Walgreens has launched Nice!, a new store brand for the company’s more than 400 grocery, including bakery items, and household products. The company said it will phase out store brand items that currently are sold under such labels as Café W, Deefield Farms and W.

“Store brands have always been a core part of our business,” said Joe Magnacca, president of daily living products and solutions at Walgreens. “With more shoppers seeking value in this economy, we’ve been able to attract new customers across every income level to our brands and maintain their loyalty with a focus on quality and assortment. Now with the launch of Nice!, we are streamlining our offering to make it even easier for customers to identify high quality everyday essentials at a great value.”

Walgreens said it plans to have most of its Nice! products on shelves by early 2012 and that so far it has received positive consumer response to the more than 20 items already available, including tea, dried fruit, rice and macaroni and cheese.

In addition to signs already in place at the company’s stores, Walgreens said it will launch a national marketing campaign in 2012.

“With the consolidation of brands, and the additional products we will roll out under Nice!, we expect it will become a leading brand,” said Moe Alkemade, divisional vice-president and general merchandise manager of private brands at Walgreens. “Our store brands are no longer just the value option, they are the smart option.”

Walgreens is the nation’s largest drug store chain with 7,742 stores and fiscal 2010 sales of $67 billion.