Target Is Leaning Into Food And Beverage, Giving Emerging Brands A Retail Platform Like Never Before

BusinessFood & DrinkTarget Is Leaning Into Food And Beverage, Giving Emerging Brands A Retail Platform Like Never BeforeByAndrew Watman,Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. I cover innovation across the food & beverage landscape.Follow AuthorAug 24, 2026, 10:56am EDTSummaryTarget is aggressively expanding its Food & Beverage sector, becoming a primary grocery destination and top traffic driver, boasting $9 billion in growth since 2019. The retailer is curating a "craveable, cool" assortment, emphasizing trends and actively fostering emerging brands. Target partners with small businesses, offering a vital platform for innovative products across frozen, snacks, refrigerated, breakfast, and beverages. This strategy includes a strong focus on wellness, organic options, and even pioneering low-dose THC drinks. Target's commitment to innovation and trend-setting positions it as a retail leader, driving new discoveries and loyalty among busy families by providing diverse, quality options at accessible price points.Show More Little Spoon x TargetLittle SpoonTarget is having fun behind the scenes, and it’s noticeable up and down each aisle. It’s always been a store to browse the aisles and leave with items you didn’t intend to purchase. But as the mass retailer has shifted its grocery business in recent years, you’re now heading to Target for different reasons in the first place, now becoming a place for discovery of food and beverage products–putting more emphasis on its curation. “We’re focused on carving our own lane–an assortment that’s craveable, cool and feels very much like our distinct point of view on food, not just any assortment of food,” John Conlin, Target Senior Vice President of Food & Beverage Merchandising, tells me. “Target is known as a place for trends and style, and the way that I've approached this next chapter with food is through that same lens, standing tall for new and...