Building Loyalty with Health & Wellness
A recent article posted in Progressive Grocer in September and written originally by Jeff Weidauer, VP of marketing, Vestcom International peaked my interest. He raises some very valid points which I will outline below as well as providing some of my own thoughts. (click here for a PDF version of the article)
Overview:
The article discusses the benefits for grocers in providing Health and Wellness (H&W) solutions to their customers, the primary benefit being increased loyalty. The article states that the two main trends leading towards this are:
- Increased demand for H&W information
- The inherent trust the consumer places on their local grocer (apprently more than their own GP)
To this I would add:
- The increased availability and affordability of H&W programs for the retailer
The major benefit gained from running a successul H&W program is increased customer loyalty as the article states; ¨Because loyalty is created from a bond with your shoppers that is more than just price. It’s a natural result of providing the products, services and information that shoppers need in an increasingly complex world.¨ Read more
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The next target for the food conscious community
UPDATE: Kellogg to ditch immunity statement after ditching Smart Choices program last week.
The food community is riding high after their recent victory over the Smart Choices food label rating system and turning their attention to front of package marketing claims as their next target – see Marion Nestles article on Cocao Krispies and ¨immunicty¨claim h ere.
Increasingly manufacturers are using various health claims such as ¨increases immunity¨ and ¨organic¨ on front of package labelling to increase sales of products. At times these claims are based on scant scientific evidence and lacking any regulatory oversight manufacturers are free to claim whatever they want.
Recently, in Europe the European Food Standards Agency (EFSA) rejected hundreds of health claims stating a lack of scientific evidence as the reason for their rejection. At the same time here in the US, reports have come out about the increasing successful use of beauty claims to influence purchase. A recent report on retailerwire.com summarises the findings published by Mintel states that using front of package claims related to beauty such Read more
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Smart Choices RIP
Today it was reported in Just-Food that all 8 of the food manufacturers who had adopted the Smart Choices logo were now going to drop it from their packages in the face of cries that the logo could mislead consumers.
Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal requested that they drop the logo at least until the FDA had completed their investigations into the Smart Choices, and food rating systems in general.
The Smart Choices program shot into the public awareness largely due to the fact that they had labelled Froot Loops a ¨smart choice¨. The community obviously took exception to this, fueled by influential critics such as Marion Nestle an d Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal.
This dramatic turn around and the resulting negative press will surely make manufacturers and retailers take pause before they next try to tell the consumer what is good or bad for them. The next frontier will be front of label claims such as ¨increses immunity¨ etc. see Marion Nestle article here
The community is voicing their opinion and calling for simpler food labelling…and they’re close to reaching critical mass in their mission. Who will be the next victim?
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Progressive Grocer wants to know about H&W initiatives
A recent post, on Progressive Grocer’s recently launched community site Aisle Chatter, titled In-Store H&W, asks retailers and marketers to ¨let us know about [H&W] programs you are instituting in your stores¨. The post explores the different ways in which retailers are addressing H&W and hopes to do so in more detail following submissions on information about different initives out there.
We feel this could an interesting opportunity to share and learn about different projects and so have provided our information and hope that you will too.
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Industry Watch: Guiding Stars in Shopper Iphone Application
Guiding Stars recently partnered with iPhone development company ReachEveryWhere to incorporate their Stars in to the very popular Shopper iphone application. The application, which can be seen by following the last link sells for about 99cents in the iPhone and itunes store.
It looks like it will be a very successful partnership with the simplicity of Guiding Stars product ratings providing the ability for Shopper users to compare products in the process of building shopping lists. The demonstration of the shopper product is very slick and demonstrates its core functionality.
Shopper is the leading grocery iPhone application. Guiding Stars is a leading food product rating system available in over 1300 supermarkets. The food rating area is growing significantly with several competitors including Nuval and the recently controversial SmartChoices. This move by Guiding Stars is intriguing and strategically valuable for market acceptance. It will be interesting to see how well the system works and how their competition respond.
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Nutrition Rating Systems – the problem and a solution
The Situation
There has been a lot of attention given to nutrition rating systems of late, fueled by the launch of the controversial Smart Choices rating system. The controversy of the smart choices program, in brief, is that the criteria for what gets labelled a ¨smart choice¨ seem somewhat flimsy. For instance Marion Nestle examines the ¨smart choice¨ Froot Loops in this post here.
