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with one more serving of fruits or vege- tables in a day,” advises Shari Steinbach, RDN, former health and wellness nutrition manager for supercenter chain Meijer, and currently nutrition and culinary consultant, Shari Steinbach & Associates, both of Grand Rapids, MI. “September’s Family Meals Month can help move the needle. The more meals families eat at home, the more sales supermarkets will see, and social media is a great tool to engage consumers and promote healthy mealtime ideas.”
MAKE TRENDY DIETS HEALTHIER
Similar to fashion, health and diet trends evolve every few years as consumers seek the next superfood or best way to trim down. Low-carb represents one such driving force today in the form of the Paleo, Keto and Whole30 diets. Another is gluten-free. The bad news is that many popular diets unfairly demonize starchy foods. But the good news for retailers is shoppers may flock to the produce department to seek out grain alternatives.
‘Consumers want ease. One of the biggest reasons for a customer to be unsatisfied with a product is the amount of prep work required.’
Jacob Shafer Mann Packing
Produce companies are ready with inno- vative new product lines. Mann Packing, Salinas, CA, is among several suppliers offering a broad range of vegetable “rice” and “noodle” products. “Industry research shows that a growing number of consumers will carb-swap in favor of fresh vegetables,” says Jacob Shafer, senior marketing and communications specialist. “We recently launched a Veggie Noodles & Rice line with fresh-cut vegetables that are distinc- tively shaped, washed, ready to cook and versatile.”
Shafer points out the importance of marrying health with convenience. “Most of all, consumers want ease. One of the biggest reasons for a customer to be unsat- isfied with a product is the amount of prep work required.” Mann’s line of Nourish Bowls allows consumers to create healthy, warm, single-serve meals with fresh veggies and sauces that are ready in less than five minutes.
CROSS-PROMOTE
PBH recently piloted a project that encourages cross-marketing produce with nutrient-rich foods from other parts of the store. Jewel-Osco’s pairing of California Walnuts with Stemilt apples included merchandising walnuts in the produce department, increasing signage, providing recipe cards, creating a demo contest between stores, awarding a prize for best display and partnering with store dietitians.
A pilot at Minnesota-based Coborn’s involved a month-long promotion of blueberries and California Walnuts, with a display contest, recipe cards, social media outreach, dietitian programming and in-store demos. Schnucks, based in St. Louis, celebrated back-to-school with healthy “bus stops” throughout the store, including two sponsored by PBH that paired California Walnuts with blueberries and
60 / OCTOBER 2018 / PRODUCE BUSINESS