Target's new food brand is all about indulging

Especially after the past year, Target says customers are interested in indulging a little — or a lot. And it wants to help them do just that.

Next month, the Minneapolis-based retailer is launching a new grocery brand called Favorite Day with more than 700 sweet and savory items that span baked goods, trail mix, ice cream, snacks, beverage mixers and mocktails, and cake-decorating supplies.

Products include macaroons in several flavors, lava cakes, nondairy frozen desserts and mashups such as mini-everything bagel croissant.

Some of Target's other grocery initiatives in recent years have focused on providing more better-for-you options by, for example, adding more organic, natural and gluten-free items to its shelves as well as improving its selection of fresh produce.

But Target said that its research shows that customers also want to treat themselves as they juggle hectic family schedules and other stresses.

Favorite Day is the first new private-label grocery brand Target has introduced since rolling out a new flagship brand, Good & Gather, in 2019. That brand, which replaced Archer Farms and Simply Balanced, generated more than $2 billion in sales last year. It's one of 10 private-label brands at Target that each bring in more than a billion dollars in sales annually.

"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, Target's former marketing chief who recently became its chief food and beverage officer, said in a statement.

Favorite Day was created by Target's internal team of food scientists and recipe developers. The new brand will be available in stores and online starting April 5.

In the past few years, Target has launched dozens of new in-house brands in categories such as apparel and home goods, helping to reinvigorate its business.

Private-label brands make up about a third of its overall sales and are more profitable for Target than selling national brands.

Its rollout of new brands had slowed a bit in the past year or so. But last week, Target executives told investors they plan to launch several new owned brands this year.

At the same time, Target has also been deepening partnerships with some national brands such as Levi's, Disney, Apple and Ulta Beauty. In some cases, it created mini-shops to feature them in its stores.

Kavita Kumar • 612-673-4113 Twitter: @kavitakumar