A unique tool helps shoppers more easily find the foods they need for their personal wellness needs
WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif., 2017-Sep-08 — /EPR Retail News/ — According to Nielsen data, 59% of grocery shoppers experience difficulty in understanding nutrition facts on product packaging.[1] Meanwhile, recognizing ingredients ranks first for consumers in terms of what influences their decision to purchase a food or beverage.[2] Today, Raley’s launches a new, one-of-a-kind shelf tag program to help customers combat some of these obstacles in the grocery store and more easily make informed food purchasing decisions.
Raley’s Shelf Guide combines current food trends and leading research to set strict standards for packaged food claims and provide label transparency. The new tool differs from other shelf tag programs by taking a closer look at packaged ingredients, food processing and nutrition. Using simple and colorful icons, Raley’s Shelf Guide helps customers quickly interpret whether a product meets their needs, without having to analyze multiple labels. Raley’s has even created two of their own shelf tag descriptions – making it easy for customers to find food that is minimally processed and nutrient dense.
“We knew that Raley’s could develop a program that truly addresses the needs of our customers and serve as a trusted advisor. Raley’s Shelf Guide attributes will help our customers make easier decisions when shopping our stores,” said Michael Teel, Raley’s Owner & Chief Executive Officer. “Only foods that meet the strict standards of Raley’s will qualify for the Shelf Guide tags. I challenge food manufacturers to aspire to meet our Shelf Guide standards for their products at Raley’s.”
For ease of use, the icons are placed directly on the price tag. The top two icons are shared on the tag in-store. Customers seeking value at the shelf, will now be able to use the Shelf Guide to find a better option at an affordable price.
As a part of Raley’s click-and-collect service, eCart, online shoppers can sort for products using the Shelf Guide icons to quickly find products that meet their health and wellness needs on shop.raleys.com. More than 13,000 items in center store have at least one icon.
“This program comes at a time where there is a lot of uncertainty in food standards,” said registered dietitian, Kim Denkhaus. “I meet with clients all the time that are looking for an easier way to make decisions on what to buy at the grocery store. I’m excited for my clients to start using Shelf Guide at Raley’s – not only is it easy to understand, but it’s also going to help people feel more confident with the decisions they make when grocery shopping.”
This program is independently developed by Raley’s in partnership with Label Insight, and is not driven by any brands or products. Label Insight uses data science to provide access to complete and accurate product information for more than 400,000 products. This rich data was used to develop a set of custom attributes for the Raley’s Shelf Guide.
“Many consumers are driven by health and wellness goals, including special diets and ingredient allergies and aversions,” said Ronak Sheth, Chief Customer Officer at Label Insight. “Raley’s Shelf Guide has taken Label Insight data to the next level by using rigorous criteria designed by a certified dietitian to evaluate product ingredients and processing. Raley’s has gone above and beyond typical ‘organic’ or ‘non-GMO’ attributes to include criteria for sodium, sugar and fiber content by individual category, making them unique in the industry.”
Raley’s Shelf Guide was thoughtfully created by Raley’s, driven by science and backed by experts. The program was reviewed and supported by Arianna Carughi, Ph. D. In Nutritional Sciences, C.N.S., “An enormous amount of work has gone into designing the Raley’s Shelf Guide to help simplify consumers’ purchasing decisions and make it easier to identify nutritious products,” said Arianna Carughi. “Raley’s has also gone above and beyond with Shelf Guide, as they have carefully considered the amount of added sodium and sugar in foods as well. Shelf Guide is truly going to inspire a better way of eating for Raley’s shoppers.”
For more information about Raley’s Shelf Guide and a full list of attributes, visit www.raleys.com/guide.
Raley’s unique Shelf Guide descriptions include:
- Minimally Processed: Simply prepared with only clean ingredients, and limits on added sugar and sodium.
- Nutrient Dense: Contains vitamins, minerals, dietary fiber, and other beneficial substances that may have positive health effects.
- No Added Sugar: No added sugar or artificial sweeteners.
[1] 2012 Nielsen study; https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/02/160202185452.htm https://www.fmi.org/our-research/supermarket-facts
[2] http://www.foodinsight.org/sites/default/files/IFIC%20Food%20and%20Health%20Survey%20One-Pagers.pdf
SOURCE: Raley’s Family of Fine Stores
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