(FNS) Retailers are eyeing consumers' diet and health concerns as a means toward profitable niche marketing, building loyalty at the same time.
Several chains work with local hospitals and health care agencies to provide pamphlets and brochures for customers, usually seeking advice from the in-store pharmacist. Operators striving to address diabetes care, along with other health conditions that are diet-sensitive, throughout the store have magnified efforts to market supermarkets as a source of solutions.
SN's undercover reporter recently visited large chains and independents in Washington state, posing as an
uninformed shopper whose husband had been recently diagnosed with diabetes. We sought out what the store had to offer in the way of products, services and information that would help demystify the diabetic diet.
The first stop was western Washington market leader Safeway. At one unit in Lake Stevens, an associate asked three others if there were any brochures, leaflets or shopping lists that the chain had which addressed special diets or diabetes.
Unable to turn up any information other than a healthy heart guide offered by a local medical center, she guided SN to the Center Store diet food section. There she pointed out items on the eight-deck four-foot rack located at the back of the aisle. There were facings of Fifty 50, a brand that donates half its profits to diabetes research, and Atkins-branded items offering cookies, chocolates, puddings and meal replacement bars. The Fifty 50 brand labels include exchange information for diabetic patients. The associate assured us that the low-sugar ingredients were suited to diabetics.
These items come with a hefty retail. A 3.5-ounce package of Fifty 50 creme-filled wafers was priced at $1.99. Milk chocolate was $2.59 for a 2.8-ounce bar. A 2.11-ounce Atkins Diet Advantage bar was priced at $2.79. A package of Atkins nutrition bars was tagged at $9.79.
Across the highway at Albertson's, a store associate made one phone call looking for help, apologized that there wasn't any information, and offered the chain's special order card explaining that once we discovered which items we wanted, we could order them. She suggested that we visit the diet foods section.
Within that four-foot section we found seven decks of a broad array of diet foods ranging from the Fifty 50 and Atkins Diet items to Weight Watchers brand to items with low or no sodium. Again the offerings were dessert and snack-food oriented.
Next, we visited the Bellingham-based independent Haggen Food & Pharmacy. Seeing no definable customer service counter, we tried the Natural Living organic and natural foods department. Not finding a segregated no-sugar display, we went to the produce department, where we found a service desk with the chain's home economist Ann Bennett Service associate, who offered a wealth of recipes, brochures and menu ideas.
She found the chain's Healthy Steps Diabetes Program shopping guide brochure, with basic tips on health care, diet and exercise.
Besides recipes, the booklet offered a dining-out guide that featured Haggen's own Market Street Cafe deli selections, such as rotisserie chicken, sushi and the chain's signature Graham Kerr Salads.
Haggen's diabetes program brochure finishes up with area resources, national foundations and associations, books, magazines and cookbooks that can help diabetes patients enjoy food.
A multi-panel pull-out shopping list gives shoppers a quick look, by category, of which food choices may be more prudent. She assured us, with the shopping list as a guide, that we could simply look for items with less than 3 grams of fat and less than 16 grams of carbohydrates per serving.
Haggan Food & Pharmacy currently offers the Ann Bennett Service in eight units in Washington and Oregon, with more units planned. The Ann Bennett desk has recipes, brochures and menu ideas and assists customers with their catering orders. Our "Ann Bennett" said store tours are given every other month to meet the needs of diabetic customers. These in-store experts are registered dietitians or hold a degree in nutrition, food science, home economics or culinary arts. They are prepared to give individualized assistance to customers.
"We tour the store looking at how to choose foods and serving sizes," she said. Since no store tour had been scheduled at the unit we visited, she suggested that we contact a nearby Haggen unit that had a tour scheduled within a few weeks. She recommended a local hospital's support group as a resource and suggested visiting the in-store pharmacy to find out about sugar-free over-the-counter medicines. She also pointed us toward the unit's bulk candy section as a good spot to find sugar-free treats.
Next stop was Larry's Markets' Oak Tree unit in Seattle. This unit offers its "Being At One With The Earth" whole and natural food, mineral and supplement destination department.
At the chain's newest unit in Redmond, Wash., whole foods are integrated into categories within the floor plan, a direction the chain will take, according to president Mark McKinney.
We asked an employee in the whole foods department where to find diabetes information. She directed us to the Health Notes Online kiosk within the area. Here, using a touch-screen monitor, we could get basic information on the disease, dietary suggestions plus nutrient and herbal supplement recommendations.
Feeling that Austin,Texas-based Whole Foods Market might have information on food choices for diabetics, we checked out the Seattle unit. A staff member recommended going to the unit's nutritional area. There, a team member immediately asked if we needed help.
The associate assured us that with proper diet and exercise, a diabetic should be able to lead an active life. He suggested vitamins and supplements and led us to the book and magazine rack, where he pointed out a few titles that would give general information about the disease, recipes and shopping tips. When pressed about shopping tips, he suggested that we concentrate on shopping the produce, seafood and meat departments and ever so sparingly shop the Center Store, dairy, deli and bakery.
He also recommended keeping up with the in-store classes offered in Salud!, the cooking and lifestyle school, and taking the regular Tuesday store tour. He kept an upbeat, helpful and positive attitude, and addressed the individual with the disease -- not the woman shopper.
Our experience in Town & Country's Shoreline Central Market was similar. We went to the nutritional department and were greeted by an associate who directed us to the Health Notes Online touch screen. She stayed with us during our research, asking us if we had any questions.
