Albertsons Cos. can tell consumers how nutritious their grocery basket is
Curious what your grocery store food purchases say about you and your family’s health? One major food retailer is counting on consumers wanting to know.
Albertsons Cos. Inc. has enhanced its Sincerely Health platform, a nutrition insights tool that measures grocery purchases based on the USDA’s MyPlate guidance, according to a news release. The goal of the “Nutrition” functionality on the health platform is to help consumers make informed food choices based on their dietary preferences, household size and age group.
“With the launch of this feature, we are offering real-time nutritional information, both at an item and basket level, making it easy for our customers to make better food choices,” Albertsons Cos. Chief Digital Officer Omer Gajial said in the release. He’s also executive vice president of health at Albertsons Cos., which — as of June 17 — operates 2,272 retail food and drug stores with 1,726 pharmacies, 401 associated fuel centers, 22 dedicated distribution centers and 19 manufacturing facilities.
The company has stores in 34 states and Washington, D.C., with 24 banners, including Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, Jewel-Osco, Shaw's, Acme, Tom Thumb, Randalls, United Supermarkets, Pavilions, Star Market, Haggen, Carrs, Kings Food Markets and Balducci's Food Lovers Market.
How it works
The USDA’s MyPlate guidance recommends consuming the five food groups that make up a healthy dietary pattern: fruit, vegetables, grains, protein foods and dairy or fortified soy alternatives, as well as healthy eating overall.
By connecting a customer’s loyalty account to their Sincerely Health profile, the nutrition insights tool will review recent and future grocery purchases and automatically calculate how much of their food items meet MyPlate dietary guidance. Shoppers can quickly see if their grocery baskets may be lacking in one or more essential food groups.
Sincerely Health also provides personalized food recommendations, recipes and articles based on nutritional and diet preferences, as well as dietary restrictions. The user experience is meant to simplify eating recommendations and help customers discover meals that match their personal nutrition goals.
To offer customers an incentive for eating better, the Sincerely Health platform rewards healthy points to customers for setting their nutrition goals and adopting better eating habits, such as cooking at home, limiting sweet treats and cutting back on fried food.
Customers can also earn weekly and monthly rewards for meeting their MyPlate recommendations across each food group. Accumulated points can then be redeemed for grocery coupons and discounts on items such as fresh produce, seafood and meat.
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The Sincerely Health digital health and wellness platform is available on 16 grocery apps and websites, including Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, Shaw’s, Jewel-Osco, Acme and Tom Thumb. The platform is designed as a digital resource for managing seven dimensions of well-being. Users can link their activity trackers, log their vital statistics and track their medications.
It also connects to an online pharmacy with tools for managing prescriptions, scheduling vaccine appointments and connecting with general practitioners through telehealth services.
Part of a multi-stakeholder mission
The nutrition insights functionality within the health platform is another step in the company’s commitment to the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health. This step enables shoppers to make healthy choices once they have actionable nutrition information and nutritious meal solutions, the company says.
As part of a broader commitment to inspire better eating habits, Albertsons Cos. pledged to provide 50 million evidence-based nutrition recommendations to digital customers by 2024 and launch six health campaigns by 2025 using in-store events and digital platforms to increase awareness of MyPlate dietary guidance.
The USDA Food and Nutrition Service collaborates with strategic partners of MyPlate nationwide to meet the goals of the White House Conference and to advance nutrition security, Dr. Caree Jackson Cotwright said in the release. She’s the director of nutrition security and health equity for USDA Food and Nutrition Service.
“We cannot do this important work alone, but together we can make progress that will change lives and ensure a healthier, more prosperous future for everyone in this country,” Jackson Cotwright said.
The Boise, Idaho-based retailer is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange as ACI.
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