Target Is Launching Another Powerhouse Grocery Brand
Target is launching a new grocery brand that is chock full of the innovative food products of tomorrow.
On April 5, the retailer plans to debut Favorite Day, a new owned food and beverage brand, the company shared exclusively with Progressive Grocer. The Favorite Day assortment will include more than 700 sweet and savory products spanning categories such as bakery, trail mix, ice cream, snacks and more, all priced below $15.
“We’re thrilled to build on Good & Gather’s success and the strength of Target’s Food and Beverage business by debuting our new owned brand, Favorite Day,” said Rick Gomez, executive vice president and chief food and beverage officer at Target. “Rooted in guest insights and developed by our talented Target team, Favorite Day is a sweet and savory addition that tastes amazing, makes life’s little moments of indulgence even sweeter and continues to differentiate Target’s owned brand portfolio.”
Favorite Day will expand on Target’s portfolio of private brands and build on the success of Good & Gather, Target’s flagship food and beverage brand, launched in 2019, that is now generating $2 billion in annual sales. Target today has a stunning 10 private brands in its portfolio (food and non-food) that generate a billion dollars or more (and four brands that generate at least $2 billion). The Good & Gather assortment includes more than 2,000 products across food and beverage from dairy to produce, ready-made pastas and meats to granola bars and sparkling water. All of the products under the Good & Gather brand are made without artificial flavors and sweeteners, synthetic colors and high fructose corn syrup, and are also backed by a money-back guarantee. With the new launch, Target will now offer Good & Gather, Favorite Day and Market Pantry as its grocery private labels.
"Good and Gather is off to a tremendous start, a multi-billion dollar brand in a short period of time," Target CEO Brian Cornell said during the company's fourth quarter earnings call this month. "It's been well received by our guests, great quality at a great value, and I think it typifies the things we do with our own brands. We're very excited about the momentum we have in food and beverage. We took significant market share throughout the year and the guest has certainly recognized and appreciates the Good and Gather brand, so we think that's a way for us to continue to differentiate our offerings."
The retailer told Progressive Grocer that the new Favorite Day range has been in the works for more than two years and serves a different purpose from Good & Gather, which is focused on appealing to time-strapped consumers looking for high quality products at a great value. The Favorite Day line is designed for shoppers who want to treat themselves to address everyday stressors. At least 150 of the Favorite Day products were formulated to prioritize aroma, flavor and texture, the company said.
The Favorite Day assortment will include everything from premium ice creams, macarons and lava cakes to French brioche bread and non-dairy frozen desserts. The products have passed taste and quality tests and are backed by a money-back guarantee. The retailer said it anticipates guest favorites may include Caramel Macchiato Trail Mix, Gourmet Brookie Dough Ice Cream and Mini Everything Bagel Croissants. The company said Favorite Day is differentiated because no other food brand – owned or national brand – is positioned around indulgence and spans all of the categories Favorite Day will offer at value prices.
On March 2, Target reported a blockbuster holiday quarter of impressive sales and traffic growth. For the fourth quarter ended Jan. 30, same store sales increased 20.5%, consisting of 6.9% growth at physical stores and 118% digital growth. Average ticket grew 13.1%. The company said that 12 million more guests became multi-channel shoppers during Q4.
Target said it will invest $4 billion annually over the next several years to open new stores and cut delivery times for online orders. During Q4, same-day services (Order Pick Up, Drive Up and Shipt) grew 212%, led by more than 500 percent growth in Drive Up. More than 95% of Target's fourth quarter sales were fulfilled by its stores. Target also said it will add two distribution centers and test micro-fulfillment centers to speed up order processing the rest of the year through Christmas.
The retailer opened 30 new stores in 2020, with a "record year of 29 new small-format stores." Target plans to open 30 to 40 new stores each year. Some of these stores will be near college campuses and in major cities such as New York, Los Angeles and Portland.
Minneapolis-based Target Corp. is No. 7 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2020 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America, with more than 1,900 locations.
