With more than a dozen Target stores gearing up to test a healthier cafe concept – switching out hotdogs and nachos for salads and green juices – the retailer appears to be trying to keep the wellness momentum going by making several other changes: giving employees fitness trackers and swapping the candy bars lining the register with more wholesome snacks.
The Associated Press reports that Target’s latest healthy changes focus on both customers and employees alike.
For customers, the retailer plans to exchange the high-calorie chocolate and other candy bars that typically serve as impulse purchases while waiting at the register with healthier grab-and-go options like granola bars.
The company is currently testing the swap in 30 stores, where they’re working to get the right balance between pushing healthy snacks and allowing a customer to indulge their sweet tooth.
“They don’t want us to be too preachy,” Christina Hennington, Target’s senior vice president of merchandising, tells the AP of the switch.
As for employees, the retailer is promoting an all-around healthier lifestyle.
The AP reports that Target partnered with Fitbit to provide more than 300,000 employees with basic fitness trackers called the Fitbit Zip.
Under the Fitbit program, employees will be grouped into teams for a month-long challenge. The winning team will get to choose a charity for which the retailer will make a $1 million donation.
To jumpstart employee’s healthier lifestyles, Target will also provide workers extra discounts on vegetables and fruits, Jodee Kozlak, Target’s chief human resources officer, tells the AP.
The health-focused moves are just the latest for Target, which has set to make wellness one of its key areas under new CEO Brian Cornell.
Last month, the company announced that 14 Target stores will serve as the testing grounds for a new cafe concept that ditches hot dogs and cheese-drenched nachos in favor of pressed juices, green salads and “artisan” pizza.
Target, Developing Healthier Habits, Hands Workers Fitbits [The Associated Press]
by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist