Kroger Health brand campaign touts ‘In-Store Care’

Kroger Health, the health care services arm of The Kroger Co., has kicked off a new brand campaign that positions the retailer’s supermarkets as widely accessible health and wellness destinations.

Titled “A World of Care Is In-Store,” the multimedia initiative aims to direct customers to Kroger Co. pharmacies, health clinics and nutrition services through streaming video and radio commercials, social media posts and in-store signage, Cincinnati-based Kroger said Friday. The message to consumers: Affordable health care and expert advice on well-being is available right from your local grocery store.

“‘A World of Care Is In-Store’ speaks directly to ‘Our Purpose to Feed the Human Spirit,’” Kroger Health President Colleen Lindholz said in a statement, referring to Kroger’s company mantra. “It highlights that Kroger Health is no farther away than our neighborhood grocery store. We sit at the nexus of food and pharmacy, which uniquely positions Kroger Health to improve outcomes through simplified health, wellness and nutrition solutions. Every day, we provide millions of customers the care they need to thrive, right in their communities.”

Through Kroger Health, Kroger is one of the nation’s largest retail pharmacy and health care providers, with more than 2,250 pharmacies and 226 The Little Clinics in 35 states and serving more than 17 million customers annually. Its team of 24,000 health professionals ranges from pharmacists and pharmacy technicians to nurse practitioners to dietitians.

One 15-second video in the “World of Care” campaign highlights that breadth of convenient access to health and wellness services. The spot opens with a woman shopping for fresh produce before the bin parts in the middle and reveals an in-store pharmacy and approaching pharmacist. Next, the visual cuts to a registered dietitian consulting with a family online via a laptop and then to pharmacists at the pharmacy department counter, at which time the woman is handed a filled prescription and the scene returns to her in the produce department putting the medication in her shopping cart.

“Find a world of 24,000 health care professionals, both in-store and online,” the video’s voiceover says. “It’s all here. A world of care is in-store,” the segment concludes.

Kroger Health cited the work of its pharmacies and clinics in vaccinating Americans against the COVID-19 virus to underscore the importance of the health care access it provides. Over the last two years, those teams administered more than 12 million COVID vaccines in 35 states, which the company said made it a U.S. vaccination leader. Last month, Kroger Health reported that it has administered more than 700,000 in-store antibody tests for COVID, distributed over 3 million at-home COVID tests, and provided in free prescription deliveries and transportation for customers to receive vaccines.

Besides prescriptions, Kroger Co. pharmacies offer medication counseling, medication therapy management, immunizations and other services. The Little Clinics provide basic care for illness and injuries, health exams, preventive care and health management, diagnostic treatment, vaccinations and wellness visits, among other services. Through registered dietitians in stores or remotely, Kroger Health also offers nutrition counseling, telenutrition services, specialty diet assistance, and the OptUP nutrition rating system and in-aisle teaching to help customers make better-for-you food choices.

“By offering a variety of services, we aim to transform how quality and comprehensive health care is delivered,” stated Kroger Health Chief Medical Officer Marc Watkins, M.D. “This campaign demonstrates Kroger Health’s commitment to ensuring health services are accessible and are available for customers where they are.”

Joining the grocery and pharmacy areas of the supermarket has been a longtime goal of retailers catering to increasingly health-conscious customers. To that end, in April, Kroger Health unveiled research that supports its “Food as Medicine” preventive care approach to driving customer health and wellness. The Kroger Health-funded study with the University of Cincinnati—dubbed Supermarket and Web-based Intervention targeting Nutrition (SuperWIN)—found that promoting a heart-healthy diet via nutrition counseling from a registered dietitian improved diet quality and lowered cardiovascular risk. Kroger’s Food as Medicine platform is designed to help consumers make smarter, more nutritious food choices to foster overall wellness and aid people with chronic health conditions.