Transcript No Slide Title

A retailers role in
healthy eating
Gill Fine
Head of Food & Health
Overview
• The role of a supermarket in healthy eating
• What do consumers want?
• How does Sainsbury’s respond to consumer
needs?
• What challenges do we face ?
Perspective
• As a nutritionist working for Sainsbury’s
• Over 460 supermarkets in the UK
• Average 22,000 products (12,000 own label food
lines)
• 10.8 million customers each week
The role of a supermarket in
healthy eating
• Wide choice of good quality products
• Information
• Meet the needs of a diverse customers base
What do consumers want?
• 1994
- Guidance on fat levels
- Bold descriptions for low fat foods
- Benchmarks
- Nutrition information they can use
- Proof that healthy eating is enjoyable, convenient
and affordable
- Ideas, suggestions and recipes
What do consumers want?
• 1996: Clarity in nutrition claims
• 1998: Fat is No.1 concern
• 1999: ‘Natural’
• 2000: Help with children’s food choices
• 2001: Increased interest in diet & health,
(calories, food intolerances,dietary balance)
• 2002: Help with eating more fruit & vegetables
How does Sainsbury’s respond to
consumer needs ?
1. Easy to use nutrition information
- Full nutrition labelling
- Priority claims system
2. Help & advice
- Instore food advisers
- Healthy eating leaflets
- “Free from” guides
- Internet site
How does Sainsbury’s respond to
consumer needs ?
3. Sainsbury’s aim to make healthier eating easier
& enjoyable for all our customers
- General healthy eating
- Special dietary needs
e.g. pregnancy,
vegetarians, food
intolerance
Lower fat
• Fat is No.1 customer dietary concern
• Variety of claims
• Hard to find lower fat foods
• Lower fat equates to lower taste
• Solution: Distinctive lower fat sub brand ‘Be
Good To Yourself’
Help with children’s foods
• Parents concern about children’s diets
- Fat, salt, sugar / artificial sweeteners
- Additives
- Meat quality
- Eating more fruit & vegetables
Help with children’s foods
• Parents want foods that are:
- Quick and easy for a variety of eating occasions
- Quality products that appeal to kids
- Helping make healthier eating fun
• Kids (aged 7-11) want foods that are:
- Just for them
- ‘Cool’ & Tasty
- Easy to eat
Help with children’s foods
- Blue Parrot Café Range
• Launch March 2001
• 250 products across all categories
• Strict ingredient & nutrition criteria
• Improved labelling & communication
• Beady eye promise, check list, fun facts
• Hyperactive Children’s support
group statement
Food and Nutrition Education
Sainsbury’s ‘Taste of Success’ Scheme
(in partnership with British Nutrition
Foundation & Design and Technology
Association)
1. National Food Award Scheme –
welcomed by DfES
2. Product Development Website –
written approved by NGfL
3. Teacher training sessions
Food Intolerance & ‘Health Foods’
• Allergen labelling
• Better choice of foods free from gluten,
wheat or dairy
• ‘FreeFrom’ Range June 2002
• ‘Health Foods ‘ section
Eating more fruit & veg
• Key part of general healthy eating - recipes,
promotions
• Support Fruit provision & information in school Fruit plus, Fruitastic tours, Taste of success case
study
• Way to Five range June 2002
Challenges in healthy eating
• Delivering products & services to meet diverse
consumer needs
• Level of consumer understanding of diet & health
• Providing innovative products & consumer
friendly information within the existing regulatory
framework
Innovative products :
Foods with added health benefits
• Cautious approach to their introduction in UK
• Marketed with integrity-collaboration
• Work closely with regulatory authorities and
suppliers
• Need to ensure total integrity of claims
• Meet our customers needs
How does Sainsbury’s work with
the key brands
• Previously had a checklist
- evidence for claim
- labelling info (ingredients, claim etc)
- home authority support
- customer literature
- Q & As (inc special dietary needs)
- health professional communications
- careline details
• Now JCHI
Sainsbury’s partnership activities
1. Joint leaflet
Partners: Actimel, Benecol, Columbus Eggs,
Flora Proactiv, Yakult
Aim: To Reinforce role of diet in optimising
health & help position ‘foods with added
health benefits’ within context of healthy
eating
Sainsbury’s partnership activities
2. Store tours
Key partners: Flora Proactive & State Registered
Dietitians
Aim: Help consumers interested in heart health
to understand the role of diet in heart
health
-
Dietitians as impartial information source
-
300+ tours in September / October 2000
-
Instore literature
Conclusions
• The three way approach proved very successful, as it
ensured independence and credibility of message
• Healthy Heart Store Tours increased interest in and
encouraged a switch to cholesterol lowering spreads
• The supermarket setting of the tours proved to be a
useful environment for consumers to learn more about
how to make a healthier food choices and about the role
of functional foods as part of a healthy diet
• The results suggested that the tours were an effective
communication tool and helped stimulate the desire to
make diet and lifestyle changes in order to help maintain
heart health
The role of the retailer
• Wide choice of good quality products
• Provide information
• Meet diverse customer needs
Sainsbury’s integrity based approach to healthy
eating is to work in partnership to deliver
innovative products & services that meet the
food & health needs of our customers
A retailers role in
healthy eating