Minneapolis, MN—Furthering the trend of big-box retailers entering the rapidly growing natural and organic foods market, Target Corp. has begun to roll out a store brand of organic and natural foods called Simply Balanced. The first products in the line include drinks and snacks, but the retailer has plans to expand it to more than 250 products over the next several months.

 

Target already offers a premium private label brand called Archer Farms, but officials say that Simply Balanced was developed in response to the growing popularity of organic foods. Simply Balanced was actually introduced in 2009 as a sub-brand to Archer Farms, but this move will see it stand on its own, with a fresh look and new products. Around half of the items in the new line will be organic, and initially, three-quarters will be free of genetically modified ingredients. The store says it will strive to eliminate genetic modification from the line by the end of 2014.

 

In contrast to its other store brand called Market Pantry, which is positioned to offer a cheaper option than national name brands, Simply Balanced will be priced more closely to national brands and Archer Farms products. Target also announced that it plans to increase its overall organic food selection 25% by 2017. The retailer has been increasing its grocery business overall, as evidenced by a 4% increase in annual grocery and pet supply sales since 2009.

 

Published in WholeFoods Magazine, August 2013