Target quietly expands controversial items, winning back customers

In October 2025, Target made one particularly interesting move to win back a number of customers, and succeeded. Now, it’s quietly expanding that program that yielded results. 

Additionally, in 2025 the retail giant worked hard to earn back consumers’ trust lost over the last couple of years due to several controversies, including boycotts over its Pride collection and the rollback of its DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) initiatives. 

Customer backlash directly impacted the company’s operational results, with the full-year 2025 net sales dropping 1.7% to $104.8 billion, reflecting a 2.6% decrease in comparable sales, according to its 8-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). 

In the beginning of 2026, Target appointed Michael Fiddelke as the new CEO aiming to rehabilitate the company’s image and improve the customer experience. Fiddelke, who has been with the retailer for more than 20 years, quickly announced new priorities and turnaround strategy. 

I previously covered in detail the company’s massive $5 billion “New Chapter” overhaul which includes refreshing its physical stores to make them less cluttered, prioritizing curated categories, the guest experience, and enhancing delivery. 

Earlier this month, Target quietly made an important move into one particular category that brought positive results last year. 

Target quietly expands THC hemp drinks’ reach with 72 new licenses 

Target has significantly increased its presence in the hemp-derived THC beverage market, by obtaining 72 new licenses to sell low-potency hemp products in Minnesota. This means the retailer can now sell THC-infused drinks and edibles at every one of its stores in the North Star State, reported Marijuana Moment. 

This expansion follows a successful pilot program that started last year. Initially, the retailer started testing the sale of THC-infused drinks in some of its Minnesota liquor stores, becoming the first major national retailer to enter the cannabis-beverage market. 

At Target, THC-infused drinks are only sold to people 21 and older and are kept in liquor store sections with their own separate entrances. Each drink is limited to 5 milligrams of THC per serving to ensure it is low-potency and safe for casual consumers. You can find more details about the initial launch in my previous article here. 

Diana Eberlein, chair of Coalition for Adult Beverage Alternatives, a group representing the makers of THC drinks, believes this move helps “normalize” these products by making them available at a familiar, everyday store, reported Insurance Journal. 

THC/Hemp brands found at Target liquor stores: CannHi SeltzerWyldWynkFind Wunder 

Target quietly expands THC hemp drinks’ reach with 72 new licenses.

Bukhta Yurii/Shutterstock.com

Target’s bet is a tricky one due to the changes in the hemp law 

With this expansion, Target became the largest holder of these specific licenses, according to a review of Office of Cannabis Management data and as reported by Marijuana Moment. 

The new licenses were obtained on April 1 and will last for a year. The move comes at an uncertain time for the hemp and cannabis industries, as the legal landscape around the plant is frequently changing. 

Moreover, in November 2025, Congress passed and President Donald Trump signed into law the government funding package ending the longest government shutdown in the US history, “and, in doing so, enacted the most consequential federal change to hemp policy since the 2018 Farm Bill, poised to upend a $28 billion dollar industry,” reported Akerman. 

Under the new law federally legal hemp contains: No more than 0.4 milligrams of total THC per container
(a shift from the prior 0.3% delta-9 THC dry weight standard)No cannabinoids, regardless of concentration, that are synthesized or manufactured outside the cannabis plantNo cannabinoids with “similar effects (or marketed as having similar effects)” to THC
(as determined by HHS)
Source: Akerman 

 “This will kill the hemp industry as we know it. We’re talking about wiping out thousands of businesses and hundreds of thousands of jobs,” Jonathan Miller, general counsel for the U.S. Hemp Roundtable warned of the bill’s massive impact on the industry, reported MichealBest. 

In Minnesota, the state law currently allows holders of lower-potency hemp edible licenses to sell products containing up to 5 milligram of THC per serving, with a maximum of 50 milligrams of THC per package. Beverages can have a maximum of up to 10 milligrams of THC per container, explained Marijuana Moment’s Tom Angel. 

 While bipartisan lawmakers in the US Senate and House of Representatives are pushing for a delay in the scheduled ban, which will otherwise take effect in November, it’s uncertain if those efforts will yield any results.

So, why is Target betting on the THC beverage market amid law changes? 

