How 3 (Very Different) Startups Landed on Target’s Shelves

A close up of hands folded one over the other in an imitation of a bird with its wings folded. The nails on the hands are each painted with a different pastel color. — **Ohora set out to democratize salon-quality nail art and has landed on Target shelves.** — Ohora

Small business takeaway:

Three startups offer key lessons on breaking into retail: proof of market demand, operational readiness, and a compelling brand story. Skincare startup Magic Molecule leveraged mainstream rebranding of a niche ingredient, Cymbiotika supplements prioritized infrastructure before scaling, and ohora translated digital buzz of its K-beauty nail products into retail success. Together, the brands demonstrate that disciplined growth, customer trust, and strategic partnerships are key to retail breakthroughs.

Landing products on the shelves of Target is a dream for many startups. But getting there takes more than a great product. Brands have to prove they can stand out in a crowded market, meet the retailer’s demanding supply requirements, and build enough customer momentum to justify nationwide distribution.

When it works, the retailer’s endorsement can validate a brand overnight, turning niche products into mainstream must-haves.

The Founders of skin care brand Magic Molecule, supplement startup Cymbiotika, and K-beauty business ohora share with CO— how they caught Target’s attention, earned their place in stores, and leveraged that breakthrough to accelerate growth.

Magic Molecule: Transforming a medical-grade disinfectant into a mainstream wellness hit, landing their Skin Spray in Target stores

Magic Molecule CEO and Co-founder Justin Kerzner and his wife Chelsea first learned about hypochlorous acid during the pandemic, when the compound gained attention as a wound treatment and surface disinfectant in hospitals and public spaces.

The ingredient had been used for decades in medical, food, and industrial settings, but it was sold to consumers mostly through niche products. “Most information on hypochlorous acid was very medical,” Kerzner said, “with less on its practical day-to-day use.” The day before the couple’s wedding, Chelsea sprayed a bunch of bug bites with hypochlorous acid, and the next morning, they disappeared. After the experience, the couple was determined to expand the compound’s use and consumer appeal.

The Kerzners linked up with a Minneapolis-based chemist and ultimately patented a process for producing a shelf-stable hypochlorous acid spray. In 2023, they launched Magic Molecule with an FDA-cleared, stabilized hypochlorous acid antimicrobial skin spray. The company has helped bring hypochlorous acid into the mainstream wellness market, rebranding it as a gentle, everyday solution for skin and household use.

Initially, the Kerzners sold their 1-ounce bottle of Skin Spray direct-to-consumer, mostly friends and family. “The plan was to get it into a lot of people’s hands and see what happens,” Justin said. “To see if they trusted us enough to use it.”

The couple sold out, and soon began building a solid customer base of people using the spray for cuts, burns, scrapes, and diaper rash. Ulta Beauty was their first major retailer. Then, the Kerzners secured a meeting with Target’s director of skin care.

A 20-minute pitch turned into a two-hour conversation. Last May, the brand launched its mini, two-ounce product in Target, and “it performed nicely,” Justin said. Then for the back-to-school season, its 3.4-ounce Daily Skin Spray and its eight-ounce product landed on a Target end cap. The display helped Magic Molecule achieve roughly a threefold increase in brand awareness, with a meaningful share of the gain holding steady after the display ended, he said.

In August, the two products secured regular spots on Target shelves, launching in 600 stores initially, and a month later expanding chainwide across roughly 1,200 Target locations. Target started carrying the brand’s Hydrogel Spray in February.  

A month after launching at Target, Magic Molecule was able to successfully raise private equity money and subsequently hire several senior leaders. The brand has worked with CPG marketing agency The Barcode Group to help manage its Target relationship.

Now, Magic Molecule is selling one bottle of its skin spray every 20 to 25 seconds, and it has seen more than 50% year-over-year growth while remaining profitable. The Kerzners have ambitions to scale up more broadly, into places like hotels, gyms, and salons. “But we’re trying not to cast the widest net too quickly,” Justin said.

[Ohora] approached Target by showing the retailer how its dedicated community of loyal customers was spreading the word online. [Yooseok] Gong said Target’s beauty buying team liked ohora’s high customer review scores and strong repurchase rates.

