Target has turned its Food & Beverage category into a $9 billion growth engine since 2019, according to Forbes, transforming from a destination for packaged goods into a primary grocery stop that now drives foot traffic across its 1,900+ stores. The shift matters for small brands: Target is actively recruiting emerging F&B labels to fill that expanded shelf space, treating discovery as part of the merchandising strategy rather than a side bet.

The retailer reengineered its store layout to position food at the front, doubled cooler space, and introduced fresh produce, bakery, and grab-and-go meal sections — moves typically reserved for supermarket formats. Forbes reports that food has become the highest-frequency purchase driver in Target's mix, pulling customers in multiple times per week instead of the monthly trip the chain once anchored on home goods and apparel. That frequency creates repeat exposure for whatever sits on the endcap or the new-arrival shelf, which is where emerging brands now land.

The mechanic works because Target shifted its grocery P&L from margin optimization to traffic acquisition. Traditional grocery runs on razor-thin food margins subsidized by center-store packaged goods; Target runs it in reverse, using food traffic to drive higher-margin discretionary purchases elsewhere in the store. That math lets the buyer take risks on unproven brands with interesting packaging or a clean-label story, because the cost of a slot failure is lower when the category's job is to fill the cart, not the income statement. Forbes notes that Target's emerging-brand selection now includes labels that launched direct-to-consumer or in independent retail, categories the chain historically avoided until a brand proved national distribution.

The steal is straightforward: use Target's open-call submission process and its explicit appetite for emerging F&B to bypass the traditional broker-distributor ladder. Target runs a formal pitch program called Target Takeoff, which accepts applications from brands doing under $10 million in revenue. Submit through the portal with a one-page sell sheet, a cost breakdown that lands you at a 50-55% wholesale margin, and proof of liability insurance and co-manufacturing capacity to fulfill a test order of 200-500 units per door across a regional rollout of 50-150 stores. The chain looks for differentiated positioning — organic, better-for-you, ethnic, or format innovation — and packaging that photographs well, because their F&B merchandising relies on visual discovery, not legacy brand equity.

If you lack the production scale for a regional test, start with Target+, the retailer's third-party marketplace for online-only fulfillment, which has no minimum order and lets you prove sell-through before pitching for physical shelf. Run the product there for 90 days, hit a 4+ star review average, and then cite that performance data in your Takeoff application as proof of concept. Budget $8,000 - $12,000 for the first production run, liability coverage, and co-packing setup. The retailer does not charge slotting fees for emerging brands in the Takeoff program, but you will fund your own demos and in-store sampling if the category manager requests it, so reserve another $3,000 - $5,000 for a four-week sampling cycle across the test region.

The broader pattern: when a big-box chain reorients a category from margin to traffic, it creates a narrow window where discovery beats incumbency. Target's $9 billion F&B build happened in seven years, and the emerging-brand recruitment is the trailing edge of that build-out, which means the window stays open until the category matures and the buyer's risk tolerance tightens. File your application now, not after the next earnings call.