In Minnesota, the Star Tribune has an interview with Rick Gomez, Target's chief food and beverage officer. Some excerpts:
• "We have been on a multiyear journey in food and beverage really to build credibility in the grocery space. I'm so proud of what the team has done. We have a rallying cry in which we say we've gone from being just a retailer that just sells food to a retailer that celebrates food. There are a couple of examples that really differentiate Target from others. The first is our industry-leading same-day services so [customers can] drive up, order pick up or Shipt. It really was about safety and contactless during the pandemic, but it's evolved and become a really easy and convenient way to get your groceries. The second thing that really differentiates Target is our owned-brand portfolio. So Good & Gather (Target's private label organic brand) we launched two years ago. It's well over a $2 billion brand…"
• "Being inclusive with our assortment is very important to Target. It makes our assortment more relevant and more compelling. We have really accelerated our work to have more brands that are from Black-owned and Black-founded companies in particular. I'm really proud of that work. A year and a half ago we had about a dozen and we are on pace to have more than 50 Black-owned brands by the end of this year. They are great products. ... There's a brand that has a great story behind it called Me & the Bees and it's a little girl, a little African American girl who has a line of beverages that are lemonade that are made with honey. And it's her [great] granny's secret recipe and we have it now in four different flavors and it makes me really proud that we are making a difference by having more Black-owned brands in our assortment."
• "During the pandemic, we saw guest behavior change. We saw a lot of trial of our same-day services. For a lot of people, it was their first time trying these contactless services. The feedback from guests has been incredibly positive. What started as a trial looking for a safer option during the pandemic has continued as a really easy, convenient way for our guests to get their groceries. We expect that those services will continue to grow. The growth that we've seen in same-day services is really astonishing. We grew 45% last year and that's on top of over 230% over the previous year. ... We think that will continue."
- KC's View:
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Probably fair to expect that groceries, which Target says accounts for about 20 percent of its revenue, will grow in terms of importance to the company's bottom line.
And I do love the idea that Target has a chief food and beverage officer … most grocery chains don't have such titles, which may explain why so few stores actually feature the aromas of fresh bread or cookies, or the sensual experiences that are intrinsic to food's appeal.
