CPG Marketing Tool Incents Shoppers to Buy Healthy

Solutran has launched a new promotion and loyalty program for CPG companies that rewards consumers for eating healthy.

The program incents people to purchase healthy foods in two ways: by reducing the cost of those products, and by making the discounts as easy as possible for shoppers to use. Discounts and free offers are automatically made available to shoppers who realize the savings at check-out.

“We’ve brought together a coalition of all the parties needed to tackle the mounting obesity epidemic in the U.S.,” said Barry Nordstrand, CEO of Solutran. “Food companies are making healthy products. Health insurers want to combat rising health care costs. And retailers want to enable consumer-driven choices. It’s a powerful combination because we share the goal of eliminating barriers to healthier eating.”

Dozens of individual product categories – from dairy to vegetables to proteins and grains – are now being filled by CPG brands wanting exclusivity for their products within the program. There are no setup or redemption fees for CPGs to participate in the S3 program; the only cost is the discount given to the consumer. Interested CPG brands can visit the Solutran website for real-time information on category availability.

Consumer households will begin to receive their cards in May. A regional roll-out by health-insurer Medica is happening in the Midwest, and Solutran will launch the program nationally in 2014. When consumers receive their cards, they visit an educational website that provides content about healthy eating; let’s them build shopping lists and get recipes; and features a savings calculator that shows the shopper’s savings to date. The program’s website features prominent branding of the items with discounts that week.

Participating retailers in the first program include Supervalu Inc. (Cub Foods stores), Roundy’s Supermarkets Inc. (Rainbow stores), and Lund Food Holdings, Inc. (Lunds and Byerly’s stores). Committed CPG brands currently number over 50 and include Del Monte Foods, Post Foods, Bimbo Bakeries USA, Clif Bar & Company, Dasani/Coca-Cola Company, Pan-O-Gold Baking Company/Country Hearth, Dreamfields Pasta, Musselmans, Polar Beverages, Red Gold, Inc., Faribault Foods, Old Orchard Brands, Lifeway Foods, Inc., Catallia Mexican Foods, LLC, Evian, Jolly Time Pop Corn, Parkers Farm, Krema Natural Peanut Butter, Flatout Flatbreads and Yucatan Foods.

Dr. Robert Jeffery, director of the Obesity Prevention Center at the University of Minnesota, consults on the program. “Until now, there hasn’t been a way to drive healthy eating behavior that has been profitable to all parties,” he said. “Using this new technology, Solutran has finally provided the sustainable model we have been seeking.”