Dive Brief:
- Target Corp. is taking another step in its plans to reinvent some of its grocery strategies, as previously reported in March, by de-emphasizing certain processed foods brands it carries, reports the Wall Street Journal citing unnamed sources.
- Some of these processed foods companies include Campbell Soup Co., General Mills Inc., Kraft Foods Group Inc., and Kellogg Co., which will no longer have the same financial backing for promotions as they had in the past.
- Products like granola, yogurt, and fancy sauces and oils will be favored in lieu of these big-name processed foods brands.
Dive Insight:
Target is moving to appeal to younger consumers, particularly millennials, as it rolls out its grocery revamp plan, which includes focusing on seven particular grocery departments as well as carrying more organic and all-natural products. Target has already tapped PetSmart Inc. VP of services Anne Dament to oversee these changes and head up the new and improved grocery business.
Instead of relying on suppliers to determine its inventory, Target is turning to consumer research and product curation, to the potential chagrin of those suppliers.
The retailer's CEO Brian Cornell said, "That doesn’t mean that mac and cheese is being eliminated, but clearly assortment is being shaped around what consumers are looking for," according to the Wall Street Journal.