Target unveils Favorite Day indulgent food brand

Next month, Target Corp. plans to launch Favorite Day, a new private-brand line of food and beverages designed to offer premium flavor at affordable prices.

Target said Tuesday that Favorite Day builds on its flagship Good & Gather consumables brand by bringing a “sweet and savory” offering to customers looking to treat themselves. Slated to roll out April 5, Favorite Day initially will encompass more than 700 products in categories such as bakery, trail mixes, premium ice cream, snacks, beverage mixers and “mocktails,” candy and cake decorating supplies, including sprinkles, candles and icing.

Plans call for Favorite Day to become Target’s “go-to owned brand for snacking and fun,” the Minneapolis-based retailer said, adding that the collection will be merchandised in bakery, gourmet and seasonal product lines to streamline the shopping experience. All Favorite Day products will be priced at less than $15, the company noted.

“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,” Rick Gomez, executive vice president and chief food and beverage officer at Target, said in a statement. “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.”

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Target said it's positioning Favorite Day as the retailer’s 'go-to owned brand for snacking and fun.'

Developed by Target’s internal team, Favorite Day products — including novel items like dairy-free frozen dessert bars, caramel macchiato trail mix, gourmet brookie dough ice cream and mini everything bagel croissants — undergo rigorous taste and quality tests and are backed by a money-back guarantee, the company said. The line will be sold at all Target stores and via Target.com, available for in-store Order Pickup, Drive Up curbside service and Shipt same-day home delivery.

Target said it’s positioning Favorite Day as a complement to Good & Gather, its main food and beverage store brand. Launched in August 2019, Good & Gather topped $1 billion in sales in less than a year and tallied sales of $2 billion in 2020. Target added a premium collection called Good & Gather Signature in September 2020, expanding the label to more than 2,000 items and making it the largest of the company’s 45 own brands.

In a conference call last week reporting fourth-quarter results, Chairman and CEO Brian Cornell noted that private brands have become a major business at Target, which in 2016 began an “own brand reinvention” that has since produced 30 new brands.

Related:Target adds Good & Gather premium line in latest expansion

“We cleared 2020 with 10 of our own brands each generating $1 billion or more, and four of those crossed the $2 billion per year threshold,” Cornell told analysts on the call. “Any one of these brands alone would be a sizable retailer and, as you know, their contribution of profits is outsized.”

Cornell and Chief Growth Officer Christina Hennington said during the call that more new brands are upcoming.

“Our owned brand portfolio, which spans all categories, is vital to the success of our business. It represents about one-third of our total sales and even more of our gross margin, which helps to sustain key enterprise investments. And Target’s owned brands continue to generate strong growth because of our approach to creating, designing and maintaining these brands. They’re not just private labels. They’re brands our guests trust. They’re brands our guests love,” Hennington said, adding, “This year, we’ll announce and launch several new owned brands in areas where we know Target can make a difference for our guests.”