By: Cathy Polley, RPh, Vice President, Health & Wellness, FMI & Executive Director, FMI Foundation

The upcoming “Better-For-You” Business case study focuses on building the business case for healthier, lower-calorie foods by demonstrating the financial and marketing benefits from modifying marketing practices and product portfolios. Supermarkets have an advantage over restaurant and other sectors because of fresh produce and the perimeter of the stores, but are we capitalizing on this opportunity?
As a follow up to my conversation with Hank Cardello, Senior Fellow and Director of Obesity Solutions Initiatives for Hudson Institute, I asked him to jump-start the conversation around in the “better-for-you” category by sharing insights from his newest study The “Better-For-You” Business Case: How is The Supermarket Sector Shaping Up? being unveiled at FMI Connect. Hank shared the following four thought-provoking questions food retailers need to ask themselves and ultimately, areas food retailers will need to focus on for growth strategies:
- Is the supermarket industry doing as well as other sectors in the lower-calorie category and how are we embracing the sale of lower-calorie products?
- Is the supermarket industry doing as good a job in food deserts compared to other locales?
- Is the supermarket industry serving up the right products for kids?
- Are private labels catching up with healthier products?


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