Dive Brief:

• Target announced on Tuesday that it's launching Favorite Day, a private label food and beverage line centered on snacks and sweet treats. Shoppers will be able to buy the new brand in stores and online starting April 5.
• The brand will roll out with more than 700 products across multiple categories, including candy, trail mix, ice cream, bakery and beverage mixers. Some of the selections include Caramel Macchiato Trail Mix, Gourmet Brookie Dough Ice Cream and Mini Everything Bagel Croissants.
• This is the next step in Target's grocery store brand refresh, which began in 2019 with the launch of Good & Gather, now a $2 billion brand.

Dive Insight:

With its Good & Gather line well-established with customers, Target is now releasing a brand that targets snacks and indulgent treats. Favorite Day includes items like lava cakes, non-dairy frozen desserts and macarons.

"We know that now more than ever, our guests believe in treating themselves as a balance to everyday schedules and stressors. Based on guest insights, we saw an opportunity to curate a line of delicious, high-quality items," Target noted in details emailed to sister publication Grocery Dive.

Favorite Day arrives more than a year after Target debuted Good & Gather, its flagship food and beverage line, which expanded quickly and now brings in $2 billion in annual sales. The retailer has been phasing out its Archer Farms and Simply Balanced food brands while retaining a limited selection of Market Pantry products.

Grocery has long been a weak link in Target's multi-category approach, but the company has shown it intends to strengthen sales by leveraging its strengths in private label development. Target has also introduced new store brands in its home and fashion categories and is also remodeling its stores.

Food and beverage sales have boosted Target's bottom line during the pandemic as shoppers prioritize one-stop shopping. Same-day grocery pickup rolled out across its store footprint last summer to complement the retailer's delivery via Shipt, powering triple-digit sales growth in e-commerce. 

Food and beverage private label products have continued to gain traction as consumers look for less expensive items and try private-label brands as an alternative to national brands. Nielsen data found that private label sales posted double-digit increases, outpacing national brands in the first quarter of 2020. Kroger's natural and organic Simple Truth brand, which launched in 2012, eclipsed $3 billion in sales in 2020. 

Grocers like Trader Joe's, Kroger and Albertsons have recently added plant-based private label options. Last September, Target announced it was growing Good & Gather by adding 600 products and a premium collection.

A report by the Food Industry Association last fall urged food retailers and manufacturers to expand their private brand offerings, suggesting that value-oriented items and supporting at-home cooking could be top areas of focus. The recommendations were based on the findings that private brands are either extremely or very important to 93% of the surveyed food retailers.