Last April, our team (Julia and I) spent a week in beautiful Minneapolis, MN attending and participating in the Target Takeoff Program!
“Target Takeoff is a mini retail boot camp at our Minneapolis headquarters, focused on supporting emerging businesses solving for problems in areas where Target hope to grow their business, too.
The theme of the first Target Takeoff? Sustainable products and solutions that help consumers live better and support their communities. Target welcomed teams from 10 up-and-coming startups focused on creating products that are better-for-you—and in many cases, better for the world.”
Target received a total of 276 brand submissions for this program, and the final 10 brands that were chosen to participate were:
FATCO
Mented
Pique Tea
Asiya
Piperwei
LoveGrain
True Moringa
Salty Girl Seafood
ThinkEatLive
Iya Foods
Here are a few things that we learned:
– People in Minnesota love their skyways! I can see this totally making sense in the winter, when it’s cold and nasty out.
– Target is doing HUGE things when it comes to retail! The team at Target is taking great strides to bring better-for-you brands to the masses. The peeps at Target will readily admit that everything they sell and source “isn’t perfect”…but this day in age, I believe that we need to adopt a mindset of “Progress over Perfection”…and they practice this…every damn day.
– Twins fans are confused when you wear a RedSox jersey and a Twins hat!
On the last evening, we all attended the Redsox/Twins baseball game, and had a blast! It may have even ended with a few of us going and singing karaoke at a random MN dive bar. Because nothing creates team-bonding quite like singing Bon Jovi’s “Livin on a Prayer” on a stage at the top of your lungs!
This experience was one that we will never forget. We formed friendships and business partnerships that will last a lifetime. It was amazing to be able to live and breathe entrepreneurship for 5 days straight, and to be able to learn and teach each other. This thing called entrepreneurship can often feel lonely…but that week, none of us were alone.
We all headed back home to work on our pitches for a few months before we hopped back on the plane to Minneapolis for Target Takeoff Round 2!
We met up with the crew and it felt like a family reunion! We arrived for Target Takeoff Demo Day, where we got to pitch our businesses to about 200 investors and higher ups at Target. While the nerves were high backstage, everyone nailed their pitches! Sorry Minneapolis, no karaoke this time around…or maybe I should be saying “you’re welcome”?
It has truly been an honor to be a part of this program and see just how much Target is pushing the envelope when it comes to discovering and nurturing new brands that are putting both our health and the environment at the forefront of their mission!
“We know our guests want better-for-you and sustainable options from diverse suppliers, and there are already so many businesses out there solving for those needs,” says Jennifer Silberman, chief sustainability officer, Target. “Target has an opportunity to use our scale and expertise to help some of those brands bring their products to market faster at a national level. Many of these solutions eventually come full-circle and end up in Target’s assortment.”
This program has made me so excited for the future as we see large retailers like Target making a concerted effort to carry natural brands who are putting our health and the environment first.
We REALLY wanted to share this experience with you, our fans, as much as we could…so we decided to put together a pretty epic giveaway, including products from all of the participating brands! So please hop on over to our Instagram page and check out the giveaway featuring ALL of these amazing brands! (Giveaway Ends August 28, 2017 at 8am PST)
The prizes include:
True Moringa-
Mented Cosmetics- Nude Nail Collection (3 polishes)
PIque Tea – 3 packs: 1 Passionfruit Green Tea, 1 Peach Ginger Black Tea, 1 Jasmine Green Tea
Salty Girl Seafood – 3 packs of Salmon Bites
Think Eat Live – 2 Sunflower Based Baking Mixes
Iya – African Inspired One Pot Simmer Sauce & Seasonings
Asiya – 1 Sports Hijab *Can be donated to a woman in need*
PiperWai – 1 Natural Deodorant Stick & 1 jar of Natural Deodorant
Love Grain – 1 Love Grain Apron
FATCO- Travel Kit – 1 Myrrhaculous Face Cream, 1 Stank Stop Deodorant , 1 Cleansing Oil, 1 Body Butta
Good Luck!
