Stores’ user-friendly programs promote healthful eating
will be used to rate In an effort to add func-
more than 50,000 Hy- tionality to its customer-
Vee SKUs for nutri- loyalty card program, Safe-
tional value. Each way has introduced Food-
item will be given a Flex, a program designed to
score from one to 100, help shoppers compare the
the higher the rating, items they usually buy with
the more healthful the more- healthful choices.
product. Hannaford’s Guiding Star program evaluates foods Safeway club card holders
Maine-based grocer based on nutrition criteria developed by a panel of doc- can register for FoodFlex
tors and nutritionists. Ratings from zero to three stars
Hannaford has been are displayed in aisles. online, and FoodFlex will using a simple three- track purchases made with star labeling system, called the loyalty card and provide Guiding Star, in its 160 lists of alternative selections stores since 2006. The sys- based on searches for lower tem simply rates foods as calories, less sugar or fat, good (one star), better (two added fiber, vitamins or stars) and best (three stars). other criteria.
Products with no stars have “You can click on specific not met the minimum items and receive alterna-nutrition criteria estab- tives,” Teena Massingill, lished by Hannaford’s Safeway corporate public nutrition team. More than affairs manager, said. “For 25,550 foods in Hannaford example, if you purchase a stores have been analyzed frozen Weight Watchers for the Guiding Star since meal that has 320 calories its launch. Of that number, and you want another about 28 percent were rated frozen meal with fewer
BY JENNA DUNCAN
Chain stores are doing more to influence customers to make healthy living choices by forging connections between dietary science and grocery. Several chains have recently implemented such programs as food-rating systems, adding nutrition information to store aisles and making healthful eating suggestions available online to help their customers make better choices at checkout.
This fall, Hy-Vee stores in Illinois and across the Midwest will add nutritional scorecards to their aisles. The scorecards were designed to help pharmacists and dieticians assist customers in making more healthful selections. A system based on the Overall Nutritional Quality Index, developed by Yale’s Prevention Research Center,
with one or more stars.
In the first year of the program, sales of products that were not given any stars slumped, while the better-starred versions saw lifts in sales. For example, sales of low-fat selections of ground beef increased by 7 percent, while ground beef with no stars fell 5 percent. The same thing happened with chicken. And in dairy, whole milk sales fell 4 percent, while fat-free milk with three stars gained 1 percent.
calories, the Alternatives tool can give you a list of comparable meals with a lower calorie count.”
More than 75,000 items, including produce, meat and seafood, have been added to Safeway’s FoodFlex program. FoodFlex also can create a personalized nutrition snapshot that captures health information on purchses made in the last six months.
Whether to drive sales or simply to benefit customers as a resource, one message is clear for most programs: that they are unique and not interchangeable. Hannaford said on its Web site that there is no other food-ranking system like Guiding Star, and the labeling system that Hy-Vee will soon implement is only in operation in stores belonging to the Skokie, Ill.-based Topco Associates grocery cooperative.
BY BARBARA WHITE-SAX
Growth in the cereal category continues to come from products boasting what market research company Mintel calls health halos.
“Cholesterol reduction, heart health and intestinal health drive the adult cereal market,” a recent report from Mintel stated.
The focus on innovation and on health and wellness has been successful. Cold cereal was the second most active category among IRI’s Pacesetters with an average of 13 products introduced from 2002 to 2007 that gained a place on IRI’s Pacesetter list.
“Cereal innovation delivers brand growth in a mature category, with new better-for-you options, such as Kashi Go Lean Honey Almond Crunch, taking center stage,” IRI’s New Product Pace-
Marcia Mogelonsky, a sen- Mills recently launched ior analyst with Mintel, said Chocolate Chex, a chocolate-whole grains still are a driver flavored cereal that contains for cereals. “Whole grains are just 8 grams of sugar per serv-still big. We’re also seeing ing. The cereal also is touted more interesting flavor s be- as a good source ing added, such as of whole grains;
Yogurt Burst Cheerios each serving pro-and Special K Cin- vides 8 grams of namon Pecan. I think whole grains. we’ll see more nuts “While cereals showing up in cereal targeting children because they are good General Mills’ Fiber have long been criti-
One granola bars
for you,” she said. cized for high sugar
Cereal manufacturers have and calories, we are seeing sig-been focused on providing nificant progress in the avail-more healthful profiles in ability of healthier options children’s cereal products as that are appealing to kids. well. Mintel reports that Kel- Two cereals from General logg Co. reduced the amount Mills made our New Product of sugar in some of its chil- Pacesetters list this year, Dora dren’s cereals by one-third the Explorer cereal and Fruity without adding another Cheerios. Both offer whole sweetener, while General grains and relatively low sugar, Mills reduced the amount of with the Dora cereal contain-sugar used in its cereals by 75 ing 6 grams per serving and percent by introducing Splen- CONTINUED ON PAGE 162
REPORTERSNotebook
Supplier News — POM Wonderful has released a larger, 16-ounce plastic bottle for its low-calorie POM tea blends. The portable new bottle design was developed to invite new usage occasions, including the beach, barbecues, hikes and other outdoor activities, POM Wonderful said.
Chicago-based Reserve Brands has obtained the license to market Eagle Snacks. The Eagle brand was purchased by Anheuser-Busch in 1996 and then disappeared. But Reserve Brands said that it believes consumers still will recognize Eagle Snacks despite its more than 10-year absence, and expects the brand to have a successful comeback. Reserve Brands plans to roll out two new products— Eagle Bursts and Eagle Poppers—to Chicago-area Dominick’s stores later this year.
Miller Brewing Co. will expandits rollout of MGD 64, a 64-calorie light version of Miller Genuine Draft, to the Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Portland, San Francisco, and Seattle markets. The “lighter light beer” initially was launched during summer 2007 in Madison, Wis., and now is available across the Midwest and in several Western states.
Anheuser-Busch has launched a fruit-tinged beer, Bud Light Lime. Bud Light Lime comes in 12-ounce glass bottles, 22-ounce bottles and 16-ounce aluminum cans.
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