Target has given investors a reason to feel better about its turnaround.
The retailer’s most recent earnings beat expectations, with net sales reaching $26.5 billion, a 5.3% increase from the prior year. Comparable sales rose 3.8%, while digital comparable sales increased 8.7%.
The numbers are encouraging for a company that’s spent the past several quarters working to regain its footing with consumers.
Target CEO Michael Fiddelke has outlined a broad turnaround plan focused on improving the company’s merchandise, customer experience, technology, and workforce.
“We’re delivering an incredible amount of trend-right newness while also providing outstanding value across the entire portfolio,” Fiddelke said during the company’s second-quarter 2026 earnings call.
That strategy involves more than simply cutting prices or adding products, though.
Target is trying to make its growing portfolio of private-label brands a bigger part of the reason shoppers choose the retailer. That’s where one of Target’s latest initiatives becomes particularly interesting.
Target wants Good & Gather to become a household name
Target has launched its first-ever cookbook centered around Good & Gather, its flagship owned food and beverage brand.
The cookbook features 100 recipes developed by Target’s test kitchen, with every ingredient available at the chain.
On the surface, a cookbook might not seem like a major retail strategy. But for Target, it represents something bigger: an attempt to turn Good & Gather from a collection of store-brand products into a recognizable consumer brand.
Related: Costco makes key move to expand membership base
Good & Gather launched in 2019 and has grown into a massive product line spanning fresh food, pantry staples, snacks, and beverages.
Target says the brand is on track to become a $4 billion owned brand.
The cookbook gives Target another way to put that merchandise directly in front of consumers. Instead of simply asking shoppers to consider Good & Gather when they’re standing in the grocery aisle, Target is showing them how to use the products in their everyday lives.
That’s particularly important as Target tries to strengthen its food business.
If Target can make Good & Gather products part of a family’s regular meal routine, it has a better chance of turning occasional Target trips into more frequent ones. And one of its rivals has already demonstrated how powerful the strategy of building up a store brand can be.
Costco has already proven the private-label playbook works
Target and Costco have different business models but have long been competitors.
Costco has turned Kirkland Signature into one of the most successful private-label brands in retail. And now, it looks as if Target wants to follow Costco’s lead.
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Kirkland isn’t simply Costco’s cheaper alternative to national brands. It’s become a sought-out brand in its own right, with shoppers actively choosing Kirkland products across categories ranging from food and beverages to clothing and household goods.
That creates an enormous advantage for Costco.
Customers aren’t just visiting Costco because they need paper towels or a large package of cereal. They’re also coming because they trust Kirkland and expect the brand to deliver a combination of quality and value.
“Above all else, Kirkland Signature is trusted. This means that consumers have come to rely on the quality, consistency, and value provided by this brand,” retail expert Dave Wendland told Retail Wire.
Target now has an opportunity to make Good & Gather, along with its other owned brands, more recognizable and more desirable to shoppers.
The cookbook is a relatively small initiative compared with Target’s broader turnaround. But it demonstrates the direction the retailer is heading in.
If shoppers start to trust Target more, there’s a greater likelihood of repeat business.
That’s the Costco lesson. And if Target can replicate even part of Kirkland’s success, its private-label strategy could become an important piece of its comeback.
Maurie Backman owns shares of Target and Costco.
Related: Discontinued Costco member favorite returns to shelves
