Supermarkets – now is the time. Lead the change.

In these current times, we don’t just need a plan, we need a vision… a vision to support our nation’s health.

Supermarkets around the world can lead this vision, even where governments fail to show clear leadership around public health. Supermarkets are better placed to do this as they can more easily see consumer needs and trends and adapt quickly.

During the last 6 months, we’ve seen leading grocers:

• Provide Safe Online Shopping: The huge effort many supermarkets have put into re-platforming e-commerce, hiring tens of thousands of fulfillment and delivery staff, and prioritising the needy, vulnerable and those in lockdown isolation has been inspiring.

• Shaping Food Policy. Supermarkets in the UK led on refusing to stock chlorinated chicken and hormone-injected beef post-Brexit, putting UK government in a challenging position for UK-US trade deal, but protecting consumers

• Focusing on Holistic Health. US Retailers such as Hy-Vee, Inc. focussed on holistic health over the Spring and Summer instead of just selling food, with initiatives such as fitness programme Kids Fit.

Supermarkets – let’s continue this great work and:

• Support shoppers’ health

• Show vision and leadership

• Influence government policy by demonstrating practical solutions

How might we do this? What’s your thoughts?

Here are a few I’ve had:

• Improve shopper nutrition by promoting healthier and more nutrient-dense food

• Make sure people get enough Vitamin D in the Winter months – from food, not just supplements

• Create programmes to incentivise gym-going and outdoor exercise to improve cardiac health (Surely, if the UK Gov can incentivise eating out in restaurants in August, we can incentivise getting fit!)

• Make e-commerce the channel not just to order food, but to better understand and discover healthy food and manage long-term positive dietary behaviour

• Reduce focus on short-term promotions and increase focus on long-term programmes to increase eating well (on a budget – particularly during the expected recession)

Bonus points:

• Support a broader social framework by paying grocery key workers fairly – or better.

• Focus on long-term initiatives as well as short-term needs, such as campaigns to improve cardiac health, reduce Diabetes, and reduce inflammation-causing foods. Plant-based trends and interest in Sustainability are also not going away.

Now is the time for our best grocery chains to lead. Let’s do it.

If you want to chat through ideas, get in touch.