Target is starting the year off on a healthy note.
The retailer is revealing the launch of 2,000 new wellness products, most of which will be available this month, with more to follow throughout the first half of the year. Target’s wellness assortment will be highlighted via store displays, end caps and its online wellness destination, which provides customers with personalized recommendations. This announcement follows Target’s initiative last January during which it rolled out 1,000 new wellness products.
“The trend of self care is just getting bigger and bigger each year,” said executive vice president and chief commercial officer Rick Gomez. “It used to be, before the pandemic, that taking care of yourself was a luxury. Now it’s become a necessity, with over 90 percent of consumers taking care of or managing their physical and mental well-being.”
Slf products.
Courtesy
Specific products rolling out as part of Target’s latest wellness initiative include an 80-piece activewear line from fitness influencer Cassey Ho of Blogilates; Ashley Tisdale’s Being Frenshe hair wellness line; activewear from its in-house line All in Motion; Bloom’s colostrum powder; Therabody’s SmartGoggles; the new Oura Ring 4, and red light therapy devices from Slf — according to Gomez, wellness technology is an area of focus going forward and the retailer has more than 140 items in this category now.
Being Frenshe hair wellness line.
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Gomez emphasized each consumer’s approach to self care is different, therefore Target’s definition of wellness and assortment of products is broad. This year’s expansion spans several categories, including functional and nonalcoholic beverages; beauty; self care; men’s wellness; nutrition; gut health; wellness tech, and activewear and loungewear.
“The consumer is looking for cross-category solutions,” Gomez said. “It’s not just vitamins anymore. It’s much bigger and broader.”
Blake Brown products.
Courtesy of Blake Brown
That being said, some categories and trends are especially hot right now. For starters, Target’s exclusive brands with influential figures are doing especially well, according to Gomez. In particular, he pointed to the Blogilates activewear collection; Tisdale’s hair and body care brand Being Frenshe; Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson’s grooming line Papatui, and Blake Lively’s hair care brand Blake Brown — according to the retailer, this was its most successful hair care launch to date. Kourtney Kardashian Barker’s Lemme also recently launched an exclusive product, Lemme Tone, with the retailer.
Lemme Tone
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In addition, nonalcoholic and functional beverages have proven to be a major trend at Target and beyond. Earlier this year the retailer launched a section dedicated to nonalcoholic beverages, as the sober curious movement continues to take hold — additionally, it’s a trend only expected to grow after the U.S. Surgeon General recently pushed for cancer warnings on alcohol.
“[The nonalcoholic category] is five times bigger than it was just a few years ago,” Gomez said. “We’re also excited about functional beverages [because] consumers are looking for healthier alternatives.”
Gomez pointed to key brands in the functional beverage space like Poppi, which Target recently launched an apparel collection with, as well as nonalcoholic brands like Tom Holland’s Bero, a beer alternative — Target launched the brand this week as part of this year’s initiative.
Target’s apparel collection with Poppi.
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While financial challenges could result in a softer start to the year for certain categories, many experts say wellness is still going strong. When asked about this, Gomez said: “What we’re hearing from consumers is that it’s a priority to take care of themselves. Self care is critical. It’s not an indulgence.”
Additionally, he emphasized that the majority of the 2,000 products are under $10, in order to provide affordable options.
In doubling its product expansion this year, Gomez said: “We are positioning Target as a wellness destination, whether it’s online or it’s in stores.”
