Written by Christina Sarich, Natural Society, February 28, 2015
You voted with your dollar. You spoke out on social media. You educated your co-workers who were eating a junk-food diet. Thanks to this influence, organic food sales are exploding, so one of the largest retailers in the US is ‘doubling down’ their investment in organic and sustainable products.
Target’s initiative is called ‘Made to Matter,’ and it will nearly double the number of sustainable and organic products it sells. The chain has already included an exclusive collection of 16 brands and over 100 individual products that were introduced last year – ranging from bleach-free diapers to nonaerosol air fresheners.
According to Kathee Tesija, executive vice president and chief merchandising and supply chain officer, Target is expected to report annual sales of $73.2 billion in the near future – largely due to these changes.
This comes at a time when food companies such as Breyer’s, Nestle, Hershey, and many others are making their own shifts toward more healthful, natural ingredients. The health movement has taken hold, and will continue to push companies in the direction much-needed for a better food system.
The Made to Matter initiative is part of a reassessment Target is making of its grocery business.
Under Target’s new CEO, Brian Cornell, the company is looking to set itself apart by marketing different products in the grocery, health and wellness aisle. It’s part of a broader strategy which doesn’t include organic food, but other consumer goods; however, the company is betting big on consumer demand for organic.
Tesija said:
“I think this program has enormous potential and will continue to play an important role in differentiating Target from other retailers.”
Tesija also noted that brands featured in the new sustainable and organic program have already experienced a 30 percent increase in sales growth.
Target’s growth in the naturals and organics industry continues to grow 1.5 percent faster than the overall market, which has been expanding at about a 10 percent rate.
About 75 percent of the products this year are new. And you can guess who made this happen – YOU DID!
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Who says speaking up to all your friends and relatives does not make an impact. I even bring my own organic food to family dinners and CERTAINLY my filtered water. They can see the difference with my husband and myself in our health. We have reached our 60’s and look 40’s, energy is well above even the teens/20’s we know. My mother in law has the very beginnings of what looks like Alzheimer’s, due to what I believe is drinking tap water with fluoride. (she is in her late 80’s I contend its just age and fear when she forgets something that its simply over load on her brain).
I AM so happy the industry is moving towards making available Organic foods and produce, hopefully at a reasonable price to the Consumer. I have watched Target add these items to their stores and I want to tell Target’s new CEO, Brian Cornell, and Kathee Tesija, executive vice president and chief merchandising and supply chain officer, I AM GRATEFUL to them to make these moves.
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I’m grateful to them too, LizAnn, and I haven’t made anywhere near the progress you have with organic food. I still the food that’s offered at family functions because I don’t want to seem rude (I’m sure it’ll change eventually, but my family’s still getting used to my wife and I not eating meat), but finding organic food is getting easier and easier here in Illinois because more stores are offering it now.
Target has been one of the best stores when it comes to organic food, and I’m very thankful we’ve been able to find so much.
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