Are Members Mark and Great Value the Same?

If you’ve ever shopped at Sam’s Club or Walmart, you may have noticed the store shelves are packed with brands you don’t see anywhere else. Members Mark and Great Value are two of the most popular. But are they actually the same thing?

And more importantly, which offers the best value, quality, and savings for your family? In this post, we’ll answer these essential questions so you can shop smart, save more, and buy with confidence.

Members Mark vs. Great Value – Understanding Basics

Members Mark and Great Value are not the same brand, even though both are private labels connected to the Walmart business family. But their differences go far deeper than just the name on the label.

Who Owns Members’ Mark and Great Value? Origins and Background

Members Mark is the private label brand of Sam’s Club, a membership-based warehouse club that’s been part of the Walmart group since its founding. Sam’s Club launched Members Mark in 1998, consolidating all proprietary brands under this label in 2017 to simplify shopping and boost recognition.

Great Value launched in 1993 and is Walmart’s flagship private label, available in every Walmart supercenter and online. It’s designed to offer the lowest possible prices on everyday basics, positioning itself as the go-to choice for budget-conscious consumers.

Are They Made by the Same Company?

While both Members Mark and Great Value are owned by Walmart Inc., they serve two distinct retail experiences

• Members Mark: Exclusively at Sam’s Club (in-store and online).
• Great Value: Exclusively at Walmart (in-store and online – no membership needed).

So, while both brands are part of the Walmart empire, they’re distinct labels with their own sourcing, product lines, and customer focus.

How Membership Changes the Shopping Experience

Sam’s Club (Members Mark)

You need a membership ($50/year for basic, $110/year for Plus) to access Members Mark products. Sam’s Club focuses on warehouse-style, bulk buying – ideal for families, small businesses, or anyone who wants to stock up and save.

Walmart (Great Value)

No membership, no entry barrier. Great Value aims to win on price and convenience for every type of shopper, especially those on a tight grocery budget.

Both store brands help Walmart control pricing, keep costs low, and offer everyday value – but the way they do this is different.

What Types of Products Are Offered?

Both Members Mark and Great Value deliver a massive range of products, but there are definite differences

Brand	Core Retailer	Typical Package Sizes	Product Range	Special Focus
Members Mark	Sam’s Club	Bulk & larger sizes	Grocery, home & kitchen goods, office, baby, pet, outdoor, health & wellness	Premium ingredients, sustainability
Great Value	Walmart	Small & moderate	Grocery, household, frozen, dairy, pantry, snacks, health, cleaning, party needs	Everyday low prices, broad accessibility

Members Mark covers everything from organic produce, meats, and baked goods to mattresses, baby wipes, and patio furniture. Specialty categories include furniture, pet foods, baby formula, vitamins, and grill equipment. The brand highly emphasizes quality and responsible sourcing.

Great Value is known for grocery staples like rice, milk, eggs, canned goods, frozen vegetables, paper towels, and cleaning essentials. The focus is breadth: you get thousands of everyday products at the lowest cost without needing to buy in bulk.

Which Is Cheaper – Members Mark or Great Value?

For the majority of items, Great Value generally holds the title for lowest price per unit – especially in standard grocery categories like canned foods, pasta, or household detergents.

However, once you factor in the bulk savings (and memberships or cashback stacking at Sam’s Club), Members Mark can beat or at least match the lowest unit price on larger quantities.

Example Comparison (2025)

Product	Member’s Mark Price & Size	Great Value Price & Size
Peanut Butter	2-pack ($7.96 / 96 oz, $0.08/oz)	$2.48 / 16 oz ($0.15/oz)
Premium Paper Towels	15 rolls, $19.98 ($1.33/roll)	6 rolls, $7.97 ($1.33/roll)
Laundry Detergent	196 oz, $15.98 ($0.08/oz)	100 oz, $8.47 ($0.08/oz)
Shredded Mozzarella	5 lbs (80 oz), $11.48 ($0.14/oz)	8 oz, $2.22 ($0.28/oz)
Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil	2 L, $15.99 ($0.24/oz)	17 oz, $5.97 ($0.35/oz)

Note: Pricing varies by location, package size, and promotions. Bulk buying at Sam’s Club can deliver a lower per-unit price, but requires upfront membership and sufficient storage/consumption capacity.

