within four weeks of online availability.
- Approximately 25% of Doyenne's online orders are shipped to regions without physical club presence.
- Sam's Club has sold approximately 15 tons of Doyenne beans year-to-date.
- The strategy mirrors the success of Kize nutrition bars, which gained national reach via Sam's Club.
Sam's Club is actively working to transform its image from a bulk-buying warehouse to a curated marketplace, focusing on bringing premium local brands to a national audience through its e-commerce platform. Greg Pulsifer, head of e-commerce at Sam's Club, stated that the company aims to be a trusted, curated store rather than an 'everything store.'
Traditionally, Sam's Club has offered a mix of big-name products and some regional surprises. Now, the company is leveraging its fulfillment and delivery capabilities to make these local discoveries accessible nationwide. A prime example is Onyx Coffee's Doyenne brand, which features beans rated highly by the Specialty Coffee Association, a step above the commercial-grade coffee typically sold at Sam's Club.
Andrea Allen, co-founder of Onyx Coffee, explained that Doyenne's initial test run in three northwest Arkansas Sam's Club locations allowed them to reach a new customer base. The strong demand observed at the club level led to an expansion into over 50 clubs and the launch on samsclub.com, with both fast local fulfillment and national shipping options.
Since its online availability, Doyenne sales have nearly doubled within the first four weeks. Currently, about a quarter of online Doyenne orders are shipped to areas where the product is not stocked in warehouses. Pulsifer noted that customers are repurchasing Doyenne at a higher rate than Sam's Club's typical whole bean coffee consumers. As of the end of July, Sam's Club reported selling nearly 15 tons of Doyenne beans this year.
This growth trajectory is similar to that of Kize nutrition bars, which gained national exposure after being discovered at a local expo and subsequently scaled online through Sam's Club. Pulsifer believes that in the digital age, physical location barriers are diminishing, and the trust Sam's Club has built allows customers to confidently try new premium products online, enabling innovative brands to grow without compromising their identity.