Why Don't You Find Boar's Head Meat In Walmart's Deli Section?

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Walmart is the nation's top grocer. The chain has over 3,500 supercenters in the United States, along with almost 700 Neighborhood Market grocery stores, and these stores are many people's go-to spots when shopping for freshly stocked food, home goods, and yes, a tasty deli hot bar plus cold cuts. These 4,000-plus Walmart stores have service deli counters, with meats and cheeses cut to order along with salads and prepared foods like fried chicken.

Browsing the deli, a Walmart customer might find brands like Sara Lee, Prima Della, and Butterball. One conspicuous brand is missing, though, and that's Boar's Head, one of the most popular deli brands in the country, according to our survey. So if it's such a big seller, why can't you find its products in Walmart delis?

The answer is, essentially, both Boar's Head and Walmart are picky. Boar's Head uses certain exclusivity requirements, meaning they can't be sold alongside other brands. Walmart, meanwhile, looks for value-based items, and Boar's Head items are considered higher-end. So it's a stalemate.

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Our deeper dive: Since Boar's Head is known as a premium brand, its retail prices reflect that. Boar's Head lunch meat can run for up to about $20 a pound, and Walmart is all about low prices. Even the most expensive Walmart deli meats don't typically sell for more than about $15 a pound. In addition to the notable price difference, Boar's Head even reportedly has refused to sell to Walmart.

But wait: Walmart does sell some Boar's Head condiments, so why not the deli meat, too? It's because stores that sell Boar's Head deli items typically can't sell other brands by the terms of its contract with Boar's Head. (That's why you rarely see Boar's Head and Thumann's or Dietz & Watson side by side in stores.) Walmart uses its own brand, Prima Della, in place of the name brand.

However, other grocers regularly sell its own brand alongside Boar's Head, including Albertsons, Safeway, and several other chains owned by Albertsons Companies right next to its own brand Primo Taglio. Boar's Head is also sold alongside numerous other brands like Private Selection, Black Bear, Delicery, Taste of Inspirations, and the list goes on and on. Why? Because these are all store brands owned by the retailer, which generally aren't prohibited from being sold alongside Boar's Head.