Target Announced a New Bargain Brand Where Most Things Are Under $2

If you love a bargain, you’re going to do cartwheels over Target’s latest announcement: a new line of everyday essentials that undercuts its existing house brand, Up and Up, by nearly 50 percent—and with most items under $2.

The new line of lower price point essentials and everyday personal care items from Target features more than 70 unique products in the Smartly line, from body lotion and all-purpose cleaner to razors and garbage bags.

Mark Tritton, Target’s chief merchandising officer, recently told the Wall Street Journal that the new line of consumer staples is an attempt to compete with generic brands at drugstores and discount chains. “It’s about showing people that I don’t have to go to Aldi or I don’t have to go to Dollar General to find what I’m looking for,” Tritton said in an interview with WSJ.

Promising the trifecta of modern design, high quality, and low cost in one, Smartly is the Bullseye’s answer to everyday essentials—going head to head with the new generation of generics. Smartly more closely resembles the packaging of Target’s current house brand, Up and Up, than the millennial-focused minimalism of Brandless and Public Goods, but regular Target shoppers will no doubt appreciate the additional cost-conscious basics.

In addition, Smartly beauty products will feature a variety of fragrances “developed in partnership with master perfumers” as well as “joyful, modern packaging that looks great on the countertop,” according to a recent press release, plus “fun” copywriting. Fragrances like Blossom, Citrus Grove, and Rain Shower seem to be going also be going head-to-head with Target-stocked brands like Mrs. Meyers and Method.

Available in stores and online starting this Sunday October 14th, the Smartly line will be sold as single items and in small multi-packs, “perfect for those who are looking for a great value without having to purchase in bulk.”

According to the WSJ coverage, Smartly products are also sold in small quantities, such as a single roll of paper towels, to capture Gen-Z and millennial shoppers—including college students or 20-somethings who are starting their first jobs—because Target’s market research has shown these shoppers aren’t as loyal to well-known brands.

Smartly is the just the latest in a slew of new house brands debuted by Target in the last year, including more than a dozen in home decor and home furnishings—from Hearth & Hand, the big box retailer’s collaboration with Chip and Joanna Gaines of Fixer Upper fame, to Project 62, its mid-century reproduction line, plus Target’s first in-house electronics brand, called Heyday.

To learn more about Smartly, check out Target’s blog: A Bullseye View.