Dive Brief:
- Target added 3,000 new food items to its assortment during its first quarter of 2026, executives said on a Wednesday morning earnings call.
- The retailer is continuing to execute its “food-forward” strategy by introducing new products that showcase trending flavors and meet health and wellness needs, according to Chief Merchandising Officer Cara Sylvester.
- Target’s grocery department is also undergoing its “largest transition in over a decade, resetting nearly half of [its] center store grocery assortment,” Sylvester said.
Dive Insight:
Target’s goal is to continue “evolving food from a category [customers] shop while they’re at Target into a reason they choose to come to Target,” Sylvester said.
Sales from the 3,000 newly introduced items are growing more than 50% compared to the prior assortment, she said. Target plans to continue adding goods that lean into high-growth areas where customers are actively seeking newness, like protein, functional beverages and better-for-you snacking, she noted.
Overall, the food and beverage category, which accounts for 25% of the retailer’s sales, saw a sales increase of more than 6% year-over-year.
Sylvester noted that Target’s food and beverage offerings will receive “a lot of new assortments” in the second quarter.
Along with expanding its grocery assortment, the food and beverage department is also undergoing a significant category reset, including continuing to better align with health and wellness trends, such as eliminating all certified synthetic colors from its cereal assortment.
To keep up with in-store changes and expanded offerings, Target executives told investors that it added two new facilities to its supply chain network, including a food distribution center in Colorado.
“[W]hen you think about that investment in fresh food, that leads to better in-stocks, better freshness in some of those most important, most frequently shopped categories,” Chief Operating Officer Lisa Roath told investors.
Target’s ongoing store remodel program, which has more than 100 projects underway, includes an “enhanced focus on food and frequency-driving categories, where we’re seeing the strongest returns,” according to Roath.
For Q1, Target saw net sales grow nearly 7% year over year, a turnaround from the 1.5% decline the retailer recorded for that financial metric during the prior quarter.
As Target continues to report softer, yet improving, financial results, Roath said that focusing on high-frequency categories like food remains a priority.
