A healthier you: Now available at your neighborhood grocery store

by Audrey Monroe, RD, LD, Director of Nutrition – Kansas Beef Council & Cheryl Hendricks, RD, Manger, Channel Marketing – NCBA

Summary

Americans’ grocery store expenditures continue to increase as consumers look for cost savings, have a renewed interest in cooking and believe food they eat at home is healthier. Consumers also are turning to these popular destinations for their nutrition information. Supermarkets are capitalizing on their convenient nature to offer multi-faceted, holistic health services, including employing in-store or corporate registered dietitians. The beef industry must reach out to supermarket health and nutrition professionals to provide accurate information about beef’s nutrition as these individuals reach hundreds of consumers on a regular basis. Additionally, as meat case nutrition labeling rolls out in 2012, these point-of-purchase educators will play a valuable role in helping consumers decipher beef’s Nutrition Facts label information.

Discussion

Popular destinations

Supermarkets are positioned to help their customers make healthier food choices. The 2010 Food Marketing Institute (FMI) U.S. Grocery Shopper Trends report indicated shoppers believe the food they eat at home is healthier than the food they eat away from home. This health benefit, combined with the cost savings of eating at home and an increased interest in cooking, resulted in consumers spending an average of $99.90 weekly on groceries – an increase of 1.5 percent compared to 2009. Additionally, the report indicated the grocery store is a popular destination – consumers visit the grocery store 2.06 times per week.

Consumers are also turning to supermarkets for nutrition information. An April 2009 survey conducted by the American Heart Association showed grocery stores ranked No. 4 as the most-used source for nutrition information – behind only food packages/labels, the Internet and health professionals. However, a separate study conducted by the American Dietetic Association (ADA) found only 13 percent of respondents ranked grocery stores as “very credible” sources of nutrition information, compared to 71 percent ranking registered dietitians and nutritionists as very credible sources of nutrition information, 64 percent ranking doctors and 54 percent ranking nurses. Many supermarkets are capitalizing on their convenient nature and the credibility of health professionals by staffing stores with medical professionals like doctors, nurses and dietitians.

Time-strapped consumers

Today's busy consumer must determine which attributes of food are most important when preparing a last-minute meal. According to the 19th annual edition of “Shopping for Health,” released by FMI and Prevention magazine, lack of planning is trumping health in the decision-making process at the American dinner table, as 72 percent of shoppers decide what to have for dinner that day. When a last-minute dinner decision is made, the consumer prioritizes taste (73%), quickness of preparation (60%) and craving (52%) ahead of health (52%) when planning the meal. Supermarket dietitians are working to help consumers bridge this gap by creating in-store programs and menu ideas to promote easy, fast and nutritious meal solutions.

Dietitians recognizing career potential of retail nutrition

Registered dietitians are taking advantage of supermarkets as new frontiers for career opportunities. For example, Hy-Vee a Midwest retailer with more than 230 stores employs almost 200 in-store dietitians. The supermarket position is one of few in the dietetics profession that allows a dietitian to work with healthy, everyday people. “Supermarket RDs,” a LinkedIn group, boasts 135 members and describes itself as “A group for registered dietitians who work in the supermarket grocery retail arena, to promote an open dialogue among colleagues as we navigate our way in this new and growing area of the dietetics profession.” Additionally, ADA’s Food and Culinary Dietetic Practice Group (DPG) now has a supermarket sub-group.

This year, for the first time, Shopping for Health 2011, a national supermarket RD conference, brought together RDs representing more than 2,500 grocery stores in 28 states and the District of Columbia. The meeting, which is slated to repeat in 2012, offered supermarket RDs the opportunity to network with colleagues from other grocery chains and representatives from major food companies and to receive nutrition updates about food products they promote to consumers. The third annual Dietitian Summit in summer 2011 was attended by more than 40 registered dietitians and health-and-wellness professionals from food retailers, manufacturers and other related organizations.

Retail health programs offered today

Retail chains offer a variety of health and wellness programs for consumers. Many chains and independent retailers employ full-time in-store registered dietitians, employ corporate dietitians, contract with dietitian consultant companies or contract with self-employed consultant dietitians. Current ADA Food and Culinary Professionals’ Supermarket Chair Kim Kirchherr, MS, RD, LDN, CDE, shares her insight about the importance of supermarket RDs, “Today’s economy has driven those we serve back to the kitchen – we can help them balance out their restaurant selections as well as create tasty meals with health and wallet in mind!” Kirchherr explains the role of a supermarket dietitian, “If it has to do with educating the public about nutrition and shopping better/smarter, we are doing it! From television and radio to social media or writing educational articles or conducting tours in the aisles, a Supermarket RD’s job is ever changing and never boring – and it varies from retailer-to-retailer and region-to-region too!”

Supermarket RDs develop and implement a multitude of programs to interact with consumers on many levels, such as:

• Answer questions about food items on the grocery store shelves;
• Represent the retailer in media spots on local radio and television;
• Provide one-on-one and group classes and nutrition counseling on conditions such as diabetes, heart disease or Crohns Disease;
• Demonstrate healthy cooking techniques in-store;
• Provide content for newsletters, websites and magazines about meal planning, culinary tips, special diets, food allergies, food safety, etc.;
• Guide themed store tours, such as a “low-sodium tour” or a “healthy Halloween” tour;
• Answer questions about retail nutrition labeling programs like Guiding Stars and NuVal;
• Reach out to the community to spread nutrition awareness through partnerships with local schools, civic groups and government agencies;
• Provide in-house employee wellness programs and corporate programs for local businesses; and
• Conduct cholesterol and glucose screenings in the store.

