Dive Brief:
- Personalized performance nutrition brand Gainful has announced its first wholesale agreement through an exclusive partnership with Target.
- Products from the DTC brand will be available on the mass merchant’s website and in 1,800 stores, according to a press release emailed to Retail Dive.
- While purchasing products on Gainful’s site requires a subscription, purchasing products via Target does not. In place of the online quiz, the in-store Target experience offers customers a three-step system to create a customized protein blend. Customers can opt to add flavor or goal boosts — which include products geared toward recovery and building muscle — to its protein bases.
Dive Insight:
Since its launch in 2017 Gainful has distinguished its brand by customizing nutrition programs for 3.5 million customers using an online quiz to help personalize which supplemental products will work best.
By launching in Target, the DTC brand is able to offer a paired down, non-subscription version of the Gainful.com experience. In an email to Retail Dive, Gainful CEO Dean Kelly suggested the move into Target would give customers greater flexibility to engage with the brand’s products based on their specific needs.
“We understand that everyone’s path to feeling and performing their best looks different, so we want to support people from all walks of life and at different stages of their health journey — reach their health and wellness goals by offering a customized protein product that is clean, has proven effectiveness and provides an easy shopping experience,” Kelly said in a statement.
The partnership, Kelly said, also allows customers to shop the brand across multiple channels — on its DTC website, in Target’s stores or on the mass merchant’s website.
“What excites us about our expansion into Target is that it’s now easy for millions of Target guests to access premium, customized performance nutrition products,” Kelly said in an email to Retail Dive. “While our subscription model on Gainful.com allows customers to deepen the personalization experience ... we believe that many shoppers will love the ability to add Gainful directly to their basket on their weekly trip to Target.”
Gainful’s marketing approach for its Target launch is mostly centered around a variety of online social media platforms, including Instagram, TikTok, plus partnerships and “a heavy investment in content creators and influencers” according to the company.
Gainful is one of a number of DTC brands moving into wholesale as a way to expand their distribution channels and reach new customers.
Gainful joins several other DTC brands at launching into Target – including Function of Beauty hair care and Curology skin care – who have created their respective businesses around a personalized, customized shopping experience.
Proclaiming to be the first to offer “customizable hair care” in a retail environment, Function of Beauty took its concept to Target stores and online in December 2020. The brand offered consumers "#hairgoal booster shots" to mix into their shampoos and conditioners.
