Collagen-infused iced tea brand Pretty Tasty is now stocked in every Target store in the United States, completing what the company describes as the fastest stretch of retail growth in its history. The rollout follows a nationwide launch at Sprouts Farmers Market and a new sponsorship deal with LifeTime Fitness, all within a single calendar year.
Shoppers can find Pretty Tasty's full lineup — including its award-winning Peach flavor — in the beverage aisle at Target locations nationwide. The brand also reaches consumers through natural-channel distributors UNFI and KeHE, giving it broad coverage across both mass and specialty retail. "Being in every Target means people don't have to go looking for us anymore," said Chris Taylor, CEO and co-founder of Pretty Tasty. "We're just there, on the shelf, wherever they already shop."
Momentum Behind the Launch
The Target placement caps a year of accelerating brand-building for the young company. Pretty Tasty won BevNET's New Beverage Showdown, and its Peach variety earned a 2024 Good Housekeeping Best Coffee & Tea Award — recognition that has helped the brand build shelf-space credibility with retail buyers. FoodNavigator-USA credited the brand's operational discipline alongside product quality as a driver of its distribution gains.
On the ground, the brand's field team ran more than 60 sampling events across New York City and the Hamptons during the summer, placing cans in what the company calls tens of thousands of hands at parks, beaches, gyms, rooftops, and boutique fitness studios. Last week, Pretty Tasty launched a nationwide partnership with LifeTime Fitness, sponsoring the chain's AfterGlo event series, with additional activations planned at LifeTime clubs through the fall.
Why It Matters for Beverage Operators
Pretty Tasty's rapid ascent reflects broader momentum in the functional beverage space, where collagen-forward and beauty-wellness hybrids are competing aggressively for both shelf space and the attention of health-conscious consumers. The brand markets itself around a "Drink Your Skincare" positioning — targeting shoppers who already spend on beauty and wellness but want those benefits delivered through everyday food and beverage habits rather than supplements.
For operators and retailers tracking functional beverage trends, Pretty Tasty's trajectory illustrates how a brand can move from specialty natural retail into mass channels quickly by pairing distributor relationships with grassroots demand creation. The LifeTime Fitness partnership also signals a growing playbook for better-for-you beverage brands: align with fitness and wellness venues to build trial before a major retail launch lands.
Co-founder Scarlett Leung said the Target shopper was always the intended audience. "The beauty and wellness industry has spent decades telling women that looking and feeling good means sacrifice," she said. "We built something we actually look forward to." Chief Marketing Officer Dan Goldstein framed the Target rollout not as an endpoint but as a foundation: "Target is the next chapter, not the end of the story."
For beverage buyers and hospitality operators monitoring better-for-you RTD coverage, Pretty Tasty's dual foothold in natural and mass retail — backed by distributor infrastructure through UNFI and KeHE — positions it as a brand with staying power beyond a launch moment. Additional retail partnerships are expected before year-end.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
