Walmart's CEO loves Sam's Club's TikTok-famous cashews, too
- Sam's Club private-label cashews are popular on TikTok.
- Walmart CEO Doug McMillon is also a fan, he noted during a Goldman Sachs conference.
Cashews aren't the usual sort of product to inspire intense fandom, but Sam's Club cashews have defied the odds.
The nuts, produced by Sam's Club private label Member's Mark, come in various flavors, many of which are seasonal and have limited availability, helping to drive demand.
The latest fan to declare his devotion was Walmart CEO Doug McMillon.
"I'll always buy a membership because I want the cashews, I want the mixed nuts, I want the fresh-squeezed orange juice, I want the prepared meals," he declared during the Goldman Sachs global retailing conference earlier this week, according to a transcript from AlphaSense.
On TikTok, cashew fandom stems mainly from the flavored cashews. Sam's Club shoppers on TikTok enthusiastically discover and try new flavors like everything (as in bagel) and street taco cashews.
The top seller is the Member's Mark Roasted Whole Cashews with Sea Salt, according to Sam's Club. No word on what McMillon's favorite flavor is.
TikTokers say they can't stop eating them and warn viewers of the possibility of eating the whole jar in days.
McMillon mentioned the cashews during a chat about private labels, which have been a growth area for Sam's Club and parent company Walmart. See Walmart's brand cream cheese's wild success as proof.
Shoppers have historically bought more private-label groceries to save money since they tend to be cheaper than name-brand equivalents. Sales of store brands rose during the financial crisis in 2008 and 2009.
More recently, food inflation has pushed some shoppers toward private-label products at Walmart, Target, and other retailers over the last couple of years.
Warehouse retailers like Sam's Club and Costco rely heavily on private-label products. Last year, Sam's Club announced a revamp of its Member's Mark brand, according to Marketwatch. The makeover involved removing certain ingredients, such as high-fructose corn syrup, and making packaging more eco-friendly.
Sam's Club said its cashews are highly rated and often re-purchased.
These cashews have even inspired theft in at least one case.
Dale Peterson, the Alabama politician whose gun-brandishing political ad went viral in 2010, ate a container of them and put the container back without paying, according to the Alabama news site Al.com.