Grocers’ efforts in recent years to bolster their food-as-medicine offerings and closely link their food options to health and nutrition appear to be paying off, according to a new report from FMI – The Food Industry Association.

Half of surveyed consumers said they believe their primary food store is “on my side” when it comes to staying healthy, up 4 percentage points from 2022, according to The Power of Health and Well-Being in the Food Industry report, which compiles previous research by the trade group. Nearly the same percent of respondents (49%) said the same for registered dietitians.

The trade group’s research found that the healthy eating landscape for consumers has shifted in recent years. Consumers are moving away from overly restrictive dietary approaches and showing rebounding interest in a wide range of dietary claims on products, such as “low sodium,” the report found. 

The report comes at a time when grocers have been ramping up their efforts to more closely link health and nutrition with food. Kroger Health, for example, announced earlier this year a partnership with Performance Kitchen to expand access to medically tailored meals for people living with various chronic diseases, including diabetes and heart disease. Meanwhile, Instacart has been scaling food as medicine with tools for health providers. 

Leveraging dietitians

Grocers have an abundance of opportunities to use registered dietitian nutritionists (RDNs) to help consumers with their healthy eating needs, FMI said. 

Personalizing nutrition recommendations is a “big opportunity” for RDNs to serve customers with specific diseases and health conditions through options like medical nutrition therapy, individual counseling and virtual or in-store group classes, the report noted. 

Grocers’ RDNs can develop and provide nutrition and health messaging programs around food for preventative and treatment management purposes for customers in-store and online, FMI said in the report. 

Personalized nutrition education is one type of food-as-medicine offering, with other options including medically tailored meal programs, produce prescriptions and cooking demos, per the report. 

Evidence-based nutrition messaging “should make clear that there is room for the inclusion of tasty indulgences if
consumed in moderation along with nutrient-rich foods,” FMI said in the report.

RDNs can also take customers on in-store tours or help them browse online to create curated shopping lists with better-for-you items for their specific nutritional needs or work with retail pharmacists on healthcare services access, such as blood pressure monitoring and management for diabetes, the report noted. 

As consumers wade through dietary claims, RDNs can help them better understand nutrition information along with portion sizes, balanced eating and moderation for foods and beverages that include added sugars, sodium and saturated fat, FMI said. 

Outside of stores, RDNs can turn to media to engage with consumers on nutrition information and do outreach work in communities with high rates of diet-related chronic conditions and food insecurity. 

Creating a health-focused toolbox of resources

Along with RDNs, grocers can utilize Front of Pack Nutrition labeling solutions, such as Facts Up Front, to promote healthy eating and give consumers key nutrition information, FMI highlighted. 

FMI said in an October blog post that the White House Conference last year put pressure on the government to develop a standardized system to help consumers select foods that help their health, leading to more discussion on Front of Pack Nutrition labeling. While the FDA has been testing options with interpretive (low, medium, high) or color-coded warning (green, yellow, red) options to determine labeling effectiveness, the trade group noted that “many” retailers have adopted their own voluntary labeling programs often through dietitian-led initiatives. 

FMI’s report highlights different generational interests in health and food, indicating that grocers may need to tailor their offerings with consumer cohorts in mind. 

Millennials put the greatest effort into shopping to eat healthy. But older consumers — Gen X, Boomers and older — tend to seek out a broader range of product claims and attributes than younger shoppers, while a handful of claims, like “no allergens” and “heart healthy,” resonate more strongly with Gen Zers than other generational cohorts, the report noted. 

Overall, shoppers sought out claims that focus on avoiding negative attributes such as “low sodium,” “no added sugar” and “low fat,” more than other types, such as ones that focus on attributes like minimal processing, good fiber and positive nutrition, the report said.

While private brands are becoming an increasingly important staple for consumers with their price and quality, the report suggests grocers have room to improve the perception of healthiness for store brands among certain consumers.

More shoppers (26%) say name brands are better at offering healthier and better-for-me products than store brands (18%), per previous FMI research cited in the report. Among people who frequently buy private brands, however, slightly more said they think store brands do a better job than national ones.