Key Takeaway

• For bulk/large household shopping and if you maximize member rewards, Members Mark can be the better deal.
• For smaller quantities or single shoppers, Great Value’s low base prices win.

Are the Quality and Ingredients the Same?

Members Mark positions itself as a “premium” private label, with a focus on

• Responsible sourcing, including USDA Organic, Non-GMO, Fair Trade, and sustainable seafood certifications.
• Elimination of over 40 controversial ingredients (such as artificial colors, aspartame, high-fructose corn syrup) from 96% of food/beverage products in 2025, with 100% targeted by year’s end.
• Partnerships with top producers and renowned manufacturers (e.g., Sargento for cheese, Purina for pet food, ConAgra and Tyson for frozen meals and meats).
• Rigorous in-house quality and food safety testing, often matching or exceeding national brand benchmarks.

Great Value keeps prices low by

• Sourcing globally, optimizing for cost while keeping ingredients generally recognizable and safe.
• Increasing organic and “clean” lines, but not as strict as Members Mark in banning controversial ingredients.
• Focusing on “acceptable” quality rather than premium; reviews are often mixed depending on the specific product.

Real Life Example

Great Value vanilla ice cream or ranch dressing are nearly indistinguishable from top brands according to many reviews. However, products like Great Value potato chips or K-cups often get lower marks for flavor or freshness than their Members Mark or name-brand counterparts.

How Do Real Customers Rate These Brands?

Members Mark generally earns higher scores for product quality, customer service, and overall satisfaction, especially in categories like paper products, supplements, and home goods. Great Value gets high marks for affordability and accessibility, but more frequent complaints about packaging, recipe changes, or quality dips.

Thousands of Member reviews on the Sam’s Club website rate most Members Mark items as 4.5 to 4.8 out of 5 stars, praising both price and quality. Examples

• Members Mark Vitamin D3, 400 ct: ★4.8/5 (2,066 reviews)
• Members Mark Liquid Laundry Detergent: ★4.7/5 (4,253 reviews)
• Members Mark Granola: ★4.8/5 (5,460 reviews).

Great Value is consistently rated good-to-excellent on bestsellers like peanut butter, rice, and cleaning products, but average or lower on some snacks, coffee pods, and sodas.

How Do They Stack Up In Nutrition?

Both Members Mark and Great Value offer a huge range of foods – from high-protein, low-carb options to sweet treats and soda pops.

Members Mark has leaned into clean labels and better nutrition since 2021, now touting options with

• No artificial colors or sweeteners (on >96% of food/bev products by 2025).
• Certified organic, fair trade, and non-GMO items in categories from dairy to snacks.
• Bulk-size offerings that allow for comparative shopping with major brands.

Example Members Mark Nutrition (per serving)

• Angus Burger: 510 calories, 35g protein, 29g fat.
• Shredded Cheese: 80-110 calories, 6-9g protein, 5-7g fat.
• Grilled Chicken Breast: 130 calories, 25g protein, 3g fat.

Great Value keeps pace on basics, but nutrition can vary more across products. Organic and gluten-free options have expanded but are less extensive.

Example Great Value Nutrition (per serving)

• Creamy Peanut Butter: 190 calories, 16g fat, 7g protein.
• Long Grain White Rice: 170 calories, 0g fat, 3g protein.
• Shredded Mozzarella Cheese: 80 calories, 7g protein, 6g fat.

Always check the nutrition label – and compare with national brands and both store brands for the healthiest choice and best value.

How Big Are Members Mark and Great Value?

• Walmart Inc. is America’s top retailer, with over $681 billion in worldwide net sales for FY2025.

