Target adds Good & Gather premium line in latest expansion

Target Corp. is adding a premium collection called Good & Gather Signature as part of a 600-item expansion of its year-old Good & Gather label, which will become the retailer’s largest private brand.

Target said Wednesday that it has begun rolling out the new Good & Gather products across nearly every food category and expects them to hit stores through the fall, expanding the brand to almost 2,000 items.

New Good & Gather offerings appearing on store shelves span such categories as dairy, coffee, deli, bread and baking, snacks, produce, beverages, meal essentials, frozen food and frozen seafood, with selected items also available via Target.com, according to Minneapolis-based Target.

Products developed by Target’s culinary team include jalapeno avocado hummus, frozen zucchini spirals, bite-sized everything crackers and meatless burgers, the company said, adding that all recipes are made without artificial flavors and sweeteners, synthetic colors and high-fructose corn syrup and must pass a taste test.

Good & Gather Signature, the premium line, also is slated to add a new dimension of flavor with 60 new products, such as pizzas, pastas, coffee, marinated mushrooms and pasta sauces, among other items. Target said Good & Gather Signature offerings are made with specialty ingredients and bring “hand-crafted quality and flavor” to “elevate everyday meals.”

Related:Target Q2 sales jump more than 24% overall and 195% in digital

Target said it expects Good & Gather to have almost 2,000 SKUs by the end of 2020.

“Food plays such an important role in our guests’ lives,” Stephanie Lundquist, executive vice president and president of food and beverage at Target, said in a statement. “And now, as guests are eating and cooking at home — and appreciating good value — more than ever, Good & Gather’s delicious, high-quality assortment and affordable price continues to set Target apart, while helping our guests discover the joy of food every day. And they’re going to love what we’re serving up this fall.”

Target announced Good & Gather as a new flagship brand in August 2019 and began rolling it out to stores the following month, starting with 650 items, ranging from dairy and produce to ready-made pastas and pantry staples. Product additions since then have included fresh meat, plant-based meat, yogurt, sauces, dressings, oat milk and other offerings.

In reporting second-quarter earnings two weeks ago, Chairman and CEO Brian Cornell noted that Good & Gather has grown to $1 billion in sales in less than a year.

“This fall, we’ll roll out the third and final phase of our Good & Gather assortment, adding more than 600 items to bring the total number of items to nearly 2,000. The Good & Gather brand is clearly resonating with our guests and delivering on our food and beverage vision to enhance the Target experience by making it easy for families to discover the joy of food,” Cornell told analysts in a conference call.

“With the momentum from this new brand, our own-brand food and beverage business has been growing more than 30% so far this year, significantly outpacing the market and growing market share,” he added.

Target said Good & Gather now accounts for more than half of its own-brand food sales. When the new brand was launched, the company said it will eventually replace its Archer Farms and Simply Balanced labels as well as some products under its Market Pantry brand.