In 2004, when the former Tampa, Fla.-based Kash n' Karry operation of the Delhaize Group rebranded and redefined itself as Sweetbay Supermarket, the integration between store and pharmacy, as well as the interaction between store manager and pharmacist, was a priority, said Pam Heath, director of pharmacy operations.
“When we looked at our strategy, we wanted to position pharmacy as an integrated component in building our Sweetbay brand,” Heath said while speaking at this month's FMI Show and co-located Supermarket Pharmacy Conference in Las Vegas. “We would position the pharmacist as a health care expert, and also present the pharmacist as a nutrition advisor.”
Sweetbay's strategies extend from signage to community events, and to a very active participation by the pharmacy staff in store and company operations, she said.
“We use a lot of in-store signage to tell the Center Store about pharmacy, as well as over in the pharmacy to tell them about Center Store. Our goal was to create the connection from the store to the pharmacy, from the store manager to the pharmacist, and from our consumer to the one-stop experience,” she said.
“We make it very clear that the pharmacist and the pharmacy team are part of the entire supermarket and we invest in that, and we believe that has paid off for us significantly with the level of commitment that we get back from the pharmacist around the total store,” said Sweetbay's Mike Vail, senior vice president of operations.
In another FMI session, Sweetbay President Shelley Broader said, “We must become more innovative. We must [expand our thinking], and we must look into the future to make sure that we're not out-foxed, because who is better positioned than the food industry to make that connection between food and health.”
Sweetbay has created a different model for pharmacy in the supermarket industry, Heath said. “Integrating pharmacy into the food and healthy living strategy, we had to look at pharmacy differently. We had to be focused more on health instead of sickness, giving people information and knowledge, and empowering them to be responsible for their own health conditions, more so than just providing a prescription.”