Groceryshop 2023: Target Exec Talks Private Label Food & Beverage Success
In an increasingly competitive grocery market, a strong assortment of private brands can often be a driving factor in where consumers decide to shop.
During a Groceryshop panel on bringing value to budget-conscious shoppers, Erica Thein, VP of Food & Beverage Owned Brands at Target, spoke about the retailer’s approach to creating differentiated private label products in categories across the store.
“What we know is that value is more important than for our guests now than ever before, and that’s why a key part of our strategy is developing a trend-forward and curated assortment of national brands we know our guests love alongside differentiated own brands,” Thein said. “We know it's critical that we have opening price points that are incredibly compelling, that we are leveraging differentiated owned brands to deliver value and that we're leveraging really strong promotions to engage our guests.”
Minneapolis-headquartered Target boasts 45 private brands across its store, with only three being in food and beverage: Favorite Day, Market Pantry and Good & Gather. Thein said that Good & Gather’s roughly 2,500 product offerings generated over $3 billion in sales in 2022 alone.
“It's [Good & Gather] a brand that our guests can trust, and we are focused on that trend for curated assortment,” said Thein. “It's the combination of national brands that we know our guests love and are looking for, but also own brands that are highly differentiated and high quality."
Thein added that one recent expansion of Target’s food and beverage offerings has been private label meal kits, as convenience remains a top concern for consumers in addition to value. Good & Gather also recently expanded into the baby and toddler space with a collection of clean-ingredient snacks.
Another large focus for Target’s private label assortment has been sustainability. The retailer’s Target Forward initiative aims to have private brand plastic packaging, recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2025, but Thein said that sustainable products are just as important as the packaging they are sold in.
“We are partnering with stakeholders to build out responsible sourcing guidelines for key materials and ingredients such as palm oil, coffee and seafood,” she said. “So sustainability is really critical for Target and part of what's driving that is it's important to our guests.”
In August during an earnings call, Christina Hennington, executive vice president and chief growth officer at Target, said that the company will continue investing in its own brand portfolio. Recent launches outside of food and beverage include the Figment kitchenware line and collaborative jewelry launch with Kendra Scott.
“What has led Target to be so successful is what I think will lead us to success for the next decade as well,” Thein said. “And that is really investing in understanding our guests: what our guests want, what our guests need. And that is true whether we're talking about technology, our product assortments, the shopping experience in its totality, and our commitment to our guests."
Groceryshop 2023 was held Sept. 19-21 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas.