Target To Give Less Support For Top Suppliers' Packaged Products : WSJ

(RTTNews) - Discount retailer Target Corp. (TGT) has informed top suppliers of packaged foods that the retailer doesn't want to put as much money and effort into promoting some of their products as it did in the past, the Wall Street Journal reported citing people familiar with the matter. Shoppers have long been shifting to fresh and healthy-sounding foods at the expense of canned and bagged goods in the aging center of the supermarket.

The retailer informed several suppliers, including Kraft Foods Group Inc. (KRFT), General Mills Inc (GIS), Campbell Soup Co (CPB), Kellogg Co. (K) and others of the plan earlier this year.

Target reportedly said it wants to do less with Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Corn Flakes and more with granola and yogurt. Canned soup, a category facing a long decline, will be de-emphasized. The processed foods sold by Kraft Foods Group Inc. and others will move down the totem pole, while fancy sauces and oils will move up.

Shoppers have long been shifting to fresh and healthy-sounding foods at the expense of canned and bagged goods in the aging center of the supermarket. But the move by Target's new chief executive, Brian Cornell is among the starkest signals yet that the changing tastes of American consumers will leave some big brands in the lurch.