Each supermarket with a health and wellness program offers different program components. For example, Hy-Vee in the Quad Cities is offering a variety of wellness programs, including the “Fast. Fit. Food!” weight-loss program. Participants are provided five days worth of food from their local Hy-Vee store (breakfast, lunch, dinner and two snacks) for $65 per week. The weight-loss program also includes a series of weekly cooking demonstrations and information about a variety of food topics. In Austin, Minn., Hy-Vee launched their “Sprouts – Get Out and Grow” program. A 40-by-60-foot plot of land adjacent to the grocery store teaches children how to garden in an effort to get them excited about healthy eating.

H-E-B in Houston and Austin, Texas, is offering customers the “Weigh Forward” medically supervised weight management program for $599. The 10-week program utilizes H-E-B’s RediClinic facilities and clinicians to provide patients with comprehensive diet and nutrition counseling, regular biometric testing and initial medical evaluation. According to a release about the program, participants can expect to lose 1-2 pounds per week.

Kroger stores in Kentucky and Colorado are implementing the “Health Matters at Kroger” program, which includes the LC600 Health Station, or LUCY, which allows customers to determine weight, body mass index, blood pressure, pulse, blood oxygen and more. Several Kroger divisions also offer screenings for osteoporosis, depression, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and peripheral arterial disease.

Wegmans stores in the northeastern United States have a focused mission: to inspire and support each other to enjoy healthier better lives using four simple “eat well live well” principles: strive for five cups of fruits and vegetables, get moving, calories count so watch your portions and measure your progress.

Many beef consumers could benefit from the culinary advice provided by grocery store dietitians or chefs. According to The Power of Meat 2011 report, less than half of consumers considered themselves very knowledgeable in areas such as cooking meat, poultry and seafood, and significant numbers admit room for improvement on things like picking sides that match the meat’s flavor profile, pairing the right wine with the meal, marinating and spicing meat and poultry and even the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) beef grading system.

Whole Foods’ location in Rockville, Md., is employing chefs to be in-store cooking coaches – answering consumer questions one-on-one. The chefs work mostly in Whole Foods’ bulk foods section, helping customers with tasks like grinding their own flour or buying spices in bulk.

Nutrition labeling of beef amplifies need for nutrition help

When the new USDA regulation, “Nutrition Labeling of Ground or Chopped Meat or Poultry Products and Single-Ingredient Products,” hits meat cases March 1, 2012, consumers will need assistance more than ever deciphering nutrition information about beef and other meat case proteins.

A November 2011 article in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association reported shoppers self-reported viewing Nutrition Facts label components during grocery shopping significantly more than they actually viewed them while engaging in a simulated grocery shopping task. Additionally, data from this study suggest an average consumer reads only the first five lines on a Nutrition Facts label (serving size, calories, total fat, saturated fat and trans fat).

For beef, this leaves out the important Nutrition Facts label information about protein and iron.

Consumers are proactively looking for these healthy food properties. According to “Shopping for Health” a shift in consumer thinking is occurring toward purchasing food products that include key health ingredients versus products that do not include undesirable ingredients. This consumer research indicated shoppers are increasingly likely to say they are buying more food products with certain components – whole-grains, fiber, vitamins/minerals, protein, etc.

Equally as important, as shoppers invest more trust and confidence in dietary advice obtained from in-store dietitians, it is important for these health influencers to have accurate information about beef’s nutrition.

Conclusions

Consumers – ever challenged with household budgets, time constraints and diet-related health concerns – need and want help to meet their health and wellness goals. Supermarkets’ wellness programs that incorporate in-store dietitians, self-service health kiosks and employee wellness programs are poised to influence the overall well-being of Americans, reflect the corporate commitment to health and to the community served, influence retail sales and secure the supermarket as the prime destination for better-for-you food products.

Additional Resources

Food Marketing Institute. Supermarket Facts. Industry Overview 2010. http://www.fmi.org/facts_figs/?fuseaction=superfact

Food Marketing Institute, Shopping for Health 2011. http://fmi.org/news_releases/index.cfm?fuseaction=mediatext&id=1257

FMI Grocery Shopper Trends 2010. http://www.fmi.org/news_releases/index.cfm?fuseaction=mediatext&id=1172

American Heart Association April 2009 Quantitative Study. http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/

American Dietetic Association. Nutrition and You: Trends 2011. http://www.eatright.org/nutritiontrends/

The Power of Meat 2011. Published by the American Meat Institute and the Food Marketing Institute. http://www.fmi.org/forms/store/ProductFormPublic/search?action=1&Product_productNumber=2327

Federal Register: Nutrition Labeling of Single-Ingredient Products and Ground or Chopped Meat and Poultry Products. http://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2010/12/29/2010-32485/nutrition-labeling-of-single-ingredient-products-and-ground-or-chopped-meat-and-poultry-products

Graham D.J., Jeffery R.W. Location, Location, Location: Eye-Tracking Evidence that Consumers Preferentially View Prominently Positioned Nutrition Information. J of the Am Dietetic Assoc. Nov. 2011. 111;11: 1704-11. http://www.adajournal.org/article/S0002-8223(11)01375-7/fulltext