How This CPG Brand Convinced Target to Put Food in the Toy Aisle

When Jennifer Ross, co-founder of beverage company Swoon, first reached out to Mattel, she had two objectives: stand out among a sea of digitally-native brands competing for big box shelf space, and align with a brand that honors consumer nostalgia with a reimagined legacy product. She was determined to score a short-term partnership that positioned the brand for long-term growth. 

Alongside her co-founder Cristina Ros Blankfein, Ross introduced a line of sugar-free drinks that she wishes she was offered as a kid growing up with Type 1 diabetes. Because she always wanted to enjoy what her friends were drinking, Ross was set on creating a product that accommodated for health concerns while maintaining universal appeal.

While Mattel brand Barbie is working to diversify toy chests—it just released its first doll representing a person with Down Syndrome—Ross wants to expand the range of options in a birthday party drink cooler. 

“Being a diabetic always meant feeling a little bit othered,” said Ross. “Barbie has made so many strides in inclusion, and we wanted to align with a brand that everyone can feel a part of and relate to.”

Reverse engineering shelf space

Ross and Ros Blankfein knew that introducing new stock keeping units (SKUs) is what typically stops emerging brands from winning limited shelf space, so they decided to make their way into more Target stores by co-branding its pink lemonade under the same hero identifier.  By taking advantage of the buzz around Barbie and repositioning the brand with new art instead of new products, Swoon snagged chain-wide Target placement. 

While the Barbie lemonade will only be available in select stores at its launch this month, the product will launch nationally in July and become the first food and beverage business to sell in the Target toy aisle. And once that toy aisle partnership sunsets, the founders are confident that Swoon will stay in all Target beverage aisles. 

“A key nugget of this is thinking about partnerships that take you into new parts of retail and into new retailers,” said Ros Blankfein, adding that the Barbie collaboration has convinced other existing partners to offer Swoon in new standalone displays. “It’s about capturing customers that weren’t necessarily looking for you.”

Glamorizing sugar substitutes 

This partnership is an extension of the duo’s intention to separate Swoon from the category of diabetic or diet drinks that are seen as an unsexy second choice. The brand, which teamed up with Emma Chamberlain last year to launch a matcha lemonade with Chamberlain Coffee, saw a Barbie collab as another opportunity to deepen its connection to pop culture.  

“It’s really interesting to see the cultural moment that’s happening with Barbie beyond the doll,” said Ros Blankfein, referencing the upcoming Barbie movie starring Margot Robbie and the “Barbiecore” fashion movement on TikTok, which has garnered more than 344 million views. “There’s this sense of reclaiming the brand through female empowerment.”