In fact there is no shortage of concerned debate about this program, least of which is the fact that manufacturers pay for the smart choice tick. Below I have provided links to some of the recent top hits.
NYT: Industry Backed Label calls sugary cereal a ¨smart choice¨
Letter from the FDA to Smart Choices Program
Marion Nestle: Reply from the American Society of Nutrition
In this post we explore the existing rating systems, the problem with these systems and propose a solution. We are keen to hear your perspective on this. Read more
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Snacking on the Rise
by Shereen Jegtvig
According to a new report, Americans are snacking more often and that trend is going to increase. As it is, snacking isn’t good or bad, really, it depends on how you do it. Eating snacks can be bad if you choose foods high in calories with lots of sugar and unhealthy fats, or snacking can be good if you choose healthy snacks that can boost your daily nutritional intake. Of course, even with healthy snacking you’ll have to watch your calories if you need to maintain or lose weight. Adding a 250 calorie snack every day will also add about one extra pound of fat to your hips or belly every two weeks. If you snack, be sure to know how much you are eating and reduce the same number of calories from one of your regular meals.
Some people prefer to eat six or seven snacks every day instead of three full meals. Some people believe this practice helps keep blood sugar level because you avoid the natural rise of blood sugar due to eating carbohydrates and fall of blood sugar due to the increased production of insulin. Other people just feel it is easier to control their calorie intake if they just nibble snack size meals all day. The key is to not let small snacks turn into full meals, which will lead to too many calories and weight gain. Read more
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Research: Flavored Potato Chips – What people are looking for
Flavored Potato Chips is the most compared food category on FoodEssentials.com with 9117 comparisons in the last 6 months – or 1.43% of all comparisons – which if you consider there are over 1000 food categories – is a fair bit of attention.
We have 50 products categorized under the flavored potato chips food category and below we will explore what people are looking for when comparing different chip products.
Top 5 Comparisons:
The table below outlines the top food variables that people are choosing when they compare flavored potato chips. Of note is the fact that the two most compared variables account for over 50% of all comparisons. Gluten at 29.3% of all comparisons is the most popular with MSG suprisingly the second most popular comparison at 23% of the time. Read more
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Tapping into the Bottled Water Debate
In the past thirty years, bottled water sales have grown faster than those of any other beverage worldwide. In 2008, US bottled water sales topped 8.6 billion gallons (about 29% of the total bottled beverages sold in the US). The year before, Americans spent over $15 billion on bottled water, with over 100 different brands available in the US (ISU, 2000; Finewaters.com, 2009; Lighter footstep, 2008). Why are we paying so much for something that, literally, falls out of the sky?
To start with, bottled water is convenient. Central to its success, however, are consumers’ worries about the quality of water from municipal or private supplies. Industrial by-products, agricultural chemicals and bacteria may make their way into water sources if proper care is not taken. Copper and lead were/are often used to make the pipes that carry water to our homes, and residues of both products may have toxic effects if consumed. In addition to health concerns, these factors can also affect the taste and color of our drinking water, making tap water a less appealing option (EPA, 2005).
So what’s the problem? If you can afford it, why shouldn’t you buy bottled water? Read more
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Bisphenol A (BPA): Tainting Our Food?
by Shereen Jegtvig
Bisphenol A (BPA) is a chemical compound used to harden plastic that some experts fear may be hazardous. You’ll find BPA in some hard plastic baby bottles, water bottles, hard plastic microwavable cookware, plastic storage containers and lining aluminum cans. In large amounts, BPA is toxic and exposing those plastic items to heat increases the amount of BPA released. The BPA can be absorbed into the food and the liquids stored in the containers. Last year, the US Food and Drug Administration decided that the amount of BPA that we are normally exposed to every day is not enough to cause any harm.
Some experts have been concerned about the potential danger of this chemical because lab animals exposed to BPA develop health problems. The evidence supporting the notion that BPA is dangerous is mounting, but not all research in conclusive. A human study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found a correlation between the amount of BPA found in the urine and the likelihood of also having heart disease and diabetes. The University of Cincinnati published an article entitled BPA May Cause Heart Disease in Women, Research Shows. But I think the title is a bit misleading, since the actual research had nothing to do with human females – the researchers exposed cells extracted from the hearts of female rats directly to BPA. Read more
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