Target’s THC beverage offering makes a number of consumers more likely to shop there  

While initial social media reactions to Target’s THC beverage rollout have been unenthusiastic, with many Reddit users maintaining their boycotts, the survey from the cannabis telehealth platform NuggMD revealed different stances. 

NuggMD asked cannabis users if knowing about Target’s THC beverage rollout will make them more likely to shop at the retailer in the future. A total of 50.5% confirmed they would be more likely, but that also included 34.4% who said only if their local store carried the beverages. 

The survey directly confirmed the importance of expanding the offering across all its stores in the state. However, another 16.1% said yes because they “want to support the retailer more now regardless of which locations sell the product,” reported Marijuana Moment. 

Reasons why Target is expanding THC offering outreach: Reviving customer loyalty: The above-mentioned survey confirmed 50% of cannabis users are more likely to visit the store because of this offering. Retail shift: According to an August Gallup survey, the percentage of adults who report drinking alcohol dropped to 54%, the lowest level since 1939. With the alcohol sales decline, major retailers like Target are looking toward the growing cannabis curious market to make up the difference. Huge market: The total potential THC beverage market is valued at between $9.9 billion and $14.9 billion, according to Whitney Economics, a global leader in cannabis and hemp business consulting, data and economic research. 

Additionally, while the retailer didn’t make any official comments and reports yet, the expansion of the offering outreach suggests that the pilot program went well and that Target wants to capture the revenue while the offering is still legal and the market is booming. 

Moreover, the legal cannabis/hemp landscape is constantly changing, and a newly filed bipartisan bill in the US Senate would effectively let states opt out of the federal recriminalization of hemp THC products, reported Marijuana Moment. 

If the bill becomes law, it would save Target and thousands of other businesses a lot of trouble, and even if it doesn’t, Target has about six months to fully use its licenses as a major holder in Minnesota.

More retail:

T-Mobile surprises customers with free perks beyond phone plansTarget quietly launches cult-favorite brand to lure back customersOreo maker creates controversial milk chocolate barsMedical experts have mixed opinions on recreational cannabis use

As a reporter covering the cannabis landscape for five years, I’ve reported about various law changes and medical developments in the space. Over those years, cannabis popularity has significantly grown, and many states have opened their doors toward legal medical or recreational use, or both. 

While a growing number of studies prove the benefits of medical marijuana, especially for children with rare and severe forms of epilepsy, adult or recreational use is still less widely accepted and debated among medical professionals. 

In June 2018, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved CBD medicine,  Epidiolex, for the treatment of children with rare and serious forms of epilepsy. The medicine was first approved for the treatment of seizures connected to Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and Dravet syndrome, and later for managing seizures related to tuberous sclerosis complex.

Nonetheless, adult-use is still viewed differently, with some doctors supporting it and other warning about potential adverse effects. 

In October 2025, following a major 2025 report by the American College of Surgeons (ACS) regarding THC and fatal accidents, Dr. Jill Simons, the Executive Director of the American College of Pediatricians (ACPeds) issued the following warning: 

“Among the many adverse effects of marijuana use—including addiction, poor school performance, and an increased risk of mental illness—are impaired driving safety and reduced alertness. To think that many of these incidents could have been prevented with stricter limits on marijuana and greater caution against its use by medical providers is deeply troubling.”

What this means for Target and its customers

Target’s expansion into THC beverages is yet another bold move the retailer has made this year to win back customers and improve its sales. By scaling availability across Minnesota, the retailer is positioning itself as a go-to place for cannabis-curious consumers. 

Importantly, Target is the only massive retailer to offer low-dose THC beverages, a move Walmart and Costco haven’t taken yet. Offering something its biggest rivals don’t have could make a huge difference for revitalizing its brand and bringing more customers to its stores. This distinction allows the retailer to claim an increasingly popular category. 

At the same time, customers who consume hemp/cannabis products support its normalization through the placement alongside traditional retail offerings and stigma reduction.  

Whether the bet pays off long term will depend on federal policy decisions, but in the near term, Target appears willing to accept regulatory risk in exchange for early-mover advantage in a potentially multi-billion-dollar market.

Other large retailers that sell THC products include: Total Wine & More Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Circle-K

Related: Dollar General rolls out limited deals for value-driven shoppers

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