After years of careful growth, Cymbiotika hit a major milestone by launching their supplements in all of Target’s 1,900+ stores

Cymbiotika is the fifth business husband-and-wife team Durana Elmi and Shahab Elmi have launched, and one they feel especially passionate about. The startup, also co-founded by entrepreneur Chervin Jafarieh, sells nutritional supplements designed to support overall wellbeing, immunity, gut health, and energy.

“Our goal was to help people, change the world, and be a role model for our daughters so they could see Mom and Dad making an impact,” Durana said.

The brand continued to scale, launching in six Sprouts Farmers Market stores in 2024, which soon became 12. “And we learned a lot there,” said Shahab. Cymbiotika enhanced its warehouse and fulfillment operations by upgrading to NetSuite and adding two new distribution centers, laying the groundwork for expanded reach. Landing Target was an early goal.

“Once you break $100 million, you really start to get the attention of some of these big retailers,” Shahab said. As talks with Target started, sales had climbed to $200 million.

The brand launched under its new tagline, “A New Era of Supplements is Here,” in all of Target’s more than 1,900 stores, with $29.99 boxes of 12 “rip-and-sip” liquid supplements, including Glutathione, Vitamin C, Magnesium Complex, and Irish Sea Moss, created exclusively for the retailer.

“As we launched, we gave Target the respect they deserved by focusing our attention on them,” said Shahab. “Your relationship with the retailer really matters. You have a responsibility to execute, and it behooves you to show them you value them as much as they value you.”

To be successful, added Durana, “it’s important you have the internal infrastructure” to support the retailer’s inventory procurement and fulfillment demands. “We waited five years because we wanted everyone in the right seats.”

Since the Target launch, the Founders have built on their success with partnerships to sell their supplements in-store at Pura Vida and Equinox. Last summer in partnership with Fontainebleau Las Vegas, the brand launched the first-ever Cymbiotika Wellness Bar in the resort’s elevated Promenade Food Hall, with supplements to-go and products infused into smoothies and juices. Early 2026 brings partnerships with Whole Foods and Ulta. On the brand’s growing success, Durana said: “Our product is in places where consumers are showing up to shop.”

A close up of fingernails decorated with stickers of tiny bows and teddy bears. — **Ohora used its online footprint and loyal digital fanbase to convince Target of its appeal.** — ohora

K-beauty nail brand Ohora showed Target how its digital buzz and devoted following could translate into sustained in-store sales

Ohora launched in 2019 to solve a specific frustration in the beauty market: consumers having to choose between the high cost and time commitment of a professional nail salon or often-subpar at-home manicure options that chip easily or peel off.

“We wanted to democratize salon-quality nail art,” said Yooseok Gong, Director at ohora. The startup created and patented its “semi-cured gel” technology—nail strips made of 100% real liquid gel that are 60% cured. Consumers apply the product in colors like Blueberry Jam and Dewy Mint, then cure the remaining 40% under a UV lamp at home.

The brand started selling direct to consumer, focused heavily on the South Korean market before expanding globally. It relied on social media and performance marketing. “Video content showing the simple application and curing process was our biggest growth driver,” Gong said.

But to truly capture the U.S. market, ohora knew it needed a premier omnichannel partner. “And Target was at the top of our list,” said Gong. The brand approached Target by showing the retailer how its dedicated community of loyal customers was spreading the word online. Gong said Target’s beauty buying team liked ohora’s high customer review scores and strong repurchase rates.

“They saw the value in bringing a digitally proven, highly loved product to their physical shelves, which made the partnership a perfect fit,” said Gong.

Ohora launched in Target stores in the spring of 2024. Since then, it has continued to expand its footprint. It’s now available in around 2,000 Target locations nationwide. Gong said its ohora Starter Kit, which packages its gel nail strips with the UV gel lamp, has helped give first-timers a seamless introduction to gel technology and the brand. “We wanted to ensure the barrier to entry was as low as possible,” Gong said.

Since last year, the brand has doubled its product offerings at Target, now featuring around 20 products on store shelves. “And, we are constantly analyzing what the Target beauty consumer wants and are updating our assortments accordingly,” Gong said. With a boost from Target sales, ohora’s annual global revenue stands at approximately $69 million.

“Being on Target’s shelves has been a monumental milestone for ohora,” Gong said. “Target provides an incredible platform for brand discovery; it allows consumers who might be hesitant to buy a new beauty technology online to physically see the product, feel the quality of the packaging, and to pick it up on their weekly run. It has fundamentally legitimized and accelerated our physical retail presence in North America.”

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