PG Web Extra: Know Your Health-seeking Consumer
To drive health-in store, retailers and manufacturers must understand what their customers are seeking in the area of health.
“We know from our recent research with Deloitte and Grocery Manufacturers Association that consumers are actively shaping and expanding the number of drivers they incorporate into their food-purchasing decisions, often rapidly and in unpredictable ways,” says Sue Borra, RD, SVP, communications and strategic planning, at Arlington, Va.-based Food Marketing Institute (FMI). “Recognizing that price, taste and convenience will remain traditional drives of value, health and wellness, defined very broadly, has evolved to become the most significant purchase motivations among shoppers.”
What’s more, shoppers’ very concept of health has changed in recent years. “Today, consumers’ definition of health goes beyond the facts about the nutrition content or portion size of the food,” asserts Kristin Reimers, director, nutrition at Omaha, Neb.-based ConAgra Foods. “While these aspects are still fundamental to health, now, health also encompasses their values and emotions around how the food was grown, the ingredients, and where and how the food was prepared.”
When asked about upcoming trends, Karen Buch, RDN, LDN, founder of and principal consultant at Nutrition Connections LLC and a member of Nutrition Advisory Board of the Washington, D.C.-based National Turkey Federation, similarly notes, “Consumers will equate ‘healthy’ with nutritious, delicious, safe foods produced with integrity and sustainability in mind.”
According to Jaime Schwartz Cohen, MS, RD, director of nutrition at New York-based public relations and marketing agency Ketchum, whose company has tracked similar shifts in consumers’ perception of health, shoppers are increasingly looking to the grocery industry for guidance on wellness. Citing Ketchum’s “Food 2020” research, she notes: “Food eVangelists – a segment of empowered and influential shoppers who are growing in numbers and appear to be on the precipice of becoming the new mainstream food consumer – see the retailer as a neutral agent in the food business, with no vested interest in promoting one brand over another and a trusted ally in helping sort, navigate and make choices. Registered dietitians and chefs working at retail will continue to have an elevated role to build this trust.”
Along with trust, another major factor is price. “Many shoppers find that eating more healthfully is more expensive, and it’s up to retailers and manufacturers to work together to make these better choices more affordable for the average shopper,” points out Jeff Weidauer, VP, marketing and strategy at Little Rock, Ark.-based in-store marketing services company Vestcom International Inc. Trish James, VP at Orlando, Fla.-based Produce for Kids, similarly advises suppliers to “[o]ffer competitive pricing.”
It would seem, then, that even for health-seeking consumers, health isn’t everything. “The health message needs to be balanced with convenience, taste and affordability,” warns Cohen. “Health is the aspiration, but if it’s not realistic to the shopper’s lifestyle, the message will be lost.”
Ways to Go
So, given this emerging picture of the health-seeking consumer, what types of in-store strategies are likely to work best? FMI’s Borra believes “that food retailers are successful when they put the shopper first. Our recent study with Winston Weber and Deloitte looks at shifting a category management mentality to one that’s shopper-centric, which is a cultural change at the very fabric of how food retailers stock and sell product. The study suggests that as consumer food lifestyle choices grow and diversify, so, too, should joint business planning between CPG and grocery partners.”
“Retailers … must commit over the long term,” advises Weidauer. “This means a comprehensive program that is cross-department, and is consistent throughout the store. In addition, grocers should merchandise in a way that helps shoppers look at meal planning differently, offering healthier options and providing meal ideas in-store.”
Industry players must make the effort to connect with health-seeking customers, he believes. “Consumers have more control than ever in their shopper behaviors, and more options to choose from,” explains Weidauer. “Retailers and manufacturers will have to deliver what consumers are asking for, or risk becoming irrelevant. A proactive and transparent approach is the best avenue for gaining shopper trust,” and, with it, long-term success as true health-and-wellness destinations.
Buch agrees with this approach. “The best way for grocers to position themselves as healthy destinations for shoppers is to proactively approach health and wellness as a long-term customer-focused strategy rather than a short-term sales and revenue driver,” she recommends. “Retailers that consistently demonstrate advocacy for the health of external customers (shoppers), internal customers (employees) and the communities where their stores operate will succeed in creating a solid culture of wellness. Top-down support that establishes health and wellness as a pillar will guide the decision-making throughout the organization.”
She cautions that such programs shouldn’t be too heavy-handed, however. “Consumers want to shop in a supermarket that supports rather than dictates healthful food options,” she says. “Ultimately, I think consumers want to maintain a sense of freedom to make the food choices that they believe are right for themselves and their families. To this end, consumers of the future will expect high levels of food variety, freshness and nutritional quality, and they will seek greater transparency, accuracy and detail in food information supplied by both food manufacturers and food retailers.”
For more about driving health in-store, see PG's March issue.