• Walmart (including Great Value): $568.7 billion U.S. sales in 2024 (6.51% growth).
• Sam’s Club (with Members Mark): $90 billion division, nearly 600 clubs.

Private label products have reached an all-time high in the U.S.

• Store brands now account for 21.2% of all dollar sales and 23.2% of unit sales as of June 2025 (PLMA).
• Total store brand sales will approach $277 billion in 2025, up from $271 billion in 2024, outpacing national brands with a 4.4% annual sales growth.
• Great Value is the largest food brand by volume in America, generating over $27 billion in annual sales in 2025.
• Members Mark represents up to 20% of all Sam’s Club sales—covering 6,000+ items from groceries to furniture.

Trend: As grocery prices rose 20%+ since 2020, both private labels attracted shoppers looking for value without tradeoffs, saving the average family $1,200/year.

How Much Do You Really Save?

• Great Value: Shop here to save 20-40% compared to name brands on pantry and cleaning staples even more if you stack with coupons or Walmart+ free shipping.
• Members Mark: Families and bulk buyers can enjoy 10-50% savings versus national brands, especially when maximizing member deals and stacking Sam’s Club rewards, with potential cash back stacking up to 14% with select programs.

Are Members Mark and Great Value Eco-Friendly?

• Members Mark is on an aggressive sustainability path, with 100% of packaging targeted to be recyclable, reusable, or industrially compostable by 2025.
  • Many bulk products now use less plastic, more recycled fiber, or even label-free packaging (like their China water bottles, which cut 34 tons of plastic a year).
  • All seafood is being sourced from certified sustainable fisheries, 100% cage-free eggs planned, and palm oil, cotton, and household paper targeted for responsible sourcing.
• Great Value is adding more recyclable and biodegradable packaging options, plus clearer nutritional information, though not at the same level as Members Mark on sustainability certifications.

Which Brand Is More Trusted?

Recent research shows 81% of shoppers need to trust a brand in order to buy. For brands like Members Mark and Great Value, this trust is built through

• Consistent quality and predictable experience.
• Company reputation (Walmart/Sam’s Club stability).
• Transparent ingredients and sourcing.
• Good customer service and strong return policies (especially for Sam’s Club, which offers “no-questions-asked” returns on most items).

Members Mark is praised for its risk-free guarantee—if you’re unsatisfied, just return the item for a full refund. This ease of returns, combined with frequent, effective product testing and focus on customer feedback, drives high repeat purchases and loyalty. 

Great Value leverages Walmart’s massive ecosystem; shoppers generally feel confident buying basics that carry the Walmart name with reliable quality at unbeatable prices.

data shows that trust in a brand is strongly correlated with brand loyalty (correlation coefficient as high as 0.89 in academic studies). 

With both Members Mark and Great Value, reviews, repeat spending, and the ability to quickly address issues contribute to a feeling of trust, but Members Mark tends to score slightly higher in satisfaction and experience especially among bulk shoppers, while Great Value is often seen as the default trusted budget pick for everyday needs.

Conclusion – Which Should You Choose in 2025?

Choose Members Mark if you’re a Sam’s Club member (or willing to become one), want top quality at a lower price per ounce, and plan to shop in bulk for your household or business. 

Members Mark’s commitment to responsible sourcing, ingredient simplicity, sustainability, and customer satisfaction is on par with if not better than many popular name brands.

Choose Great Value if you’re prioritizing lowest up-front cost, regularly shop at Walmart, or need smaller product sizes. Great Value is unbeatable for tight budgets, quick shopping trips, and basic needs without the commitment of a membership.

In the end, both Members Mark and Great Value are distinct, high-performing private labels in the Walmart family but each is optimized for a different type of shopper. If you’re hunting for the best combination of value, selection, quality, and trust, pick the store brand that fits your lifestyle and needs.

For busy families, bulk is best. For everyday convenience, go Great Value. And for either one, you can shop knowing you’re getting some of America’s best values in 2025!